Are you wondering who jumpstarted the idea of an 18-wheeler?
The idea of the trailer truck started way back in 1896. Alexander Winton, an automotive manufacturer. discovered the 18-wheeler while navigating his business empire. He was the CEO and founder of The Winton Motor Carriage Company of Cleveland. He saw the difficulty of delivering cars to buyers. He realized how hard it is to get around with buyers all over the United States or practically located hundreds of miles away from his location in Cleveland, Ohio. He could drive the car to be delivered right into the buyer’s garage but this could be very expensive and he couldn’t risk damage on the vehicles.
In order to transport cars, he attached the tractor to the back of the truck. However, the early version of the semi-trailer can only transport one car at a time which clearly needs more modification.
His invention of the ‘automobile hauler” or semi-trailer paved the way for massive automotive sales as he also began designing and manufacturing trailer trucks for other car manufacturers in the United States.
The early version of the 18-wheeler can only mount one car. It also took so much time and manpower to fasten the car onto the trailer truck.
As the demand for the trailer truck grew, modifications were put in place in order to improve productivity and ease of use. While Winton was busy keeping up with the increasing demand for the 18-wheeler, other automotive manufacturing companies were tinkering on design modifications for the 18-wheeler.
As far as the future of 18-wheelers, technology will determine its fate. “The need to transports goods from point A to point B won’t ever disappear, said Jason Dasher, the President of Capital Solutions, “and it is my opinion that tractor-trailers are here for the long haul.”
Self-driving cars might be the wave of the future, but the current system in place seems to be the best way in which to transport commodities. As far as costing is concerned, the 18-wheeler is the most effective way to get the job done.
Today, the 18-wheeler is used for far more than delivering automobiles! Join the successful industry by obtaining your commercial driver’s license (CDL) from San Jose Truck Driving School.
