COMM-SITA 6000 Bradley Municpal Vehicles Ltd. Chesterfield, Derbyshire England Another licensee of the SITA 6000 system was the U.K. firm of R. Bradley Municipal Vehicles, who began production the Comm-Sita 6000 in 1974. This 16 cubic metre packer was sold as a completed vehicle, matched to a Seddon Municipal chassis with seven-man crew cab. The Bradley version featured the automatic tailgate locks, and the continuous packer featured pump protection by way of a magnetic clutch which disengaged if the engine exceeded 1,400 R.P.M. The SITA 6000 packer system is one of the simplest ever designed, of robust construction with very few moving parts. The breakout at the right of the cut-away drawing shows the heavy-duty roller bearings that support the paddle pivot shaft. The model 6000R (at left) was outfitted to handle the round Palladin bins. Hand-loading of smaller bins could be done on either side of the lift mechanism. Rectangular bins of up to 1.3 cbm called for the 6000S (right). This lift folded under the hopper lip when not in use, allowing crews unobstructed hand-loading access. Later Bradley versions were sold as the BMV 6000, and the firm went on to build a conventional slide-sweep rear loader until being absorbed by Incomol around 1990. Continuous rear-loading packers were making their last stand about this time, and the Sita 6000 was itself replaced by a slide-sweep design. Though no longer produced, its novel packing mechanism was destined to find a new life as it has been incorporated into many automated side loader (ASL) designs, most notably by Rapid Rail/Heil in the USA, and MacDonald-Johnston in Australia. In this respect, the System 6000 still lives on. Above: Bradley BMV 6000 7/4/11 © 2011 Eric Voytko All Rights Reserved Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers Photos from factory brochures/trade advertisements except as noted