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The Sears David Bradley Trailer

Discussion in 'Jeep Trailer Tech' started by maurywhurt, Mar 19, 2010.

  1. Apr 28, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    The trailer pictured below is owned by Greg M. (a.k.a. Farwest). As I told Greg, I certainly don't consider myself to be an expert on these trailers. I'm just trying to piece together their history from incomplete and often confusing bits of evidence. That said, here's what I observed from his photos, and my thoughts based on those observations.

    Like the Ben-Hur Model 22-46, this trailer has round military-style fenders, the early single-bolt type front tongue attachment (as opposed to the later two-bolt plate type attachment) and an early type axle (which I’ve previously described as a “round” axle, but understand is actually round on the bottom and flat on the top).

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    As a side note, a round-fender trailer with the rectangular section axle found on the later model trailers can be seen near the bottom of Page 1 of this thread - it's the previously green one shown after sandblasting and priming. The late axle on that trailer leads me to believe that Ben-Hur, which evidently stopped production of the original version of the trailer in 1947, was not the only manufacturer of the round fender models.

    Unlike the Ben-Hur Model 22-46 and the 1947 David Bradley tailgates, which had long-backstrap hinges, this trailer has the later short-backstrap hinges:

    [​IMG]


    This type of hinge evidently came into use in either 1947 or 1948. I believe this general time frame for the change to the short-backstrap hinges is probably correct, because the wheels on this trailer are the same 16" wheels shown in the 1947 Ben Hur ad (below left) as well as in the 1947 Sears catalog (below center). Below at right is the wheel on Greg’s trailer:

    [​IMG]


    By late 1948 or early 1949, the wheels that came on the David Bradley branded trailers were David Bradley tractor wheels, which were completely different from those pictured above.

    The position and shape of the data plate on this trailer can still be seen in the photo below, though the plate itself is gone. Interestingly, neither the shape nor the location of this data plate match those of either the David Bradley 231-417 or or Ben-Hur trailers I’ve seen to date:.

    [​IMG]


    This could be another version of the Ben-Hur, I suppose - but these differences in the data plate location and shape lead me to wonder if Greg’s trailer may be an example of the same basic design that was produced and sold under the Dunbar Kapple name. As established earlier, Dunbar Kapple built the Model 231-417 David Bradley trailers for Sears.

    Early on, I thought that Sears must have sold both the roadster and round fender models of the trailer. But later, when I saw the Sears Fall 1947 Farm Catalog - the earliest catalog that included the David Bradley trailer - I realized that it showed the trailer with roadster style fenders, not round fenders. This likewise turned out to be the case for each of the subsequent Sears catalogs I've seen. To my knowledge, no solid evidence has surfaced to date indicating that the round fender versions were ever sold by Sears (though the newspaper ad picturing the Ben-Hur Jiffy Camper on a David Bradley trailer does appear to show round fenders, the artwork in that ad was clearly traced directly from the earlier Ben-Hur advertisement).

    However, a round fender trailer sold by Dunbar Kapple under their own name was described in the earlier post about the “Silver Tongued Devil” (recopied here from the first page of this thread):

    Dunbar Kapple Trailer Info Wanted

    Today I saw a Dunbar Kapple M-100 look-alike. It wasn't (I don't think), a M-100 because the side rails stopped immediately at the top of the rounded fenders (it didn't have the extra flare on the top that M-100s or M-416s or M-101s have). I know it was a Dunbar Kapple because it still had the ID plate (sorry, I didn't get any other info from the data plate). My guess is a post-war civilian model. I googled for an hour trying to find one similar and can't find anything.

    It was blue that I'm fairly certain was original. A drop down tailgate. No lights, except for what would be a license plate light that also looks original. It's spring-over, but no shocks and I don't think it ever had shocks. The hitch is a single 36" long bar with no triangulation, and I don't think it ever had any triangulation. The bed looked original with a diamond plate pattern. It had stake pockets for wood stakes. The bed was exactly 72" by 46". It was named the "Silver Tongued Devil" (which if I buy it, I will definitely try to keep the lettering).


