Commercial Vehicle Thread

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by condor

Not for the bare chassis. Tata does.
The model number would not have been displayed anywhere on the chassis' that are sent from the factory. Unlike Tata, these dont come with a factory fabricated front end. The builder is free to build it as per his designs. The model number logo /monogram is put on it during the body building process - guess the logo/ monogram will be part of the kit that would be sent with the chassis.

Sorry, sorry, what I saw was not the chassis, but a fully-built truck, with the name Saurabh Gaurav, a MH-09 Kolhapur registration.

[condor]

@hvkumar, my bad. I should have read the truck part too..

Having said that, a Leyland truck may still not have a model number logo / monogram on it, unlike a Tata which has a factory fabricated front. We will need to search other sources for that info -may be the AL web-site ?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by condor

@hvkumar, my bad. I should have read the truck part too..

Having said that, a Leyland truck may still not have a model number logo / monogram on it, unlike a Tata which has a factory fabricated front. We will need to search other sources for that info -may be the AL web-site ?

AL web-site is hopeless, no details here! Someone must educate the Al honchos about "modern-day" internet.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by CorsaLove

One more problem with Tata chassis for buses was that it lacked the load pulling punch which is required when the bus is fully laden and about 2 tons of luggage or parcels on the roof, the buses just would not pull. Leyland however, was like an elephant, slow time to pull but effortlessly.

This was true when Tata's main model was 1210. Its engine was only 4.7 litres compared to AL's 6+ litre engine designed by British Leyland or the 6-litre Hino-designed unit which was offered later.

These days, there isn't much difference between Tata and AL engines, both having similar size and power.

Originally Posted by CorsaLove

All said, 75%+ transporters would vote for Leyland chassis for busess now other then volvo!

Only a proper survey would reveal the correct and exact picture. AL's Hino engine had become an instant hit with SRTCs because of its high fuel efficiency, better than the then available Tata models. Since then, Tata has also come out with Cummins series of engines but I don't have comparative FE figures of current AL v/s Tata models.

Originally Posted by 1100D

Is it only to me that the rear cantelever looks sagging in that chassis.

The picture was taken on an incline, at the Apollo/Sarita Vihar flyover, so may be that's why you got that impression. It looked quite normal to me.

Originally Posted by condor

@hvkumar, my bad. I should have read the truck part too..

Having said that, a Leyland truck may still not have a model number logo / monogram on it, unlike a Tata which has a factory fabricated front. We will need to search other sources for that info -may be the AL web-site ?

As rightly pointed out by condor, the AL chassis usually come without the cowl, the model name/number badge is supplied separately as part of the kit. It is possible that a careless body builder may not put the badge on the body.

Originally Posted by SirAlec

Doesn't Tata-marcopolo has that kind of suspension??

Yes, they have air suspension too. Infact they have all-round air suspension. What I had meant to say was that I haven't come across a similar conventional bus chassis from Tata which has air suspension.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Is it only to me that the rear cantilever looks sagging in that chassis.

Originally Posted by condor

@1100D, which part do you think is sagging ?
If you are looking at pic #3, the other objects in the pic are also on a similar plane. And there could also have been un-evenness of the road surface ..

Originally Posted by 1100D

pIC #1, the rear overhang vs the mid-portion (between the wheels).

Originally Posted by condor

There is no problem there - the rear over-hang and the mid-portion between the wheels are at right angles to each other. This, coupled with the angle of view will make it appear as if there's a sag.

If you see pic #1 - shows the rear over hang is good. Pic# 3 shows that the section between the wheels is also good - correctly level & horizontal.

1100D, not everyone can visually catch the sag.
There is indeed a sag. My guess is, when the bus body is built, the outer skin would disguise the sag.

Ram

[condor]

I will still say it is more parallax error than actual sag. I'm not saying it is impossible. And as Ram rightly said, any such sag or imperfection will eventually be covered up by the body.

Measurements on photos are not always accurate. And our reference point has a rectangular cross-section, in a color that does not really stand out amongst the surroundings.

Also, this pic above 'shows' a sag towards the right rear corner. But pic #3 shows the rear left corner to be at a lower level than the right rear corner.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by condor

I will still say it is more parallax error than actual sag. I'm not saying it is impossible. And as Ram rightly said, any such sag or imperfection will eventually be covered up by the body.

I will say, in this case, parallax does not come into the picture at all. A continuous line cannot appear bent from any angle.

Originally Posted by condor

Measurements on photos are not always accurate. And our reference point has a rectangular cross-section, in a color that does not really stand out amongst the surroundings.

You'd be surprised at how much has been done by measuring photographs, esp. at high levels of zoom. Then again, I am not talking about accuracy -- in that how much sag is not important -- just the fact that there is visually visible sag. God knows how many more defects are not immediately apparent.

Of course, some sags, casting flashes and improper welds can be disguised by the body fabricators. But I would think a Volvo or Mercedes chassis would not show such shoddiness, especially one that has passed QC and gotten sold.

Originally Posted by condor

Also, this pic above 'shows' a sag towards the right rear corner. But pic #3 shows the rear left corner to be at a lower level than the right rear corner.

The pic above shows a sag in the left chassis rail towards the left-rear corner.

[hrag]

Ram, your yellow and red lines do not start at the same point (LHS of the picture)

[tsk1979]

This is a pretty wide angle shot.
Its difficult to say whether the sag is there or its a lens issue(distortion).
For example look at the shot below with a bent pole. The pole was entirely straight, however it appears bent
It was at 26mm(35mm equivalent)

[Ram]

Originally Posted by hrag

Ram, your yellow and red lines do not start at the same point (LHS of the picture)

hrag, I know what I am saying. Here is another example of what I see.

[condor]

@tsk, I dont expect this kind of distortion (barrel ?) in the truck chassis pic. I guess that pic was shot with a regular P&S.

hrag : Ram, your yellow and red lines do not start at the same point (LHS of the picture)

@hrag, they dont need to start at the same point. It's the angle of intersection that will matter.


Then again, if there is a sag there, it could also be near the front left wheel ! And not necessarily in the rear section of the chassis frame.

[Ram]

tsk1979, your picture shows perspective distortion because of the wide angle of the lens plus barrel distortion because of the optical quality of the lens.

For low-distortion images, I have seen Nikon's ED PC-Nikkor lenses -- extremely low dispersion (ED) perspective correction (PC) lenses -- being used.

This PC-E NIKKOR 24mm f/3.5D ED Nikkor costs about 1,642 Euros or US$ 2,500+

# Three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements for superior sharpness and color correction by effectively minimizing chromatic aberration
# Three aspherical lens elements for minimizing various types of lens aberration
# Rounded 9-blade diaphragm for more natural appearance of out-of-focus image elements

Warm Regards
Ram

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by condor

@tsk, I dont expect this kind of distortion (barrel ?) in the truck chassis pic. I guess that pic was shot with a regular P&S.

@hrag, they dont need to start at the same point. It's the angle of intersection that will matter.


Then again, if there is a sag there, it could also be near the front left wheel ! And not necessarily in the rear section of the chassis frame.

Never thought my first picture post would generate so much heat! It was shot with my mobile phone camera SE 810i, 3.2 MP.
Am posting a few more pics from slightly different angles. Hope they make the picture more clear!

[Ram]

Thanks for the new pics directinjection
Now the misalignment/sag is very obvious.

[hrag]

Please ignore my previous post. I meant something and typed something else. My post would have been slightly meaningful if the 2 sections in comparison were parallel to each other.

In that case (explained above), the yellow and red lines could start at the same point (while being parallel to the sections they were representing). Do I make sense now?