'rnn' Pfessor of Fortry. A Comparison of the Advantages of Light And. Heavy Log Trucks Used in Truck Log Hauling. Walter Geren. Oregon State College

Transcription

1 A Comparson of the Advantages of Lght And Heavy Log Trucks Used n Truck Log Haulng Walter Geren A Thess Presented to the Faculty of the School of Forestry Oregon State College 'rnn' n Partal Fulfllment of tìe Requrements for the Degree Bachelor of Scence Tune 1940 Anprove9: Pfessor of Fortry

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Advantages of heavy loggng trucks over lght loggng trucks. Chapter 11 Advantages of lght loggng trucks over heavy loggng trucks. chapter 111 Sunmary Appendx 1. Fgure 1 Abstract of test runs made by rancìe Ronde Pne Company. 2. Fgure 11 Abstract of test runs made by Lakevew Loggng Company. 3. Fgure 111 Table showng relatve operaton costs of varous szed loggng trucks,made by rande Ronde Pne Co.

3 page 1 A Comparson of the Advantages of Lght And Heavy Log Trucks Used n Truck Log Haulng ntroducton There s some controversy among truck loggers as to the relatve merts of large and small trucks n the truck loggng ndustry. Ths paper s not ntended to settle the problem or to make a decson one way or another, but to present both sdes of the argument n such ways that a prospectve operator could use t as a gude for decsons n buyng loggng trucks. Ths paper s based upon the assumpton that both the lght and heavy trucks are used on prvate roads, as the heavy trucks would be automatcally ruled out f used on publc hghways. The problem, whle of no great mportance to the publc, s of mportance to the logger because the dfference n haulng costs between lght and heavy trucks, mght, under sorne condtons mean the dfference between proft and loss on an operaton. The only study of ths subject besdes the prvate study of each logger as he buys a loggng truck has been carred on by Mr. Truman Collns, presdent of the Lakevew Loggng Company, and by the Tmberrnan. The best way by whch ths queston has been settled to the owners satsfacton has been by actual experence wth the varous szed trucks.

4 page 2 The data for ths paper has been dram largely from The Tmbemnan, West Coast Lumberman, the paper "Truck Loggng Cases" by Truman Collns and from experence and observaton by the wrter. The subject s developed by lstng the ponts n favor of each szed truck, large and small, and explanng how each pont Ñl apdìy n the selecton of the proper szed truck. n ths paper large trucks are those able to haul 7,000 or more board feet and small trucks those whose maxmum load s 7,000 feet. Both loads beng consdered as hauled over roads sutable for the sze loads hauled.

5 page 3 Chapter ---Advantages of large trucks over small trucks. (a) Larger loads possble n an operaton where several large trucks or a greater number of small trucks are needed to handle the output of a sde the larger loads whch t S possble to haul s an mportant factor n keepng the road, whch s usually a one way road, uncongested. Wth small trucks, the greater number needed to handle the output of a sde would make an organzed plan of dspatchng almost mpossble. Whle wth larger unts, haulng twce as much a plan for meetng and passng on a one wey road can effcently be carred out thus savng tme whch wth more numerous small trucks would be lost. Another savng of tme effected by the haulng of large loads 1 n loadng and unloadng. The tme necessary for gettng the truck ready for loadng s no greater for a large truck than for a small truck and the tme necessary for actual loadng s hardly twce as much n the case of large trucks as the tme used n loadng the small trucks. The tme for unloadng would be the same wth ether sze truck makng a savng of tme n the case of a large load.

6 page 4 (b) Larger trucks are faster. t has been shown on test runs at the Lkevew Loggng ComDnes operaton at Lakevew, Oregon that the larger unts, n ths case Kenworth trucks haulng an average of about 15,000 board ft. made a greater mle per hour average both loaded and on return trp empty to the woods than two Macks and an nternatonal haulng about 6500 board feet. n these test cases the Kenworth truck hauled 15 M.B.F. at an everage speed of 18.3 mles per hour and returned at an average speed of 24 mles per hour. 2he haul was over about 14.5 mles of favorable grade runnng from 6.6% down to.5%. (See Fgure 2) Over the same road at the same tme the two vacks and the nternatonal truck haulng an average load of 6500 B.F.M. averaged 15.1 mles per hour loaded and 19.1 mles per hour on the return trp. Accordng to these test runs t can be seen that the larger trucks are capable of hgher speeds on both adverse and favorable grade. On favorable grades the larger trucks are able to descend faster because of better brakes or rather because of larger brakng surfaces. On the return trp the larger trucks make more speed because of more power aganst the adverse grade. The test runs are shown graphcally n Table.

