History Of The Radio Flyer

By providing a different option for patient transportation, these wagons transform a hospitalized child’s experience by removing the fear and anxiety that may come with having to use a wheelchair. The Hero Wagon redesign came about largely because the two organizations began to hear how hospital staff were customizing the wagons themselves to fit their needs, says Pasin. So Radio Flyer assembled a team of designers, researchers, and engineers to visit children’s hospitals and conduct interviews with nurses and families to learn firsthand about the user experience.

Nostalgia didn’t have to be a ceiling, it could be a flywheel. For example, the company has partnered with Tesla to produce kid-sized Model S cars, powered by lithium-ion batteries. And its e-commerce store allows online shoppers to radio flyer wagon customize their own vehicles, similar to how Nike ID lets sneakerheads design shoes according to their tastes. The century-old company is launching a line of scooters and e-bikes — but the little red wagon isn’t going anywhere.

Finally, in the summer of 1933, the moment of truth arrived. Antonio believed the pocket-sized novelty prize, at a price a kid could afford, could help turn Radio Flyer into a household name once the fair’s millions of visitors had come and gone. A big thank you to Radio Flyer for sending us a custom-designed Radio Flyer Stroller Wagon for us to love and adore. No other form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this rave review. For generations of American children, the Radio Flyer “Little Red Wagon” has been a classic toy.

All-terrain Radio Flyer wagons have bigger wheels and tires. The tires are air filled and have more rugged treads for use on grass, dirt, gravel and sand. The side rails of these Radio Flyer wagons are 50% deeper to hold more inside and the carrying capacities are upped to 200 pounds. In the all-terrain category, Radio Flyer also makes cargo wagons.

Radio Steel’s blitz cans saw service in Europe, the Pacific, and Africa. Wagons specifically intended to transport children should have seatbelts to prevent kids from falling out as they shift in their seats or as the terrain gets bumpy. Since wagons are inherently made for pulling, this safety feature is important as you will primarily be facing away from your child as you tow them. Wagons can be great for children to transport toys or for adults to transport both children and toys.

Radio Flyer has more than 100 award-winning products available around the globe. Since 1917, the family-owned company has created icons of childhood, building a legacy of high quality, timeless and innovative toys that spark the imagination and inspire outdoor, active play. With over a billion wheels on the road, radio flyer wagon Radio Flyer wheels have carried, hauled and fueled more kids’ play and adventures than any other ride-on toy. Radio Flyer has received numerous awards, including “Best Places to Work” by Fortune, “Top Small Workplaces,” by The Wall Street Journal and “5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America,” by Inc.

radio flyer wagon

The now classic toy was named for Pasin’s love and fascination of the radio and air flight. The high quality steel coaster wagons were a huge success and allowed Pasin to increase production while lowering the price. With affordable wagons, the slogan of the company became, “For every boy. For every girl.” Thousands of children enjoyed these classic toys.

Despite the depression, Antonio had his sights set on the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The flashy red color became a mainstay for the Radio Flyers early on, but no one really knows why. “Some people say it was because my grandfather was Italian,” says Robert, explaining that Ferraris and spaghetti sauce, both Italian staples, are red. Over the years, the company has tried many colors, but red always zoomed ahead of the others in sales. That kind of versatility has certainly given the iconic, fire hydrant red Radio Flyer some serious staying power.

It folds about similar to our jogging stroller, and even fits in our smaller sedan. Compared with our beast of a B-Ready with two seats, it’s actually more compact when folded, which I love. When not in use, it simply folds up and stands out of the way in our garage or entryway waiting for its next adventure. After you perfect the base, you have the option to add a pull handle if you’d like. It might seem redundant because you already have a push handle, but there have been so many times the pull handle was essential for us and it really adds to its versatility to have both.

In the era of the station wagon, Radio Steel began producing its Radio Rancher Convertible, a high-capacity wagon with removable steel stake sides. Beginning in 1957, the company branched out, for the first time making garden carts. These were not toys, but metal carts designed to haul yard waste, perhaps a shrewd line extension in view of the growth of suburbia and suburban gardens. Although Pasin’s background was in woodworking, he soon became enamored of a new technology, metal stamping. Henry Ford had used metal stamping in his automobile factories, where huge machines stamped identical pieces out of sheets of steel.