Spam/Phish> Re: [AT] Towing

Sat Sep 2 13:32:38 PDT 2006

Al,  the first tobacco trucks I remember were 4 wheeled with a front axle 
that pivoted under the front of the "truck". (For those following along Al 
grew up about maybe 60 miles from where I did and I'm sure he's seen these 
same carts)  The whole rig was made usually out of oak or maybe cypress.  If 
they were made of pine it was probably heart pine.  Even the wheels were 
wooden with a metal rim.  They were only about maybe  10" to 1 foot diameter 
and about 2 1/2 or 3 inches thick. The axle frames were wooden with a piece 
of iron rod about 3/4 diameter fastened to the bottom and extending through 
the wheel center with a big washer and a nail or something holding the wheel 
on.

The deck of the truck or cart  (depending on where you live), was a flat 
wood deck about 30" wide and just above the small wheels.  It had a hole 
drilled in each corner and one half way down each side. A post, usually made 
of white  oak, was driven in the holes.  The top of the post had a nail 
driven in it with the head cut off.  A burlap curtain hung from the nails 
and encircled the truck to hold the carefully laid tobacco leaves in place. 
These were made to be pulled by mules.

Later on we went to a "truck" that was about 3 feet wide and had one old car 
axle under the middle and a tongue to hitch it to the tractor.  They had a 
bulkhead at each end and a burlap curtain attached to a 1x4 that ran between 
the bulkheads at the top.  They could be taken loose and rolled down out of 
the way when the load of tobacco got to the barn.  Most of these were made 
of pine around home.  They weren't intended to last as long as the old 4 
wheel type.

Charlie

 ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Al Jones" <aljones at ncfreedom.net>
To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'" 
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 2:11 PM
Subject: RE: Spam/Phish> Re: [AT] Towing

> Granddaddy always referred to his as tobacco "carts."  One of my "one of
> these days" projects is to reconstruct one.  I think we have enough bits
> & pieces to get the dimensions right.  He used one old one for years as
> it made the perfect utility trailer for the super A since the trailer
> tread matched the width of the tractor tread.
>
> IIRC they were just made out of pine lumber.  We also have an old hog
> trailer he built, out of oak with a steel frame and a car axle under it.
> It was pretty tough.  I hated that trailer; the back gate was two boards
> which slipped up and down. It was usually my lot to control the gate.
> If I missed and let a hog out, I usually got fussed at.... The trailer
> is under a shelter that collapsed last year in Ophelia, haven't made
> time to drag it out.
>
> Al
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of charlie hill
> Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 7:52 AM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: Spam/Phish> Re: [AT] Towing
>
> TRUCKS John,  over here in the east we call them tobacco trucks.  LOL.
>
> However the new ones that are made for automatic primers and bulk barns
> are
> called trailers.   In days long gone by I've pulled as many as 4 tobacco
>
> "trucks" behind a tractor.  As you said, they are usually so crudely
> built
> that even at 12 mph they start to fishtail.
> We never pulled them far, maybe a couple of miles to another farm or
> barn.
> We pulled them behind pickups that way too but very slowly.
>
> Charlie
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "John Hall" <jthall at worldnet.att.net>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 7:03 AM
> Subject: Spam/Phish> Re: [AT] Towing
>
>
>> Never seen anyone here in NC towing boats behind campers or such but
> we
>> have been towing 2-3 farm items hooked together for years, thats not
> to
>> say it is legal. We have towed 2 wagons (unloaded) behind the baler a
> few
>> times. It used to be a common site to see 2 or more tobacco trailers
>> (slides, drags, whatever your area called them) hooked together going
> down
>> the road. Most of the time these trailers were so poorly built we
> never
>> ran over 25mph. Likewise they normally were on a back road too and
> only
>> for a short distance. I had a cousin with a custom hitch on his pickup
> so
>> he could pull these traielrs side by side. It was a little wide but
> they
>> didn't fishtail as bad. Then he decided to hook 4 beind his truck---2
> on
>> each side. He'd have never done it if he weren't on some back country
> dirt
>> roads. The sheriff might would have had something to say about it!!
>>
>> John Hall
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> AT mailing list
>> Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
>> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>>
>>
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>
> _______________________________________________
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> Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
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>
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