|
As a big fan of the Henry Ford Museum and having a farming and horseman ancestry, I did a little research and asked around of the relatives. Here's what I came up with.
It looks like the term "5th wheel" was used by farmers who needed to turn large heavy hay wagons in tight places. In addition, these wagons were pulled by very strong draft horses who could tear a standard pivot wagon to pieces. So, some enterprizing farmers used an old wagon wheel due to its strength. Since the wagon had 4 wheels, the pivot wheel became the "5th wheel" because, that's what it was. The 5th wheel...
Some commercial implement manufacturers started producing production wagons with the same design features and the name "5th Wheel" hitch stuck.
Early commercial truck trailer manufacturers borrowed the technology from the draft horse pulled farm wagons. Since Farmers were the purchasers of most of the early trucks, they understood the term "5th Wheel" very well.
When you think about it, it's a very practical name for something.
|