Suedehead:
Is that true?
Cant get my head around that, if the front axle is overloaded to start with is more weight on the back is going to make the front lighter? ,I know . . . its probably me
Percentages mate. Assuming the vehicle is fully loaded front to back (bear in mind the payload would be beer kegs or straw bales etc of equal weight) then as the driver unloads from the back the percentage of load on the front axle will increase. Having the second axle at the front rather than the rear removes the risk of doing that.
I would assume that on hay and straw work the configuration allows the lorry to be loaded over the cab, as per this…
Fair enough
buts that not a “chinese six” and would you be doing mulidrop with hay or straw?
Suedehead:
Fair enough
buts that not a “chinese six” and would you be doing mulidrop with hay or straw?
Couldn’t find a pic of a Chinese Six with a load of straw on; the point though is that you’ve got a substantial part of your load ahead of, and over,the front axle and the 2 + 1 configuration would help there.
The other thing about such vehicles is that by nature of the work, they have to negotiate farm tracks, so the Chinese configuration would give better manouverability; in my job I drive 8-wheeler bulk blowers with a rear lift-axle, which of course when it’s up is effectively the same thing. Makes life a lot easier down here!
Engines in them days were made of heavy steel hence the low payload on the front axles, which is my guess at why they used chinese sixes nowadays most engines are made from alloys and plastics so are a lot lighter.
jammymutt:
Engines in them days were made of heavy steel hence the low payload on the front axles, which is my guess at why they used chinese sixes nowadays most engines are made from alloys and plastics so are a lot lighter.
Possibly, although I suspect you mean cast iron rather than steel; however would this not be offset by the sleeper cab, posh curtains, CD’s, Spanish arrows, michelin men, extra spotlights etc on modern trucks?
jammymutt:
Engines in them days were made of heavy steel hence the low payload on the front axles, which is my guess at why they used chinese sixes nowadays most engines are made from alloys and plastics so are a lot lighter.
Possibly, although I suspect you mean cast iron rather than steel; however would this not be offset by the sleeper cab, posh curtains, CD’s, Spanish arrows, michelin men, extra spotlights etc on modern trucks?
Talking of chinese sixes the Bedford VAL which was designed as a coach chassis was also popular as the base for pantechnicons due to the low chassis frame height with 16" wheels.
Several operators used them in the sixties & seventies, notably Clarkes Boxes from Mountsorrel with three, solent furniture (two), Lawrence & Hall (one), Sharnaware with three and Caravan Transport with a Boalloy bodied transporter.
Sharnaware was based in Droylsden and manufactured plastic products, delivering countrywide with three examples all bodied by Marsden and registered in Warrington prior to delivery.
Whilst I have photos of two of Sharnawares vehicles in black & white I am wondering whether anyone remembers the colour scheme in which they were operated?
I am also keen to track down photos of any of these VAL commercials to add to my collection.
there is, or certainly was a couple of years ago, a heritage-type coach firm in the Cannock area that had a few bedford VALs. Fittingly enough the company name was ‘Val’s Coaches’…
i seem to remember that the coach that ended up hanging over the edge in the italian job was a Bedford VAL too.
bedfordvalman,
Whilst I have photos of two of Sharnawares vehicles in black & white I am wondering whether anyone remembers the colour scheme in which they were operated?
IIRC Sharnaware worked out of a big old cotton mill that was somewhere to the left of Geofrey Reyners yard and I think their vans were painted predominately Blue with some white bits and the name in red. I remember seeing them around a lot they were very big vans that’s for sure and I think they used to go out with 100’s of drops at a time.
Regards
Dave Penn;
A.D.Forsey used to operate a couple of AEC Chinese sixes on their London night trunk to Coin Street in the sixties. I was a day driver on the artic fridges doing meat from the ships at all the Docks.
Perhaps the wrong place to post this but do any Potteries members recall the chinese six Morris Commercial from the early Fifties that use to be around Stoke in the 1980’s? It was blue and usually well loaded and was replaced with a chinese six D series Ford. I used to see it on Victoria Road a lot, I asked Bill Clews but he can’t recall it. It was an FV series with the rear hinged cab doors, I wonder what happened to it and if it was preserved.
Went to Brands Hatch in mid 80’s saw a Mercedes Benz chinese 6 artic racing, was touquise colour driven by a German , Hinz someone I believe, semi auto box ,went like hell.
I think the real reason for the configuration was that a steer axle weighed less than a drive axle. The gross weight for a six wheeler or an eight wheeler was the same irrespective of what the axles were.
The simple answer is that with a chinees six the payload was greater.
The same as using an eight wheeler and taking of four sets of brake linings. If you did this the payload went up and the earnings went up as well over the year. Before yopu ask, personal experiance.
