ChevymackIn 1914 the owner of a Lumber company needed a trailer to haul his boat to his new residence.
Enters August Charles Fruehauf, a Detroit blacksmith. He would modify the Model T below, with the help of Otto Neuman, for the trailer to sit on a pole and pivot. This also applied weight to the Model T and August would coin this design asthe "semi-trailer".
Fast forward to 1917 and America has entered World War 1.
August, even of German heritage, recognized opportunity and sought out military contra... moreIn 1914 the owner of a Lumber company needed a trailer to haul his boat to his new residence.
Enters August Charles Fruehauf, a Detroit blacksmith. He would modify the Model T below, with the help of Otto Neuman, for the trailer to sit on a pole and pivot. This also applied weight to the Model T and August would coin this design asthe "semi-trailer".
Fast forward to 1917 and America has entered World War 1.
August, even of German heritage, recognized opportunity and sought out military contracts for his "semi-trailer". This would lead to him incorporating as the first commercial semi-trailer manufacturer and filing the patent for the modern fifth wheel.
The truck below is the very truck he retrofitted and is on display The Henry Ford Museum in Detroit.
ChevymackIn 1914 the owner of a Lumber company needed a trailer to haul his boat to his new residence.
Enters August Charles Fruehauf, a Detroit blacksmith. He would modify the Model T below, with the help of Otto Neuman, for the trailer to sit on a pole and pivot. This also applied weight to the Model T and August would coin this design asthe "semi-trailer".
Fast forward to 1917 and America has entered World War 1.
August, even of German heritage, recognized opportunity and sought out military contra... moreIn 1914 the owner of a Lumber company needed a trailer to haul his boat to his new residence.
Enters August Charles Fruehauf, a Detroit blacksmith. He would modify the Model T below, with the help of Otto Neuman, for the trailer to sit on a pole and pivot. This also applied weight to the Model T and August would coin this design asthe "semi-trailer".
Fast forward to 1917 and America has entered World War 1.
August, even of German heritage, recognized opportunity and sought out military contracts for his "semi-trailer". This would lead to him incorporating as the first commercial semi-trailer manufacturer and filing the patent for the modern fifth wheel.
The truck below is the very truck he retrofitted and is on display The Henry Ford Museum in Detroit.
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