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| Fifth Wheel Origin | |
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| Topic Started: Jun 13 2005, 06:00 PM (2,817 Views) | |
| cmoehle | Jun 13 2005, 06:00 PM Post #1 |
Chris - San Antonio TX
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Been searching for this for a long time. Used to be a perennial topic over on ORF. The origin of the fifth wheel. Here is what I believe is the first fifth wheel, from the early 30s, built by Glenn Curtiss, the Curtiss Aerocar Land Yacht:  It was used by New York financier Hugh McDonald to take him on his daily journey from Long Island to Wall Street. And here is another, “The Big Land Yacht” , from the late 1930s and owned by Ontario industrialist William M. Gray.  Now, my interest is actually more the origin of the name, and that lies hidden in the trunk of the above car and truck, the fifth wheel hitch:  The assembly is usually bolted to the trunk floor of a passenger coupe (first picture) or specially designed tow vehicle (second picture). The tire is inflated to absorb lateral, longitudinal and vertical road shocks. The trailer's goose neck kingpin slips into the wheel's bearing journal where an axle would normally fit. Now I know why the hitch's called a fifth wheel hitch. Still not sure by what linguistic devices the name was transfered to the trailer itself. Source: Ready to Roll: A Celebration of the Classic American Travel Trailer. |
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Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
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| sylley2000 | Jun 13 2005, 07:01 PM Post #2 |
Sylvia, Grand Bend ON
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Is that the picture of the Glenn Curtis Aero Coupler that he used in his tow vehicle? It said it was an airplane tire mounted horizontally. Enjoyed reading the article. The trailer and the tow vehicle looked quite handsome together:  Sylvia |
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| mychrissy | Jun 13 2005, 07:18 PM Post #3 |
Chrissy
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Wow, how things have changed, I would love to see what the inside of one of them looked like. |
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| cmoehle | Jun 13 2005, 07:30 PM Post #4 |
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Chris - San Antonio TX
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  Best go to the source for more pics of interior and restoration. |
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Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
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| DylansMom | Jun 13 2005, 07:42 PM Post #5 |
Jackie-Sioux Falls, SD (in Arizona for the moment)
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But where is the washer/dryer, central vac and fireplace???????  Great info Chris, thanks! 
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Greg, Dylan & Jasper too! 2005 F350 King Ranch PSD Crew Cab 4x4 Dually; 2005 Carriage Carri-lite KIQ View My Pictures Here 
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| mychrissy | Jun 13 2005, 08:00 PM Post #6 |
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Chrissy
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That's right, where's all the fun stuff? Chris, this is something roboots should see. He is doing a complete remodeling job on his trailer. 
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Chrissy | |
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| cmoehle | Jun 14 2005, 04:26 AM Post #7 |
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Chris - San Antonio TX
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I couldn't believe it when I saw the restoration pictures, truck and 5er were is sad shape, but to look at them now you'd never know. |
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Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
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| sylley2000 | Jun 14 2005, 07:32 AM Post #8 |
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Sylvia, Grand Bend ON
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The restoration was amazing. People who do this kind of work are often dedicated artisans with talents beyond what you would find in highly skilled tradesmen. They take great pride in their creations and with justification. Using more modern materials and techniques, the finished product is often superior to the original. If they were paid for their labours, they would be super rich, but those qualities are almost never rewarded by societies. And I'm really not sure they would care, their reward is the finished restoration and not its monetary value. BTW, I did calculate what it would be worth based on its 1925 price of $5,000. But it calculated it using only inflation (Consumer Price Index) -- the figure is $62,500. The model T Ford in 1925 sold for $375--using those numbers, today's value would be $4,148.63 -- so there is a lot more than inflation that accounts for the price of automobiles and RV's in 2005. It really is market driven, like most things. Sylvia |
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