7 page 5 (e) Large trucks can be deselzed. The larger trucks at the present tme are the only ones that can be equpped wth desel motors. Ï)esel power s much cheaper, costng about 60% of the cost of gasolne power and gvng more power. Replacement of gasolne motors by desel motors s often done now n larger trucks and operators of these re-powered trucks report fuel savngs, more power and a cut n repar blls. (a) Larger trucks do not need specal axles and transmssons. The large trucks do not need the nstallaton of expensve specal axles and transmssons to get the power necessary to haul the loads whch they are able to carry. he cost of these specal axles when added to the cost of the lght truck brngs the prce of the truck to nearly twce as much as the frst cost of the truck alone. (e) Larger trucks are able to haul up steeper grades. -3ecause of the greater rato of power to the sze of the load n the larger trucks they are able to haul up much steeper grades than small trucks. tor ths reason on an operaton planned for large trucks the roads can be lad out wth a greater percent of grade than would be possble were small trucks to be used.

8 page 6 The layng out of roads on steeper grades would mean a cut n road. buldng costs and brdge costs whch n most nstances would go far towards off-settng the greater ntal cost of the large trucks regardless of the latter savngs possble by use of large trucks. The maxmum grade a srrall truck wthout a specal axle s able to negotate loaded s from B to 10% accordng to the condton of the road. Whle on the sane knd of road, haulng a proportonate load, the large truck can negotate grades of 12 to 14% or even n some places as hgh as 15% adverse grade. (f) Large trucks are more dependable wth less lkelhood of breakdown. The larger trucks as a rule are better bult than small trucks, beng bult heaver all-over n rato to the load hauled than the lghter trucks. n ths way there s less danger of overloadng the heaver trucks than the lght ones. n many cases wth lght trucks bult to carry three or four thousand board feet there s a tendency to try and haul sx or seven thousand board feet wth a result of frequent breakdowns, and short truck and tre lfe. f on a small truck the tres are overloaded to twce ther carryng capacty the lfe of the tre wll be shortened greatly. On the larger trucks there

9 page '7 s a greater rato of tre carryng capacty to load than on the smaller trucks wth a consequent longer tre and a smaller tre cost per thousand board feet. (g) Larger trucks are less lable to damage by dropped logs. The larger trucks wth ther sturder buld are less lable to damage such as sprung frames, by heavy logs beng acedently dropped on them at the landng durng loadng. The accdental mpact load caused by a dropped log has no relaton to the carryng capacty of the truck, but wth a small lght framed truck a log accdently dropped upon t may easly run t by sprngng the frame or the dfferental housng. (h) Labor costs per thousand are less for large trucks than small. The larger loggng trucks haulng up to twce the load of a small truck and at an equal rate of sreed naturally have about half the per thousand labor cost of small trucks. At present labor rates ths would mount to about four or four and one half dollars per day and f the truck was haulng three loads or 45 M/day would be savng of.lo/m on the bass of the amount haulèd by a large truck. To state t another way the small truck mght be makng 3 trps a day haulng 18 M/day at a labor cost of 8/day or.44/m whle the large truck makng 3 trps a day hauln 45 M/day at a labor cost of lo or a cost of.22/m for labor.

10 pae 8 () Larger trucks easer on roads Because of the greater rato of tres to load possble on the larger trucks they are much easer on roads than small trucks whch are much more lkely to be loaded over the lmts of ther tres. on a lght truck wll soon cut deep ruts n A heavy load road whle at the same tme a heavy truck haulng large loads over the same road would not break through and cut ruts n the road. Chapter 11--Advantages of lght trucks over heavy trucks (a) n buyng trucks for any operaton t s necessary to analyze the operaton as to sze and length of tme necessary to remove the tmber. n cases where the amount of haulng s small and the perod of oeraton short the lghter truck has an advantage n the smaller ntal nvestment necessary to start the operaton. f the tmber on an area to be logged can be removed n one or two years or durng the deprecaton perod of a lght truck, t would be foolsh to nvest n a large truck, and then depend upon the resale value of the large truck after the operaton s fnshed. The lghter truck would remove the tmber and be completely deprecated whle a large truck would probably be only

