What are these? Car dollies?

[Josephs44]

I bought these because they looked cool but I don't know what they are. They only move in a straight line so I don't know that they're car dollies. If a car drove on them the horizontal bar locks the entry tamp in the up position; maybe they were old fashioned wheel locks that the police used?

Found in a garage in Wichita Kansas.

Anybody have any idea?

 

[Kevin54]

No idea, but they are very cool looking.

 

[jakemac]

An early pair of Shaquille O'Neal's roller skates.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

they were for racing your toddlers down hills

 

[Bierisch]

motorcycle dolleys?

 

[Boxheadmr]

U sure they are not for small planes

Sent from my GT-I9507 using Tapatalk

 

[Josephs44]

U sure they are not for small planes

Sent from my GT-I9507 using Tapatalk

That makes the most sense so far. No luck finding anything like it online though.

Anybody else have an idea?

 

[sld961]

Any maker marks or manufacture location, etc. on them?

 

[Outlawmws]

I wonder if those would be used for a drag tail plane when they really had a drag on the tail?

It makes no sense for a wheel/tire to go on them...

 

[TalonFE]

Used something almost exactly like these to tow aircraft with blown tires, where the wheel was so mangled that it would have taken too long to change. Jack up the landing gear, slide one of these rigs under the wheel/tire, secure, then tow the aircraft to clear the runway. We had three different sizes all told....would accommodate about 15 different aircraft configs.

 

[My Old Tools]

machinery skates. Riggers use them to move big machines.

 

[Outlawmws]

The sides of those are made of light sheet metal. They won't take much weight...

 

[jakemac]

At first I was thinking skates for snowmobile skids. But they're too short, and the wheel configuration suggests straightline use only.

There's something in the back of my head about an old type of drive-on car lift that had a set of rolling skids for the front wheels to allow for locking in different length cars before lifting. But the thought is misty and fleeting.

 

[Zeke]

eBay.

For posterity when the link goes dead:
CAR TRUCK FLAT TIRE 4 WHEEL EMERGENCY ROLLER DOLLY CART CELLO NOJAX

 

[Outlawmws]

Apparently it was for "spare tire" use, but I ain't buying that it would survive more than a VERY light car and not too very far (or rough surface as mentioned)...

 

[Zeke]

May very well have been for use on bridges and tunnels.

 

[Josephs44]

They are quite sturdy. I can imagine them holding a car for short driving use.

 

[Outlawmws]

That vid I linked to was from 1960. If they actually worked as claimed, they would still be on the market, instead of 56 years later, none of us have ever seen one til now.

 

[tym]

Wouldn't work if you have a 4WD...

 

[Strouty]

Must be great if you get a rear flat.

 

[Zeke]

Must be great if you get a rear flat.

As old as they are cars in those days had an open diff.

 

[jakemac]

So how are the ones in the OP supposed to turn with 4 fixed wheels ?

 

[Scott Carroll]

I bought these because they looked cool but I don't know what they are. They only move in a straight line so I don't know that they're car dollies. If a car drove on them the horizontal bar locks the entry tamp in the up position; maybe they were old fashioned wheel locks that the police used?

Found in a garage in Wichita Kansas.

Anybody have any idea?

Only 5 years later

 

[driftpin]

I seem to recall a thread on these, or something similar, maybe it was the O.P.'s thread! I thought there were more pics of different types and manufacturers' similar items though. The other explanations all sound plausible. Tires and wheels were pretty-narrow until the pony-cars and muscle-cars were manufactured, and we got 'blue-line' and 'red-line' tires, and Wide-Ovals.

Here is one prior post on it: #15,091

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/the-thread-of-awesome.157833/page-378#post-7722294