    I've been looking for a M-100 to pull behind my Jeep, and ran across this. I'm trying to decide if it will be worth picking up, even though it's shorter (in overall height) than a M-100, so it has less cargo capacity. It also needs some work, like a new pan due to a large hole. But otherwise it seemed to be in good shape.

    If I pick it up this will be the start of the re-build thread...
    If I’m correct, and Greg's trailer is a Dunbar Kapple branded trailer, then it would follow that the early Dunbar Kapple version shared the same wheels with the early David Bradley version of the trailer (as well as with the Ben-Hur Model 22-47). This theory could in turn explain the white round fender trailer shown in the first post of this thread, which clearly has David Bradley tractor wheels. Hopefully, a Dunbar Kapple trailer with an intact data plate will be “discovered” soon and someone can post photos of it - which will either corroborate or disprove this theory.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2017
  2. Apr 29, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    Well, it turns out that my guess was wrong.....Greg sent some additional photos tonight that he took after sanding the tailgate a bit. It’s a Ben-Hur after all! You can just make out the yellow --N HUR lettering:

    [​IMG]


    This is probably a Ben-Hur Model 22-47, since unlike Joe Deyoung's Model 22-46 (see the first post on Page 1 of this thread), this trailer has short backstrap hinges and a different data plate location and shape than the 22-46.

    The fact that this trailer is a Ben Hur probably means that Ben Hur also manufactured the 1947-48 David Bradley trailers. The 1947 David Bradleys had almost identical long-backstrap tailgate hinges to those used on the Ben-Hur Model 22-46. Slightly later David Bradley trailers (and those manufactured through the end of production) shared the short-backstrap hinges with this later Ben Hur model.

    I think the biggest remaining unknown in all of this is how Dunbar Kapple fit into the picture. The 231- Sears model number prefix seems to indicate that DK was the builder of the David Bradley trailers bearing that code - but when, how, and why did production shift from Ben-Hur to Dunbar Kapple?
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2017
  3. Apr 30, 2010
    farwest

    farwest New Member

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    Did these trailers have taillights? If I was to guess I would say no. The catalog pictures don't show any that I can see.

    Thanks,
    Greg
     
  4. May 1, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    They didn't come with tail lights, but a single tail light with a license plate bracket was available from Sears as an owner-added option. If you look at the Fall 1947 Farm Catalog listing on the first post in this thread, you'll see it at the right edge of the page. Here's an enlargement of that catalog picture:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2017
  5. May 2, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    I came across this trailer on an Arizona jeeping website:

    [​IMG]


    It has the “roadster’ type fenders, and also has the welded long-backstrap, two-knuckle tailgate hinges, so is almost certainly an early (1947-48 ) David Bradley trailer:

    [​IMG]


    Also, the axle appears to be the earlier “round” type (actually, rounded on the bottom side and flat on the top):

    [​IMG]


    I wondered if the wheels on this trailer could be examples of one of the types of 16" wheels that came on the early DB trailers. Over the years, David Bradley produced a wide variety of different wheel designs that were used on their tractors, wagons, and farm implements, as well as their trailers. I haven't yet been able to find a photo of this same wheel anywhere else, but I did find the following quote on a David Bradley tractor website about the wheels that came on a particular tractor model produced from 1946 to 1949:

    "The most common style of wheels are commonly referred to as the solid disk style. These had a nearly flat continuous center portion with no slots or openings. They had a 5-hole pattern at the hub.....There were also six holes spaced equally around the outer portion of the rim center, which were spaced correctly for wheel weights (although only two holes are required to mount the weights)."

    Here's a photo comparing the wheel on this trailer to the very similar (though not identical) David Bradley tractor wheel described above:

    [​IMG]


    Though these are different wheel designs, the similar position, size, and spacing of the six wheel weight holes near the perimeter of the disc lead me to believe that the wheels on this trailer are indeed examples of a type of original David Bradley tractor wheels.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2017
  6. May 5, 2010
    johnnyc

    johnnyc .

