Did you have any idea that the first semi-trailers built now would be over 110 years old? If you haven’t, then this article will be enlightening for you. Here’s a brief history of how semi trucks were invented, how they became popular, and when the idea of using them to haul cargo really took off. You may be surprised at how far semi-trucks have come since their first incarnation was built in the late 1800s.
The invention of the semi-trailer
The semi truck was invented in Cleveland, Ohio by a budding car manufacturer named Alexander Winton. He first started making his “horseless carriages” in 1896 and was quite successful. This success, however, had a major downfall. Because Winton was able to sell cars to customers that were located far from Cleveland, he had to deliver these vehicles hundreds of miles away. These cars were too expensive to get to prospective customers, and delivery added wear and tear and excess mileage to the vehicles.
In 1898, Winton invented the first tractor trailer as a delivery solution. By the following year, Winston’s company was building several tractor-trailers not only for its own use, but also for sale to other automakers.
The evolution of the popularity of Semi
In 1900, the major freight forwarding companies emerged, some of which still exist. One such company from Brooklyn, New York, ‘Mack Trucks’, began developing its own engines with automatic starters, eliminating the need for a crank. In 1904, a Detroit blacksmith named August Charles Fruehauf invented a similar carriage to transport a ship. He called the vehicle a “semi-trailer” because without front wheels, it can only be used with a tractor. Fruehauf and a friend toppled and bolted a two-wheeler that he hooked to the rear of a Model-T chassis. He then used a pole to act as a break and a tongue.
Another inventor, John C. Endebrock, invented something similar in 1916. His “trailmobile” was also pulled by a Model T, but his trailer had an iron frame. A little later, in 1939, a Tacoma, Washington sawmill realized that the use of semi-trailers would be a profitable alternative to the horse teams and riverboats they currently used to transport logs. They bought surplus Army trucks and redesigned them by outfitting them with trailers made especially for hauling lumber. This company, ‘Peterbilt’, is now one of the world’s leading semi-trailer producers.
The idea begins to take off
In 1904, the roads of the United States at any given time were home to fewer than 700 semi-trailers. However, in 1914, that number ballooned to 25,000, and within 10 years, the number ballooned to approximately 416,569.
The big change came around 1916 with the passage of the Federal Highway Relief Act, which provided $75,000,000 in federal money to match state funds to build 6% of state highways over a five-year period. After this, the number of semi trucks on the road exploded. Then, in 1921, the Federal Highway Act ensured that more than 3,000,000 miles of public roads would be added as part of the national highway system. With more roads, more goods could be transported from one place to another, and the trucking industry began to flourish.
Until the 1920s, semi-trailers were built for utility, not comfort. Some early models featured solid, rotund rubber wheels and had mechanical braking systems that could only travel short distances at low speeds on dirt roads. Eventually, trailer manufacturers went into business for themselves building trailers separately, while heavy truck companies produced only the truck part.
After a while, truck and trailer manufacturers began using balloon tires, and around the same time, truck builders also developed closed cabs, which provided greater comfort for the driver traveling long distances. Technological advances over the next two decades included the development of hydraulic brakes and pneumatic tires, which helped increase the workload that semi-trailers could easily carry.
Today, semi-trailers still dominate the roads and are still considered the fastest and most efficient method of delivering most basic products, especially construction and agricultural materials. Over the decades, many advances have been made in the technology used to build trucks, and trailer manufacturers have also constantly improved their design. However, the basic premise and purpose of the semi remains basically the same as when it was first created.