Six-Wheelers

Six-wheeled motor-trucks, not yet a common sight on the public highway, occupied the attention of California automotive engineers who met last week in Los Angeles.

Engineer Ethelbert Favary pointed out the decrease in road destruction that is obtained by distributing a given weight over six surfaces instead of four. To save their roads, many states have enacted laws limiting the weight of trucks and the weight of their loads per square inch of tire. Under the California law, 180 5.5-ton four-wheelers would be required legally to carry a load of merchandise that 100 7-ton six-wheelers could handle. The 100 six-wheelers, weighing many tons less than the 180 four-wheelers, would pound up the roads less. They would burn about 1,100 gal. less of gasoline per 100 miles. They would require 80 less wageearning drivers, to say nothing of costing less at the outset.