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    here are some pictures of the rack painted :) i may put alil spacer inside the pockets to raise the bows up to almost where they should be...next i need to fit the od green canvas tarp for it :)
    [​IMG]
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  7. May 8, 2010
    johnnyc

    johnnyc .

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    i threw on the canvas tarp...way toooo big...but...i made it work for now :)
    [​IMG]
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  8. May 9, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    Very cool, John - it's really looking great. Thanks for posting all the photos!

    I'm in the process of disassembling my trailer, and am going to have all the parts separately blasted and epoxy primed. Still deciding what color to paint it once it's reassembled. Hopefully I'll have it all back together within the next month or two. (I have three young kids, so nothing gets accomplished quickly anymore.....)

    By the way, what size tires does your trailer have on it? Whatever they are, they look good!

    Maury
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2010
  9. May 11, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    I believe there's another characteristic specific to the very early David Bradley trailers, along with the welded long-backstrap two-knuckle hinges. The bed gusset plates furthest to the rear of these early trailers (on each side of the bed next to the tailgate opening) appear to have been slanted "fins", rather than a vertical-edged C-channel as on the later DB trailers.

    Below are photos of two such early David Bradley trailers. The blue one was stated by its owner to be titled as a 1947. The year model of the yellow one is unknown, but appears to be of the same general vintage. I added the red lines just to illustrate the slant in the rear gussets that I'm referring to:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    At some point early in the production process (probably late 1948 ) the slanted fin type gusset was changed to a vertical C-channel. Here's a photo of JohnnyC's 1954 David Bradley trailer showing this later type gusset that seems to be common to all of the later DB trailers:

    [​IMG]


    By the way, John, I meant to tell you that the original of this picture in your post above makes me grin every time I look at it....the sun's rays make it look like your DB trailer is right at the instant of achieving maximum warp speed!

    :easy rider:
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2017
  10. May 11, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    This is the earliest David Bradley Model 231-417 trailer with an intact data plate that anyone has sent photos of so far. It's owned by Richey L. in South Carolina.

    [​IMG]


    The low serial number, 2682, leads me to believe that this trailer was made toward the end of the first year of Dunbar Kapple's production - which would probably place it in the latter half of 1948. This was likely the first year that Sears sold these trailers with 15" wheels as standard equipment (rather than 16" wheels as had previously been the case).

    It has all of the typical characteristics of the later DB trailers - 15" DB tractor wheels, short-backstrap tailgate hinges, two-bolt front tongue attachment plate, rectangular section axle, and vertical c-channel rear bed gussets. The original paint scheme of the bright green bed and light green wheels is still evident as well:

    [​IMG]

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    Last edited: Sep 13, 2017
  11. May 11, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    I found the following forum post on a website about camping trailers. It explains how Sears dealt with manufacturers producing products for the company.

    Keep in mind that the Sears David Bradley Model 231-417 trailer was actually manufactured by Dunbar Kapple, rather than the David Bradley factory. As the post correctly states, Sears products made by David Bradley, such as the tractors, had a 917- model number prefix.


    Title: Sears Apache Tent Trailer
    Post by: tractorman on October 01, 2005, 09:46:52 PM


    I can help shed a little lite on this trailer, maybe. I collect garden tractors made by David Bradley. They were owned by Sears since 1911. Several of my group collect and research the Sears company. They basically had two ways of acquiring products. One was to just buy the factory and dictate how and what to make. The other was to offer to buy so many units of something a company built. The catch with that was Sears would provide the spec's for how it was to be built. So you could have had Apache or any other company building the stuff, but it would really look like the same stuff that was normally built there.

