1946 Fruehauf Semi-Trailer, Used by Cole's Express
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This 1946 Fruehauf Model FF Aerovan was a standard dry freight trailer during the 1940s. A freight trailer was a simple idea. Built with no front axle, the trailer's front is supported by a vehicle that pulls it, now called a tractor. This trailer has been painted to match the tractor used by the Coles Express, Inc., of Maine. …
This 1946 Fruehauf Model FF Aerovan was a standard dry freight trailer during the 1940s. A freight trailer was a simple idea. Built with no front axle, the trailer's front is supported by a vehicle that pulls it, now called a tractor. This trailer has been painted to match the tractor used by the Coles Express, Inc., of Maine.
In 1914, Detroit blacksmith August Fruehauf built a trailer with no front axle to help move a client's boat. The client, who owned a lumberyard, saw the hauling potential for his business and contracted with Fruehauf to build more semi-trailers, as it was named. The success of the semi-trailer led to the incorporation of Fruehauf Trailer Company in 1918.
The freight or semi-trailer was a simple idea. The trailer's front is supported by the vehicle that pulls it, now called a tractor. A model of efficiency, a tractor can drop off a trailer and pick up another without waiting for unloading. Tractor-trailers are like one-locomotive, one-boxcar trains independent of rails. In fact, they've replaced trains for hauling most freight.
This 1946 Fruehauf Model FF Aerovan was a standard dry freight trailer of the industry during the 1940s. Purchased in early 1947 by The Goodwill Department Stores of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, it was never used. It was repurchased by Fruehauf in 1973 and later donated to The Henry Ford. The trailer has been painted to create a typical post-World War II tractor-trailer unit used by the Coles Express, Inc. of Maine.
Artifact
Semitrailer
Date Made
1946
Keywords
On Exhibit
at Henry Ford Museum in Driving America
Object ID
88.382.1
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Fruehauf Trailer Company.
Material
Metal
Rubber (Material)
Color
Orange (Color)
Black (Color)
Inscriptions
Painted on side of trailer: Since 1917 COLE'S EXPRESS / No. 199 Daily Service between Portland, Augusta, Waterville, Bangor and all Aroostook "The Garden of Maine" / Capacity 24,000 lbs / Gross wt. 44000 lbs
Specifications
Make & Model: 1946 Fruehauf semi-trailer
Maker: Fruehauf Trailer Company, Detroit, Michigan
Height: 11 feet 1 inches
Width: 8 feet 5 inches
Overall length: 26 feet
Weight: 15,000 pounds
Price: $3,176
Average 1946 wage: $2,473 per year
Time you'd work to buy this trailer: about 1 year, 4 months
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