The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-07-31
Motoring Notes,
Good Road News
and | rade Matters


Willys-G arford company. has writ
ten an article on motor trucks, worthy
the attention Of every business man,
especially those IN the industrial field.
He says:
Although There is hardly an enter
prise In the present Industrial field
in which the motor truck may not
be used to an economical advantage,
II naturally follows that in some in
ssances this advantage Is more appar-
ent than in others From the time
the first motor trucks were put on the
market the wholesaler, the coal deal
err. the brewer and the larger NOV
ing and storage companies have taken
the lead as users Of these machines
but in none Of these lines has the
power wagon proved better invest
ment than in the service OF the con
tractor.
Whether II he such a stupendous
undertaking as the building Of the
Roosevelt Reservoir. the erection II
the dam across the Mississippi river
at koekuk, la: the construction Of
the CatskilI vIaduct. or only the less
or tasks that make UP the hulk OF
the work of the average contractor,
the result has been the same. Man
ufacturers of dependable motor
trucks OF the heavier type are finding
It worth while to specialize Oh con-
tracing equipment
With the contractor time is a most
important element. His agreement
usually calls for the completion OF
certain work within a stipulated
period and any failure TO do So Is
certain to prove most expensiN g
Since the advent of the motor truck
ha has been able to do more=N ark
within Il given length Of time and al
30 TO figure more closely on how long
, 1t will take him 10 do certain piece
! Of work, In other words, his ef'
| fleiency has increased very material
/ ~ while his capital investment ha'
! remained practically the same.
! Five years ago 1t would have takeE
! him four weeks TO have fulfilled g
/ <ontract the profit on which was, SOY
/ $1,000. Today. with two gasoline
I trucks that have replaced from eigh
/ 10 ten horses. he can do the sans
/ work within three weeks tire u
/ lass Nat aHlg- does he -ihus= effect s
( saving OF several weeks a year. nni
/ his books will show bigger balance
provided his motor truck equipmen
q
to- the service il will give
But il Is in the smaller details @
! contracting work that the advantage
Of power driven machines is mos
apparent. A large percentage Of suci
work is exeavating. and In many in
/ stances il IS very ineonvenient TO &c
I at II. On account of It's shorter lengti
I and its excess of power motor trNcl
I is able to maneuver in close guar
ters and 10 back In and out Of mar
row places where Il team would %
/ out of the question
! Again where the work Is betni
done on large scale il Is possible Z
/ be loading or unloading only three @
four horse drawn vehicles at time
| although twice as many motor truck
I could stand in the same space. Wh"'
! there are from fifty TO several time
I that number OF men az work on
/ for even a moments delay mean
/ an actual loss and the contractor Nh
, is .atie To keep every man e3THlh'
something every working minute IL
the one who is certain To be account
! ed the most successful.
In every business in which thf
motor truck has become a factor th'
economy of time in loading ana an
loading has been given much ateh
ton. but nowhere have these opera
tions been more thoroughly sSste
! matized than in some OF the larg'
exeavating projects. An instance o
this Is the method used by the eltls
| bury. Contracting company now Dig
ging the water tunnel between looti
and I67th streets New York. Tnl
firm has several five ton trucks U
G,k@ IA, a rail 81
Both the truck and the trailer ar
( fitted with special wooden podte
built to hold a large metal hoppe
known as q skip"
Two skips are filed while anothe
two are being hauled to the dump a
129th street and the river. ON the re
| turn of the truck a derrick lifts TN
two empty skips from the truck AM
the trailer and sets the two full one
! I'm their places. the whole operation
acquiring but a few minutes Tn
combined net capacity of the tracl
and trailer in this instance is thir
teen tons. which would be heay
drag for six or seven good teams &C
cording TO the road over which the
would have TO haul 1t. Moreover. tn
truck will make a speed of from eigh
TO ten miles an hour. while a draugh
horse that will cover three and hal
4 miles an hour Is an unusually goo
stopper.
Were this work being done b.
| horses the mechanical loading an
unloading would not prove nearly s.
profitable. as II would be necessar,
| to handle the dirt and rock In smalle
quantities. resulting In a loss o
| power, Nine hours hard work woul'
leave team thoroughly exhausted