    One of the things Sears was real strong on was not having the builder's name on anything. Most things Sears used a model number that started with a three digit number. This number told you what company built the product. As example the number for David Bradley factory items is 917 follow by the model number. All vendors for outsourced products had a different three digit number. It very rare that a Sears product doesn't have a metal tag on it somewhere with these numbers on it. Since I don't collect travel or camping item made by Sears I can't tell you what the number would be. I own several hundred items made by Sears and all have this same numbering system. It is possible that Sears made the campers at one of the factories they had ownership in. The pattern or design of the unit still could have been by others just modified to fit what Sears thought it should look like.

    Some time in the late 50's Sears was taken to count by the US government for anti-trust. By the mid 60's they were forced to sell their controlling interests in several of the factories. The David Bradley factory was sold first to Newark Corp (another smaller Sears-owned group) then finally to Roper. From there it ended up going out east and is now owned by Electrolux, the vacuum cleaner maker. All this time the products were still labeled as made by Sears. There are several other cases of this in their history with different products, so I see no reason that Apache couldnt have been one of them Also, it seems to me I've seen at least two different trade names for campers in old Sears catologs. Ted Williams is one, don't remember the other one.
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2010
  12. May 13, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    (The original post in this space concerning the likely development sequence and timeline of these trailers was updated and moved to Page 13 of this thread.)
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2011
  13. May 13, 2010
    johnnyc

    johnnyc .

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    Last edited: May 13, 2010
  14. May 14, 2010
    johnnyc

    johnnyc .

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    heres a new one from 'Dan_J-spec_fj62' at IH8MUD.com...his gradfather owns it and he'll be picking it up at some time...so....no vin yet.

    kinda a neat camper conversion that his gradfather made for it...the box on front is the kitchen stuff.

    here's some pictures:
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  15. May 14, 2010
    johnnyc

    johnnyc .

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    the cuppler looks different from mine as do the rims

    bigger pics of each
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  16. May 14, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    Hmmm, you're right - that coupler is different than the one most DB trailers seem to have been sold with, which was a Fulton Model 07 coupler.

    Also, check out the parking leg in the enlarged photo above. That's the first time I've seen an example of the early type that was shown in the 1947 catalog (along with the typical Fulton 07 coupler):

    [​IMG]


    I think the wheel is probably the same 16" wheel as on the olive drab trailer pictured on Page 2 of this thread. Here's a photo of that wheel next to the one shown in the 1955 Sears Farm Catalog:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2017
  17. May 14, 2010
    johnnyc

    johnnyc .

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    Maury what size ball is that coupler? is it still a 1 7/8? or a 2"
     
  18. May 14, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    It's a 1-7/8" coupler
     
  19. May 16, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    These photos were sent by Randy Hagan in CA. His trailer unfortunately no longer has its data plate.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2017
  20. May 21, 2010
    maurywhurt

    maurywhurt Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

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    I ran across a very interesting post on a Farmall Cub tractor forum today. As it turns out, there was another trailer that was closely related to the the David Bradley Model 231-417.

    From this photo of a 1955 International Harvester McCormick Farmall Cub Model 629 trailer, it's evident that it shared the same bed box design with the Ben-Hur, Dunbar Kapple, and Sears David Bradley trailers. Note that it likewise has the same c-channel rear bed gussets as its cousins:

    [​IMG]


    Here's a (custom reproduction) Farmall trailer tailgate, which appears to have the same short-backstrap hinges as the later Ben-Hur and DB trailers had. However, the Farmall trailer incorporated a removable single tailgate hinge pin to allow for quick detachment of the tailgate:

    [​IMG]


    In fact, except for sharing the basic bed box design with these related trailers, the Cub trailer was different in almost every other way. As the owner's manual for the Farmall Cub trailer below shows, it was not sprung. It had an A-frame underneath, rather than a non-triangulated straight tongue like the others - but shared the same tongue truss reinforcing. The Farmall trailer also had a pin hitch (as it was designed to tow behind a tractor), the long single hinge pin, and no fenders.

    But the most significant difference was that the Farmall was also a dump trailer! 8)

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    Here's a close-up of the Farmall trailer's dump bed latching mechanism:

    [​IMG]


    .






    .
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2017
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