Transforming a Roadster into a Truck 



A device which makes it possible for a one- 

 passenger automobile to haul three trailers 



position 



The pleasure 

 car can be 

 changed into 

 a one-ton 

 truck and 

 back again 

 into a pas- 

 senger car in 

 five minutes 



U-shaped pivot 

 .supports \ Elbow, 



Solid trailer axle 



Trailer wheels 



THE conver- At right: The fifth wheel 



S i O n of a device mounted on the 



roadster framework of the car 



automobile into a 



one-ton truck and back again into a pas- 

 senger car in five minutes has been made 

 possible by the use of a patented fifth- 

 wheel device to be set on the rear deck 

 of the car to support the front end of a 

 wagon-like trailer. Both trailer and fifth- 

 wheel are now being made as a unit by a 

 New England manufacturer to enable the 

 owner of any roadster to change his car 

 into a work vehicle and back again as 

 often as desired. 



The fifth-wheel device is mounted on the 

 framework of the car with but six bolts 

 after the rear deck or luggage carrier has 

 been lifted off. The device consists of two 

 wheels of the same size which rub together, 

 one above the other, through lubricating 

 grease. One wheel is mounted on a rock- 

 ing shaft and frame attached to the car, 

 and the other bolted to the underside of 

 the front end of the trailer. 



To connect the trailer with the car, its 

 front end is simply lowered down on to 

 the wheel on the car. Conversely, it may 



T3 



At left: The 

 various parts 

 of the wagon- 

 like trailer, 

 showing the 

 relation of 

 the small 

 wheel to the 

 body parts 



be removed by simply 

 lifting it up by hand, if 

 empty, or by a jack de- 

 vice if loaded. The fifth- 

 wheel device, which can be lifted easily by 

 one man, is then taken off and the rear deck 

 replaced. The car is then ready to take the 

 owner's family out for a pleasure trip. 



The trailer may be fitted with any type 

 of body, according to the class of goods to 

 be carried and principally differs from the 

 ordinary wagon in that it has rubber-tired 

 wheels mounted on roller bearings. These 

 enable the car and trailer to travel at speeds 

 of twenty miles per hour or more and elim- 

 inate the trouble caused by the over- 

 heating of the plain iron bearings such as 

 are used on slow-speed horse wagons. 



The jack device for lifting the front end 

 of the trailer consists of a triangular- 

 shaped framework made of pipe sections. 

 It is pivoted to the underside of the 

 trailer and has a telescoping bar attached 

 to the trailer axle to keep the framework 

 upright when in use. This eliminates the 

 wooden horse formerly used and permits 

 the trailer to be moved from place to place 

 for loading and unloading. 



