1914 Fruehauf Truck Trailer

01

Artifact Overview

In 1914 Detroit blacksmith August Fruehauf devised a simple single axle trailer for lumber dealer Frederic Sibley. Hooked to a modified Ford Model T, it carried Sibley's boat on vacation trips. Sibley then had Fruehauf modify the trailer for hauling lumber. This "semi-trailer," as Fruehauf called it, is the ancestor of trailers carrying freight all over American roads today.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Truck trailer

Date Made

1914

Creator Notes

Made by August Charles Fruehauf and Otto Neumann in Detroit, Michigan.

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

62.114.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Fruehauf Corporation.

Material

Iron (Metal)
Wood (Plant material)
Rubber (Material)

Color

Black (Color)
Yellow (Color)

Dimensions

Height: 72 in
Width: 71 in
Length: 167 in

Inscriptions

Forward sections on each side: F. M. SIBLEY/ LUMBER CO. Trailer chassis on left side: FRUEHAUF/ TRAILER/ DETROIT
1914 Fruehauf Truck Trailer