Motor Truck Logging Methods: Engineering Experiment Station Series, Bulletin No. 12Knapp, Frederick Malcolm
Science
Motor Truck Logging Methods: Engineering Experiment Station Series, Bulletin No. 12
Knapp, Frederick Malcolm
Lumbering
On the other hand, in starting on slippery grades or wherever the
traction is poor, the worm drive will give better traction than a chain
drive because there is difficulty in taking up the slack that is always
present in the chain before letting in the clutch fully. The slightest
jerk given to the wheels when the slack is taken up is likely to cause
them to spin, thereby losing all the tractive power of the drive wheels.
In the worm gear there is no slack to take up and the power can be
applied more gradually, thus reducing the chances of spinning the wheels
and losing the traction.
The question of the weight of the truck used for logging purposes is not
as important now as it will be in the future. Laws are being passed in
nearly every state limiting the maximum weight to be carried on each
wheel by trucks using state or county roads so that the total weight of
the truck without load will be important. When operating over state or
county roads the load is limited to from 2400 to 3000 feet, B. M., of
Douglas fir, depending upon the locality. In such cases, it is an
advantage to have a lighter truck, say one of 3½ tons capacity. By
adding additional leaves to the rear springs of a truck of this capacity
it may be made to carry a larger load than it would be possible to put
on a 5-ton truck and still comply with the law. The pulling power of the
3½-ton truck and the 5-ton truck is practically the same so that the
difference in dead weight between the two may be carried in a profitable
manner by adding four or five hundred feet B. M. of logs. Another
advantage of the lighter weight truck is _speed_. The 3½-ton truck is
geared to make from 14 to 16 miles an hour, while the 5-ton truck is
usually limited to from 10 to 12 miles an hour.
Whenever the legal weight limit does not enter into the problem, as in
operating over a pole or plank road for the entire distance, it is, of
course, advantageous to carry the largest loads possible. In such cases
a 5-ton truck with an 8½-ton trailer is the most profitable investment.
This allows a much larger load to be carried in proportion to the
overhead charges. The disadvantage of the 5-ton truck is that it is very
heavy and unless the roads are good, it will easily sink into the ground
and cause trouble. A common fault of the 5-ton truck today is the
overweight of the front end, which is too heavy for the width of tire on
the front wheels. This can be very easily overcome by the use of wider
tires.
LIFE AND DEPRECIATION
The life of a truck is directly proportional to the care that it
receives, hence, a good driver is a most important consideration. If the
right man can be secured his wages should be a secondary consideration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account