1954 Montgomery Ward teardrop trailer video

[MeelisV]

found this video

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Pretty interesting! Thanks for sharing!

[grant whipp]

Pretty cool, and well thought out ... ...! Don't know how you found this, but I guess there's almost anything waiting to be found somewhere on the internet ... ...! I'd really like to find more info on the trailer itself!

Thanks for posting it, and as always ...

CHEERS!

[CarlLaFong]

More uninformed opinions. I had a similar one wheeled trailer that we towed all over the western states. I never fell into a ditch, it didn't swing over anymore than the big class A motorhomes with their huge overhangs, it was perfectly legal. Load capacity will exceed anything you'd want to pack in it. We loaded ours with all of our gear and the dog without any problems. Changing a flat is simple unless you don't have a jack and a wrench. The hitch the guy made is nothing like the original which had two parallel arms that extended from each side and connected, with pins, to two special brackets that clamped onto the bumper. Pitch and yaw were not an issue with the correct hitch. Sears, Monkey Ward and others sold thousands of them, for years and years and now, suddenly, they're no good, dangerous and illegal??

[Redgloves]

I googled single wheel trailers, there is are current manufactures of single and double swivel wheel trailers. THis site has FAQ's, FAST MASTER PRODUCTS, INC. http://www.cruiserlift.com/swivelwheelfaq.html.

Jean

[Mojave Bob]

Slow is right about the tail-wag being an issue, but I've no idea if there are any legal problems associated with that. Carl is also right that it isn't all that different than some larger motorhomes. BUT, I know of more than one owner of larger motorhomes who has sideswiped cars in city traffic or parking lots because the tail wags out. Just notice how many big rigs have damage on the rear corners. A lot. I've seen signs posted on the back of motorhomes that warn other drivers, and I've seen signs posted inside motorhomes to remind the driver to be careful. This arrangement seems to have neither. So, yeah, I'd say it could be a hazard, although not an insurmountable one. This trailer basically takes your car's 2-foot overhang, and turns it into about a 12-foot whopper overhang. That's pretty big.

I, too, have seen some single-wheel trailers. The ones I've seen are smaller than this. My sightings may or may not be representative of the breed. Load capacity on this one (it has two wheels) should not be all that different than a standard trailer. However, did you notice the lateral force the trailer exerted against the vehicle when the wheels pivoted? That is a lot of stress. I'd be a bit concerned about that. True, it only comes into play when switching directions, but that could unduly wear the coupler mechanism, or the welds, or the mount points.

[CarlLaFong]

The guy needs to loose that hitch and use a two point hitch like it came with. The tail swinging thing is real and you need to adjust your driving accordingly.

[Martiangod]

any vehicle when driven incorrectly can be a hazard to other drivers. On the hyway, the lack of gap betrween the tear and that TV would help towing gas milage alot. Why dos anything different bring out the nay-sayers?

[Mojave Bob]

I don't think this was nay-saying. We are a community of people with a bent towards building our own campers, or modifying our own campers to better suit our needs. So, we are always on the lookout for ideas to use on our own builds. When we see a new one, we evaluate it to find its relative merits and demerits, to figure out if it is a good idea.

The particular idea shown in the video is quite interesting. As you said, it has the merit of better-than-average airflow, but it also has the demerit of taking a tiny trailer and giving it the handling characteristics of a massive motorhome.

It is true that this tail-wagging behavior can be mitigated by modified driving behavior, but very few people really modify their driving behavior when towing. Just read all the threads about "my trailer tows great at 110 mph" or "I forget it's back there". With this much tail wag, you'd better not forget it's back there!

[Shadow Catcher]

I haven't see a Brat in years and like most of the early Subaru's it sounds like VW bug under water. Cool trailer, But I like ours!

[mezmo]

I agree he needs to convert it back to a double
attachment point hitch. It's not meant to roll or yaw,
just pitch up and down a little at the two hitch points,
with the swivel wheel suspension doing its part too.

One of these essentially converts you to a longer
vehicle with a enter pivot point to judge your [and
its] position and direction from. Just adjust your driving
to that, like you would need to do for any other driving
configuration you are not used to.

Here's a link to the overall topic:
http://www.singlewheel.com/

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[Corwin C]

I agree he needs to convert it back to a double
attachment point hitch. It's not meant to roll or yaw,
just pitch up and down a little at the two hitch points,
with the swivel wheel suspension doing its part too.

The problem is that it isn't a single wheel trailer, it has two bogies. Therefore, the hitch must allow roll and pitch, but not yaw. I agree though, that the hitch appears to be very undersized to handle the yaw forces that it's being subjected to.

[CarlLaFong]

No, it does not need to pitch and yaw. the one wheel and two wheeled variants, like the one shown, all used a two point hitch. The hitch pivots at it's attachment point. The independently sprung wheels allowed for uneven surfaces, etc. He over thought the whole deal when he built that hitch. I wouldn't tow it up my driveway. The stresses at the pivot point must be huge. If he happens to hit a curb or a big pot hole while going around a corner, something is going to give

[Corwin C]

I disagree ... it has to flex in pitch. The two-point hitches flex in pitch. Otherwise if you drive through a dip, the rear wheels on the car will be held off the ground by the trailer.

Also with two bogies, if one wheel rises up on anything it will attempt to twist the hitch off unless there is a degree of flexibility in roll. It would have to be an awfully soft suspension to prevent causing problems if roll was fixed.

If it only had a single bogie (like most of these trailers are), it can't flex in roll or the trailer would tip over.

The ideas behind the hitch are good, it's implementation ... I'd call it marginal.

[CarlLaFong]

Maybe I wasn't clear. The two point hitch pivots on the bumper mounts, so the TVs wheels won't come off of the ground. The independent suspension, as well as flex in the chassis and hitch arms, will compensate for road irregularities. There were thousands of the trailers sold, many are still in use with a hitch and suspension system, that by some accounts, won't work. It isn't a space shuttle or an Indy car. It's a itty bitty utility trailer.