Trailmobile Trailer History

The history of Trailmobile trailers dates back to the late 19th century. While the brand has been owned by many different companies, it has always been a name that stood for robust engineering and forward-thinking innovation. This Trailmobile history will give you insight into its past, as well as recent hardships and renaissance under Manac ownership.

Trailmobile forerunner

Trailmobile Company can trace its roots back to the days of horse-drawn carriages and vehicles. A man named Daniel M. Sechler worked as a carriage maker in the 1840s and opened a couple of carriage workshops between then and 1879 when he incorporated Sechler and Company. They quickly became one of the largest carriage manufacturers in the world. By the end of the century, motor vehicles had begun to develop and the company needed to consider a new direction of growth. It was an employee named John Endebrock who realized that there was a future in trailers for the new cars and trucks that were being invented. In 1915, they introduced their trailer as the Trailmobile, which was meant to go behind a car, and changed their name to The Trailmobile Company.

Invention of the fifth wheel

One of the great innovations that Trailmobile brought was the engineering of the fifth wheel to make it easier to couple and uncouple the trailer from the vehicle. This concept was patented in 1919 after several years of Enderock searching for an easier solution to hitch and unhitch the semi-trailer, similar to how train cars would lock together and then easily come apart. Prior to this invention, it took three men and jacks to unhitch the trailer. After the introduction of the fifth wheel design, which has changed very little to this day, one man was able to complete the task.

Trailmobile grows and changes

World War I and World War II required Trailmobile to build thousands of specialized trailers to meet the military needs of the time. He also established the Trailmobile brand as a trusted builder of quality trailers. Between the two wars and in the years that followed, the company was merged with other truck manufacturers and sold to different corporations. The name was changed over several years, then changed in 1944 due to the respected name that Trailmobile had developed over the years. Eventually the company became known as Trailmobile Canada Limited in the 1990s.

recession hits

Difficult economic times created by a massive recession that began around 2007 had a major impact on the trucking and shipping industries. Trailmobile Canada Limited was unable to weather the storm and was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2009. Manac bought the company’s assets to expand its number of commercial trailer offerings and recently the Trailmobile brand has been resurrected with the reintroduction of Manac Inc of the Trailmobile UltraPlate.

Despite its many changes over the course of more than 100 years, Trailmobile remains synonymous with quality construction and innovation in tractor trailers and dry vans. We hope you have enjoyed this history of Trailmobile trailers.