The Long, Long, Trailer by Clinton Twiss

[TRfour]

' Horse ' !!!!

After tugging a very large 46' 7.5 ton trailer 4,376 miles from coast to coast!
My Dad got transferred to Santa Maria California. The horses of courses, included a very stout 1949 Buick RoadMaster straight 8, with a dynaflow automatic transmission. Did I already mention that?

Well, shortly after arriving there it was decided to sell that Buick, in account, cause it was brutal on gas.
Now, I cried for days after, since I couldn't see that O'l 19 and 49 Buick any more.

I got over it after a bit, but I did save some photos what show just how much she was missed when my Dad got transfered, and we had to move some more!


Could have baught 27 1949 Buicks, for what it cost to move us to Santa Maria.

Photos as follows,

#1. Dad, Keeping An Eye On Home... me too, today... He's there to the left in this pic! Love You Dad!

#2. Dad, kicking his butt That He Sold The Buick Too!

#3. OH, So Move'in On!... Isn't that what we must do?...

#4. For Breakfast? On A Flat Bed?



Here's hoping that you'all are enjoying some of this LONG LONG Trailer!
Course, it he'pps to have a big mouth along the way.
' NO Fishing '!!!!

Love, Terry

[TRfour]

Too!
We never got to sit around and watch football on TV. Sunday afternoon could include taking some soap and water to our 46' mobile home.

We were a large family on a mission back in 1952. There were things that needed to get done, on any given day!
There are many wonderful memories and pictures that we share with Y'All here.


They didn't make car washes, back in the day that would accommodate our trailer, so we washed the Magic Carpet on site, whenever we could!

Love,

[Tincrew]

I was able to get the Long Long Trailer on an inter-library loan and it was wonderful. So glad to have found this thread and looking forward to Terry's next installment.

[TRfour]

Will flourish here forever more!!!!
Thank you Tincrew!

In my research, I was absolutely thrilled to find Him on this very wonderful website!!!!

When I first posted here, it was not my intention to hyjack this thread in any way! I looked around only to find that my family has qualified " in the long long trailer category. "

I wasn't really sure where else to tell our story. I would like to thank all of you that have welcomed me, and whom have given positive comments above.

Starting out with a very large family, it's very comforting to know that we are growing every day!
Thank You All soooo smooch!
Love, Terry

S'more antiques;

Pic #1. Home Warming, In Stoneham Ma.!

Pic#2. Mapping Our Way, On A Lunch Break!

Pic #3. Leaving New York!

Pic #4. More Antiques, Olds 88 ?, And Some 1949 Fords Too! [ again, not a resume photo. ]

Pic #5. Mom And Sister June Fix'n Dinner!

[Globie64]

WOW TRFour, what great images, thank you so much for sharing, and for sharing your story! I've made it through the first two pages of posts, and am looking forward to more and the additional pages. FYI anyone looking for books, Abe books has been good for finding obscure stuff, as well as Ebay. I've been looking for more travel writing to read. On that subject, almost any of the books by the late English travel author Eric Newby are great fun, not trailer-related but great travel stories written in a wonderful dry British style. Thanks again!

[TRfour]

You are very welcome,, and thanks for your comments!
I will keep posting here for as 'long as folks want us!
Love Terry

[wheel interested]

Oh we want you!! I love the black and white photography and I only wish that everyone could feel the warm embrace of nostalgia as it now brings to me.
Instead of a book, now I think these pictures should be enlarged and viewed in an exhibit. I could happily pour over the details and transport myself to yesteryear and just get lost in these pictures. For those that never knew the times it would kindle an appreciation and curiosity of history and sociology. Thanks for sharing Terry. Your contribution is priceless. The pictorials of family life, the open road and Americana are grand illustrations of the times.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, this story is great. When I was your age, under five, my parents and four kids traveled in a 1939 Buick. We didn't have a trailer, but a big tent. Our Buick also had the straight eight and I liked that engine. We had a stick shift. It's hard enough for me to imagine a Buick straight eight towing that huge trailer, but really hard for me to imagine doing it with a Dyna-Flow trans. Keep the story going and more pictures if you have them.

[Globie64]

It is great to see the Buick as a tow car, my dad was a Buick. I do wonder too about the Dynaflow for towing, such an early version, kind of a one speed transmission. Probably better than a stick shift to get something so big under way.

[TRfour]

Originally Posted by Globie64

It is great to see the Buick as a tow car, my dad was a Buick. I do wonder too about the Dynaflow for towing, such an early version, kind of a one speed transmission. Probably better than a stick shift to get something so big under way.

Hi Globie64.
The Dynaflow in our 1949 Buick was not the most efficient and if anyone used it to tow, with the fuel prices of today, they'd probably need to own an oil company! The 1949 Buick was brutal on fuel, 4-5 miles per gallon. Just remember that gas was about .17-.20 cents a gallon back then.

However, the Dynaflow was virtually indestructible and towed our house from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts, and all of the mountains, [Rockies], and in between. It used 1/2 pint of transmission fluid over the whole trip!

Here's some history on it , Credit Wikipedia.

Dynaflow was the trademark name for a type of automatic transmission developed and built by General Motors' Buick Motor Division from the late 1940s to the mid 1960s. The Dynaflow, which was introduced for the 1948 model year only as an option on Roadmaster models, received some severe early testing in the M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, which were built in Buick's Flint, Michigan assembly plant during World War II. It was also used in the 1951 Le Sabre concept car.[1]
The Dynaflow initially used a five-element torque converter, with two turbines and two stators, as well as a planetary gearset that provided two forward speeds plus reverse. In normal driving, Dynaflow started in high gear (direct drive), relying on the converter's torque multiplication to accelerate the vehicle. Low gear, obtained via the planetary gearset, could be manually engaged and held up to approximately 40 mph (64 km/h), improving acceleration. However, the transmission was incapable of automatic shifting, requiring the driver to move the shift lever from low to drive to cause an upshift. Buicks equipped with the Dynaflow transmissions were unique among American automobiles of the time in that the driver or his/her passengers would not detect the tell-tale interruption in acceleration that resulted when other automatic transmissions of the time shifted through their gears. Acceleration through a Dynaflow was one smooth (if inefficient) experience.