11 page 9 partally deprecated and a loss realzed on the partally deprecated truck, f resale s possble. f a large truck s used wth a vew of a resale value at the end of operatons, t s necessary to make a charge per thousand board feet on an estmate of the resale value whch may not be as great as expected and thus may lead to an erroneous cost per thousand board feet of haulng. Up to the present no loggng concern has fully deprecated one of the new large trucks so as to be able to tell just what the perod of deprecaton shòuld bebut t has been estmated at from fve to eght years whch s two or three years greater than the lfe of a lghter truck. The excess cost of a large truck over that of a small truck wll also mean the tyng up of workng captal at the begnng of an operaton when t s probably worst needed. Ths, to a small outft, where workng captal s scarce, mght mean the dfference between success and falure or much nconvenence n rasng addtonal captal to take the place of that ted up n the large truck. The lghter trucks have a hgher ntrnsc resale or trade n value because of ther sze whch

12 page 10 makes them desrable for farm use or other 1rh.t lght haulng. Wth large trucks t s neceary to completely deprecate them by log haulng as there s practcally no other use for them after they have been used for that purpose. Because of lower cost t s possble to trade lght trucks n on new trucks about every two years and thus keep up wth latest mprovements n truck buldng wthout takng a loss caused by obsolesence. A lght truck two years old f t has been cared for wll have a hgher compartve trade n value than a large truck at the end of fve or sx years when t s unsatsfactory for log haulng, but stll has some resdual value. (b) Servcng of lght trucks more satsfactory. The servcng of lght trucks s more satsfactory, because they are more famlar to most mechancs and because parts can be obtaned n almost any town at a low cost. Wth some of the larger trucks t may be necessary to send for some dstance for repar parts causng a loss n workng tne and a consequent loss n money. n the event of a breakdown, whle large trucks are not as apt to breakdown as often as small trucks, the charges accumulatng aganst the large

13 page 11 truck for lost tne wll rase the cost of haulng materally above that of the lght truck whch can be repared qucker and wth less nterest charges etc. plng up aganst t durng the breakdown. (o) Lower frst cost fr tres. The frst cost for tres for small trucks s much smaller for lght trucks than for large trucks, and whle the lower cost can not be reckoned as a smaller cost per thousand board feet, t s often a factor consderng the workng captal whch s ted up n tres. When t s necessary to buy new tres t s much more convenent to make the smaller nvestment on the lght ruck than to nvest two or three thousand dollars of workng captal n tres for a large truck. (d) Lcences and fees n a comparson of ths knd the costs of lcences and fees can not be consdered as the operaton of both szes of trucks s over prvate road where no fees are requred. The dfference n lcence costs s a factor, however, where haulng s done over publc hghways. The cost for a smaller truck s under that of a large truck, but on the other hand the danger of exceedng load lmts s greater wth small trucks than wth large trucks as the large trucks carry more rubber n rato to ther rated capacty than small trucks ordnarly carry.

14 page 12 Chapter. Sununary From a table, (Fg. 3 n appendx) whch was compled at the Grande Ronde Pne Company operaton, a comparson of the costs of operaton of small trucks and large trucks can be drawn. n ths test run all of the trucks were equpped wth dual-axle tralers and auxllary transmssons or rear ends. All of the trucks n the test from whch the above table was compled were over 18 months old except the Fageols whch were new. For that reason estmatons of repars and tres were necessary but were based upon wde experence and should be very close to the true average. Mr. Truman Collns, a well known truck logger of Eastern Oregon, compares the use of heavy trucks as aganst lght trucks to the ralroads whch were found to last longer and gve cheaper servce when heaver steel and equpment were used as aganst lght steel and equpment. n the lght of present day trends n the lumber busness towards sustaned yeld and contnuous loggng over the same ground the heaver trucks seem to be favored because the advantages lsted before are n ther favor and the dsadvantages of hgh ntal cost etc. are rendered neglgble by the length of the operaton.

15 pase 13 t s mpossble to say that one type of truck would be superor to another wthout beng able to see all the factors whch determne the optmum szed truck. At the present tme the weght of opnon of operators on long tme operatons seems to be wth the heaver trucks, but new engneerng developments may, n future, develop a lght truck far beyond those n use now n economy of operaton.

16 APPENDX

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