SIX-WHEEL LORRY.

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 242, 21 June 1928, Page 7

SIX-WHEEL LORRY.

FIRST IN NEW ZEALAND. A demonstration of what a sixwheel lorry could do was given at t the Burnham camp, when a long string of gun limbers, into which 40 or 50 territorials piled themselves, was towed with ease round the parade ground. The lorry was then taken out to a gravel pit, where it was driven over heaps of gravel, down precipitous slopes, and over obstacles that would have defeated any four-wheeled vehicle. The advantages of the two extra wheels are manifold. On a road surface, wheel spin while rounding corners is entirely eliminated, and the load is more evenly distributed, while there is no bumping and shaking of any consequence. Manifestly, the wear and tear on the road is reduced to a minimum, a fact which the British Government recognises by subsidising every six-wheel lorry purchased to the extent of £l2O. The rear wheels are so sprung that one pair can be twisted out of alignment with the other, so that a uniform grip is maintained over the roughest ground. The test at Burnham was not a completely satisfactory one, as there was too much loose gravel, and the wheels skidded, but it served to show that, given a reasonably firm surface, the lorry could easily cope with conditions that would absolutely defy any ordinary vehicle. Had the caterpillar grips, with which it can be equipped, been fitted, it would have forged its way with ease through the loosest gravel, and even through mud.