I've been a gearhead most of my life, and adjusted the valves on my older brother Fred's 1934 Chevy in the driveway at our home in Andover Ma., before we moved to Stoneham, at the tender young age of six years old.

I'm happy that you are enjoying our story too! Thanks for your input!

[TRfour]

Here's an official, looking over some other folks, trying to find the football!!!!

' Only Kidding ' !!
Love Terry


Another pic.

[Globie64]

Cool, thanks for the post on the Dynaflow, and being a fellow gearhead, I had read that on Wikipedia. I bet that straight eight had a bunch of torque as well, can imagine that the fluid setup in the Dynaflow would've been more durable than, say, a mechanically complicated Hydramatic. Nerdy stuff, but I find it fascinating. Keep the pics coming, they really are great!

[TRfour]

[ Gearheads ]... What ever came with the stock 1949 Buick Roadmaster's transmission cooler set up, is what was used.

Later in life, my Wife and I bought a 28' travel trailer and towed it with a 1979 T Bird Ford, with a 351 V8 and automatic transmission. However, I installed a very large external transmission cooler, and the 28'er was in no way as heavy as the 46'er that the Buick towed from Coast to Coast!

We kept the travel trailer loaded so as we could just hook her up on a Friday night and spend the weekend down on the Cape, and also towed it up to our property on the Cabot Trail Cape Breton Island NS. for two weeks at a time vacation's twice every year.
I guess you could say that once hooked on the travel bug, your always ready to go.

I had mentioned earlier in this thread that the Magic Carpet had a heavy tongue weight. Any trailer built today, 46' long would have three or even four axles to alleviate this condition.

A picture, Dad to the left, talking with a sales rep. about one of the tongue dollies that he tried out before we left Stoneham on our journey.

[Airslide]

Terry,

Great picture. Did that tow dolly have any type of suspension? Seems to be a straight axle of some sort with partial tongue weight on the tow vehicle and the majority I suppose on the dolly. Funny that we worry about road shock to our airstreams and that unit must have transfered every vibration and pothole right up through the frame of the trailer. Did anyone ever ride in the Magic Carpet while in tow? Wonder what the ride was like inside..Thanks for sharing..

Vinnie

[Aage]

If you've seen the movie that this thread was about, you will remember that "Nickie" bought a two dolly as part of his rigging of the new car.

And that was the first time I ever saw or heard of one of those.

Seems like a dangerous concept to me; how could it NOT waggle about?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by Airslide

Terry,

Great picture. Did that tow dolly have any type of suspension? Seems to be a straight axle of some sort with partial tongue weight on the tow vehicle and the majority I suppose on the dolly. Funny that we worry about road shock to our airstreams and that unit must have transfered every vibration and pothole right up through the frame of the trailer. Did anyone ever ride in the Magic Carpet while in tow? Wonder what the ride was like inside..Thanks for sharing..

Vinnie

Hi, Vinnie. If you blow up the picture, you can see little leaf springs on the tow dolly.

[TRfour]

" A picture, Dad to the left, talking with a sales rep. about one of the tongue dollies that he tried out before we left Stoneham on our journey. "

I guess I should have capitalized 'One Of", above.

After trying out several different designs, Dad decided on a triple wheeled air over hydraulic unit that was similar to a front wheeled landing gear on an aircraft, and yes, it was very smooth. Just had to keep the tire pressures equal, or it would go to shimmying.

Here's a pic of the unit we ended up using. Worked out great!

PS. Thank you RBERTSUNRUS for keep'in an eye on things while I was away.

[TRfour]

Back in 19 and 52, and pry er to our journey west, some folks would get to town maybe once a month.

With our family, we always had a large garden and raised various livestock for fresh foods.
Mom was one of the very best seamstress's and often maid our cloths, and including suites for Church and school, among many other talents. Oh, she was the best cook on this planet too! Now, my Dad was a good cook too, and often cooked our Sunday meals to kinda give Mom a break. What an adorable couple they were! Love You Both!

Again, us children, not to have fallen very far from the tree, were taught to, and we often did make our own Christmas presents for each other.

I owe all of you wonderful folks here that continue to support our story, many many ((((( HUGS ))))) and a GREAT BIG Thank You!

PS. A special thanks goes out to CarolJ

I could not leave you without another antique picture!

" Hostess, With The Most'ess! "

Pic #1. The Crew, In Town For A Drink ??
Love,

[wheel interested]

Cool!! Thank you for the picture Terry, I was getting dirty looking under the trailer and at the hitches and for that wayward football... Nice to have some refreshments. I remember those drinking cups with the paper inserts and the bottles (rootbeer maybe?) and I think there was a pair of matching mother daughter blouses from New Mexico just like that for mom and me, with full skirts and lace trim just like that in the picture. I also picked up a red flocked bull. I think I was five and on the way to California to visit cousins. Funny the things you can remember that you never knew you even had them kept... What fun this is!

[TRfour]

Yes, and the ice cold drink of that day was Hires Root Beer! Kind of a staple for us back in them days!

Talk about getting Globeled up! Credit wikipedia;
Hires Root Beer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Love,