Rice Bros. Circus

RiceBros., originally uploaded by bucklesw1. Demonstrating that everyone had a different idea on how to make an elephant semi-trailer, here's an open top and slat sided Big Eli vehicle furnished to Rice Bros. in 1935. It's pictured in the Big Eli News of November-December 1935. Hauling three elephants, it was 20-feet long, 7'-6" wide, had a 13-inch, heavy riveted drop frame construction. It rode on 15-inch leaf springs, 4-inch Timken tubular axles and high pressure tires, with two-line Bendix vacuum brakes. The sides were solid to 30" above the floor and slatted above that. On the opposite side was a let-down door that also served as the loading and unloading ramp. It was painted in "circus red," the title presumably in white. Big Eli furnished a bunch of other semi-trailers to the Rice organization, all in different colors.