# 19th Century Wagon Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 2, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-wagon-question/598373 "2011-10-02T20:45:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-wagon-question/598373/1 "2011-10-02T20:45:52Z")
Today I was looking at old photographs of various kinds of 19th century old west wagons, covered and uncovered, along with stage coaches, and I was struck by the fact that some of them had equal sized front and back wagon wheels, while others had much larger real wheels. I assumed that was because of having more weight toward the back of the wagon,or for better shock absorption, but in some cases it appeared there was more weight in the front and yet larger wheels in the back. I didn’t see any instances where the front wheels were larger than the back wheels. So what’s the straight dope? If having larger rear wheels than front wheels gave some kind of advantage why didn’t everyone use that design? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-wagon-question/598373/2 "2011-10-02T20:56:32Z")
IANAH, but it seems to me that if you have all wheels the same, a single spare will work for all four wheels. As for the advantage of larger wheels in the back, maybe they would have been better in the front, too, but would have created unrelated problems, like interfering with steering, or harnessing horses, or something. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-wagon-question/598373/3 "2011-10-02T21:06:28Z")
Smaller wheels in the front allowed for a better turning radius. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-wagon-question/598373/4 "2011-10-02T21:33:26Z")
Are the front wheels on pivot to ease steering and need to be able to fit under something when they turn? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-wagon-question/598373/5 "2011-10-02T21:35:19Z")
Just a guess, but the steering mechanism in the front needs some room. If you look at [this](http://www.freecarrepairmanual.net/images/252-1.jpg), notice that there is a bar above the axle and springs to allow them to pivot. Imagine it had larger wheels, large enough that the axle was where that upper bar is. Now there’s no room for the pivot mechanism (assuming you want to design a level wagon, of course). [Here](http://www.wheelsthatwonthewest.com/Media/Vintage_Deere/deere043.jpg) is a real wagon that illustrates it. I guess it depends on how you design it though, because many do have the same size wheels. You could just add space between the rear wheels and body to make it match the front. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-wagon-question/598373/6 "2011-10-02T22:57:08Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Are the front wheels on pivot to ease steering and need to be able to fit under something when they turn? Sometimes. [http://www.hansenwheel.com/wagon\_visitors/faq.html](http://www.hansenwheel.com/wagon_visitors/faq.html) > [@](#): > > Why are the front wheels smaller than the rear wheels on wagons? > > First, as the diameter of the wheel increases, the draft of the animal decreases, hence making it easier on the horses, mules, and oxen to pull the wagons and carriages. So, a wagon with 48" wheels will pull easier than a wagon with 24" wheels. Now for the second part of the answer; if all wagons had 48" wheels front and rear, we would have an engineering conflict. When we try to steer the wagon, the front wheel would strike the body and reduce the turning radius. Also, the assembly of the fifth wheel would lift the body high in the front. So, to overcome this conflict, we lower the height of the front wheel just enough to level the wagon and increase the turning radius. The results are a maneuverable, easy pulling vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-century-wagon-question/598373/7 "2011-10-02T23:30:51Z")
If you have bigger wheels in the back you’re always going downhill, of course!