30-cwt vs. 3-ton Difference

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

It's worth noting that design factors such as auxiliary springs, diff ratios, steering boxes, big balls v. small balls etc. do not define load rating - they simply reflect the way a particular manufacturer designs their range of 8, 15, 30, or 60 cwt. vehicles, as defined above. Which means the whole question of load rating is far simpler than it appears - once you figure out the rules!

Tony,

I'm afraid this is not entirely correct. The British War Office classification was a load classification, regardless of the technical configuration of the vehicles supplied by manufacturers.

Load carrier trucks have a load rating, tractors do not - see the thread Is the FAT a 60cwt or 15cwt truck?.

To be able to carry the load and move it at convoy speed across country, manufacturers configured their trucks from existing components. As stated above, I sorted out the difference for Chevs recently, see Chev CMP chassis views. One can see clearly that the heavier the load rating, the heavier the truck's components are - so "design factors such as auxiliary springs, diff ratios, steering boxes, big balls v. small balls etc." in fact do define load rating!

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

C30:

• Front axle with 5” steering ends
• Brakes, front drum: 14” diameter, 2” width lining
• Brakes, rear drum: 15” diameter, 3.5” width lining
• Wheel size: 16” rims
• Differential gear ratio: 7.16 to 1
• Rear spring leaves: 12

C60S:

• Front axle with 6” steering ends
• Brakes, front drum: 15” diameter, 3.5” width lining
• Brakes, rear drum: 15” diameter, 3.5” width lining
• Booster actuated brakes
• Wheel size: 20” rims
• Differential gear ratio: 7.16 to 1
• Number of rear spring leaves: 12 + 6 Aux.

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

On the question of LWB with 16" wheels, eg. F602L pictured above, I suspect these are rated for on-road use only, just like MCP vehicles. As such it would equate with the Dodge T110L5 (160" wheelbase, 16" wheels, 2-spd diff) which is rated 3-ton.

The F602L has a 3-ton load rating, as has the Dodge, the fact that they had 16" wheels has noting to do with their load rating. They were fitted with 10.50-16 tyres to bear the load.

As per Vanderveen: "Truck, 3-ton, 4x2, GS (Ford F602L) V-8-cyl., 95 bhp, 4F1R, wb 158-1/4 in, 243x90x118(78) in., 7280 lb. Latest type, using many components of F60L. Tubular front axle, two-speed rear axle. Also with four-stretcher ambulance body and 134-1/4 in. wb GS with open cab."

HTH,
Hanno