Are there Trycycle or , " THREE ACTIVE Wheel Trailers "

[Martinup]

Hi all:

I am researching retractable landing gear on airplanes and mostly sea planes where the land wheels retract up into the fuselage and or into the wings in some cases.

This question jumped up at me:

Are there any single axle trailers made that have a third wheel closely positioned to the hitch and or near the front of the body of the trailer, that actively work to carry the trailer's weight so that the tow vehicle is literally dragging the trailer's load?


I realize that there are two things that might need to be included with such a configuration if it were to be of any use:

1) Some kind of manual adjustable height control so that, " SOME ", of the tounge weight would remain on the tow vehicle hitch. Some sort of weight
indicator could be included to tell you what exactly the tounge weight is.
2) This third wheel would probably have to be a steering wheel.


My thoughts are; " If this was a workable scenario at all;

A) a lighter rated axle could be used because the front wheel is helping to carry the load of trailer . . .
B) the steel or aluminum trailer frame could be made with lighter gauge materials ? "



Martin

[desertmoose]

There would have to be a horizontal pivot so when you go through a dip, the third wheel could follow the terrain.

Think of a tongue jack that clears on level ground, but drags going through a dip. (Don't ask how I know this.....)

Sam

[absolutsnwbrdr]

You'd essentially be pulling a 3 wheeled wagon, which I don't think would work out well at all through the turns. Have you heard of the Reliant Robin?

Fast forward to about 2:00 min...

[mary and bob]

Watch the old Lucy & Desi movie "The long long trailer" and check out their tow setup.

[wagondude]

There were some vintage trailers that had loas wheels at the tongue. They were large travel trailers designed to be pulled by regular passenger cars. The tongue weight of these large trailers would have made the cars wheelie without the load wheels. Pictures have benn linked/posted in the past. Maybe some one could find one for you.

[mezmo]

In the 1960s and 1970s there was a towing aid called the "Watson Towing Dolly",
made by the Watson Company. It was a dual caster wheel setup, hydraulically damped
[suspended too possibly - don't really know specifically] that bolted to the trailer
A-frame tongue [the tongue rested upon it] and which had its own heavy steel/aluminum
bar A-frame, that moved/pitched up and down, with its own hitch/coupler that hooked onto
the ball on the tow vehicle's hitch, in place of the trailer's coupler. Its purpose was to take the
hitch weight off of the tow vehicle, so that all the tow vehicle did was to pull the trailer-dolly
combo. No hitch weight was bourne by the tow vehicle. This was just a variation on the
various towing dollies that have been used since travel trailers came on the scene. As
travel trailers grew and became heavier [growing into house trailers], especially in the
1940s-50s, these became a way to handle/manage increasing hitch weights. If they are
'permanently' affixed to the trailer, they essentially make it into what you are talking about.
[I was unable to find any pics of the Watson tow dolly, but if you look in a travel trailer
magazine of that time, you should be able to easily find an advert on it.]

I have also seen a pic of a 1930s TT, that had a third-front wheel built into the tongue.

Another brand of dolly, with 4 bogey wheels, was used with the New Moon housetrailer
in the 1950s Lucy & Desi Movie, "The Long Long Trailer":



Here is a link to the Australian Vintage Caravans site. They have a thread on their tow dollys.
[It seems they were a solution to a universal problem]. Pay attention to the 'Jones' dolly -
it is integrated into the tongue area of the trailer [caravan] chassis/frame, thus making it
essentially a 3-Wheel trailer:

http://vintagecaravans.proboards.com/in ... hread=2892

If you wanted to make a 3-wheel trailer today, you could probably use a swivel wheel,
like they use on the single wheel trailers, positioned up front in/on the tongue area like
one of the old-style dollies, with a hitching tongue that would pivot/pitch up and down
when hitched to the tow vehicle.

Here are some swivel wheel trailer examples:

http://www.singlewheel.com/
http://www.smarttrailers.com/
http://www.cruiserlift.com/swivelwheel.html

This company will sell you the swivel wheel suspension unit [750lb rating], but you need
to purchase a couple hubs and the wheel and tire seperately/additionally:
http://www.doublehitch.com/?gclid=CNrl2 ... 5QodZRcupA

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[Martinup]

Hi all:

Wow so many good responses.

Zack: Thanks for that You tub video. That was best laugh I have had in while. I still chuckle just thinking about it . . . and I watched it 12 hrs ago.

Norm: Thank you for so much detailed stuff. I want to drill down, Study and look at it the morning when I am fresh. I finally got back to view your response.

I appreciate the substance and good input from quite a few of the members that I have received in the off topic section over the past week or so.
I hope to build something special and with so many great builders here there is no reason that won't happen.


It is late here on, " The WET coast of BC"

Martin

[Martinup]

Norm mezmo:

I am soo stoked . . . . . .
YOUR serious study and information on this whole topic Nailed it for me.

Thank you for opening it up for all up for me.

Your whole post was excellent because I can use much of it to achieve what I want.

With all the diversity in knowledge and ways of trailering will enable me to simply and easily compartmentalize my objective:

A trailer boat that functions Gracefully on Land and Water .

Criteria:
1) Light weight and as strong or durable as possible.
2) Simple and Practical so everyone can learn to use it. I mean easy towing backing up, parking and launch into the
water. Not so big that it creates traffic jams and a hazard to other drivers.
3) Safe in the water. Meaning it can take a beating from rough weather water and very hard to sink. In the event of
a Capsize it would still float.
4) Modular in nature so as to come apart and not have to take too much unnecessary weight where it is not needed.

The variety of hitching and handling weight distribution is the key to what is I am so happy about. It is not completely formulated yet on paper but there is enough in my head that I can now get into my shop and put together something really sleek and slick.

High Kudos . . . I am excited,

Martin

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Zack: Thanks for that You tub video. That was best laugh I have had in while. I still chuckle just thinking about it . . . and I watched it 12 hrs ago.

Hope it didn't deter you in your search!! It was just the first thing that I thought of when I read your post

[Martinup]

Hey Zak:

No troubles Ehh! The laugh break was exactly what the doc ordered. I take myself too seriously at times. I know you have gone the distance twice now, ( 2 builds & counting).

The leg work; learning , figuring and brainstorming is as much of the journey as the camping and using what we build.

Thanks for the trolley top idea you inspired.

Shiny side up and all that,

Martin

[mezmo]

Hi Martin,

Yer Welcome !

Good to hear it was useful to you - that's why I post info
I have an aquaintance with if I think it could be of help.

Happy Planning !

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo