It’s rare but not unprecedented for items over a century old to appear on Bring a Trailer, though this might be breaking new ground for the site.

Currently up for auction is a Trailmobile ambulance wagon and supply trailer built in 1917 for the United States Army. Of course, neither are motorized and instead rely on being pulled by horse or automobile.

Over ten thousand of these units were built by the Trailmobile Company for use by the Army from 1918 until the end of the First World War four years later. Trailmobile was a wagon line introduced in 1915 by Sechler & Company, an 1879-founded manufacturer later rebranded to Trailmobile Co. to match the brand. While the U.S. didn’t enter the Great War until 1917, demand for trailers that could be used as ambulances, field kitchens, gun mounts, or to carry supplies was high.

The Trailer Company of America, formed in 1928 through a merger between Trailmobile Co. and the Lapeer Trailer Corporation, continued to supply trailers for the military through World War II. Trailmobile is no longer an independent company, but the name is still used by Manac for modern trailers.

Trailmobile was also popular during the 1910s among civilians, designed as a trailer for light hauling. A 1916 advertisement for the wagon proclaimed it as offering a “combination pleasure car and truck without interfering with the use of the car for pleasure. If you operate a light truck, which can not accommodate all of your hauling, the Trailmobile offers you the advantage of an additional truck at a fraction of the cost.” Besides the military, government agencies like the U.S. Post Office Department and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing also used them.

This particular wagon was purchased by Bill Anderson in the 1970s. He was the owner of Ponderosa Ranch, a theme park in Nevada inspired by the ranch used as the setting in the TV series Bonanza. A friend of Anderson who visited the park until its 2004 closure bought the wagon in 2017 and put it in their private museum alongside memorabilia of Ponderosa Ranch and the show.

Measuring in at 12 feet long by 64 inches wide and 88″ tall, the main wagon is painted olive green to match the Army’s common color usage. “US Army” and the Red Cross emblem are stenciled on the sides to signify its ambulance role. The wagon can be lengthened using a seven-foot detachable tongue with a coil lift spring.

Medical supplies are present such as a cabinet and stretcher inside, a canvas canopy, and a medic flag. The seller also included an oxbow to allow for oxen to pull the wagon, some equine equipment like a saddle and harness, and an M1917 helmet with a medic insignia and a camouflage pattern (somewhat of an anachronism since WWI helmets didn’t have camo).

The tires are made of rubber, which was the norm for Trailmobile products in Army possession, over wooden wheels.

“These army wagons would be great for ‘reenactment groups’ that do WW1 and would work for civil war as ‘original antique war wagons do not come up for sale often’,” noted the seller. “They roll easy and are sturdy. Would be great for Military collectors or museums.”

The auction can be accessed here. It will run though Tuesday, December 9, and as of this article’s publication has a top bid of $1,000.

Featured image credit: horsewagons / Bring a Trailer