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Show I YOUR OWN TRUCK I Ti HI Kll " 'Is it of the right design and size H' to prove adaptable to my business?' is the first thing business concerns make sure of in purchasing motpr trucks," says L. D. Foreman of the Kissel Kar. "The manufacturer wants his trucks to possess dependability, pow-. er, strength and load capacity to en- H able his transportation department to Hr ship and haul goods as fast as they are produced. The wholesaler and job-bcr job-bcr wants to be equipped to rush goods to their dealers at short notice, whether in the city or long trips in the country. The retailer wants to H: extend his delivery area. He wants to either cut down his delivery ex- H' pense, or serve more' customers at his H: present cost. "Tp solvo the question of the right H' size and most adaptable truck for dlt-fcrent dlt-fcrent lines of business, a recent ex- H; tensive investigation resulted in the H following: Hj "Dry goods and department stores Hi in thirty different states were using Hj trucks with an average capacity or 1,500 pounds, while quite a number of H! stores used heavier trucks for freight-B freight-B ing purposes and in handling furni- ture and various other heavy articles H; of merchandise. B "Grocers, bakers, meat markets and ! other lines of business need the ! light speedy truck from 2,000 to 1,500 H' pounds capacity for retail delivery 1 "Motor trucks were first used by the larger ice manufacturers and deal-crs deal-crs for their wholesale deliveries and for some time after their introduction B only the largest capacity trucks were considered. Ice dealers realized that H' while there were certain advantages H.' to be gained by the use of large ca-H'. ca-H'. pacity trucks the low speed at which they perate increased the loss of the product while in transit. Then, too It was found that while large capacity trucks were capable of handling large quantities of ice at one time, 30 per cent of the time they were not large enough, while the other 70 per cent of the time they were entirely too large. "This led to the belief that instead of using one truck of large capacity, it would bo far more economical to operate two trucks of small capacity, but with greater speed. When tried out, this proved very successful, but as a result, only about 20 per cent of the motor trucks now used for Ice delivery are over three tons capacity, while 80 per cent range in capacity from 3-4 ton to 3 tons. "There is some divergence of opinion opin-ion relative to the truck that can be used most economically and advantageously advan-tageously by manufacturers of furniture. furni-ture. There is, however, a concensus concen-sus of opinion that the 2-ton or the 3-ton truck is the best capacity for the furniture business where one line of manufacture Is carried on This, no doubt, because hardly any truck would be loaded to capacity in carrying carry-ing furniture all of which would bo case goods, chairs beds, or any other one kind of furniture. The difference in opinion comes in the type of body that should be used. But this difference differ-ence is perfectly natural, because the manufacturer of chairs, unless ho ships his products knecked-down. could not possibly load a truck to capacity, ca-pacity, and oven if he did ship 'knocked-down' it is doubtful if he could load to full capacity. "The case goods manufacturer needs a 2 or 3 -ton truck with as much room back of the seat as lie can have. Four feet back of the seat pleases the case goods man very well. For the sides, he usually wants a two-foot panel with slakes up to five or six feet, with a tarpaulin rail on top. Some declare that duplicate bodies are best for the manufacturer loading into cars somo distance from the factory or delivering de-livering to- stores or wholesalers In town. This permits of loading one body while the other is on tho job. "For miscellaneous furniture hauling, haul-ing, the 3-ton truck with tho maximum maxi-mum platform space is found most desirable for manufacturers who havo such articles as chairs, tables, caso goods, buffets and sideboards to deliver de-liver in mixed lots, "On the average, a 2 or 3 -ton truck is preferred by furniture- manufacturers, manufactur-ers, but the typo of body to bo used dopends altogether upon the class of furniture to bo hauled and tho distances dis-tances to each average haul. "Plumbers, who mako a specialty oi new work, such as largo office buildings, build-ings, government buildings, arc in need of 2 1-2 to i-ton trucks for carrying heavy suppllos; but tho plumber whoso work is mainly with residences, finds tho 3-i to 1-ton model most adaptable. "Produce merchants, growers and shippers, are in a much different position po-sition than any othor business men, Inasmuch as they handle porishablcs. This makes it imperative that their goods bo handled as quickly as possible; pos-sible; that tho means of hauling bo dependable, that their goods be handled han-dled in reasonably largo quantities rather than small wagon ldads. All these points are vital, since upon them depend the freshness and sala-billty sala-billty of the fruits, vegetables, but-tor, but-tor, eggs, poultry, etc., handled, as well as the consequent profit or loss. "Textile mills usually use trucks of at least 3-ton capacity to bring their finished and unfinished goods to and from the freight yards In preforonce to using tho local railroads This is a common use for motor trucks of 3 to 5 and 6 -ton capacity, as there is much prompter service obtainable at relatively less cost, everything considered, consid-ered, than when materials are sent to a freight station when It is necessary neces-sary to have them hauled from tho station to tho mill. "All of which proves that every motor truck purchaser should give , careful consideration to the adaptabll-I adaptabll-I ity of the motor truck to tho haul, age equipments and delivery demands peculiar to his business beforo dofi-I dofi-I nitely making the purchase. His trucic I will then provo an asset, an cconoml-' cconoml-' cal and efficient solution of his transportation trans-portation problems." |