To mimic the original wagon’s rounded corners, Mangum split a length of large pipe four ways and welded a piece in each corner. He made a foldable black tongue with a handle that extends 12 feet above the ground. Mangum got the idea to build the wagon from a couple in Alaska who built a fiberglass, two-seater version based on a small truck chassis. Mangum wanted his to accomodate more passengers, so he started with a 1987 Ford ambulance equipped with a police package.
We researched 25 stroller wagons and chose 11 to purchase and test extensively. The Radio Flyer Discovery performed surprisingly well given that it is one-fourth the cost of some wagons we tested and half the price of most of its 2-seater peers. More important than the longevity of the souvenirs themselves, though, Pasin had indeed ensured the lasting popularity of his full-size radio flyer wagon product. In any case, the company was performing admirably in the midst of the Great Depression, churning out 1,500 wagons per day on average through a Ford-like assembly line process. The Radio Flyers and several other brands were marketed towards both boys and girls—a rarity—and eventually adults, since the wagons could serve just as well for gardening and other yard work.
It also can’t be overstated how much I absolutely love the “no drop” technology of the pull handle that keeps it upright and makes it so the pull handle never touches the ground. Even if you simply drop the pull handle without warning, it just springs back up, out of the way and ready to grab if you need it. 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. Radio Flyer has been making wagons and wheeled toys forever so I wouldn’t question their engineering. However, the axel assembly doesn’t include ball bearings like most of the other wagons.
From there, the team sketched, prototyped and tested custom versions of the iconic wagon that could best meet the needs of patients and hospital staff. After several months of design and production, the Hero Wagon was born. This wagon includes Radio Flyer’s patented one-hand folding design making it easy to store– ideal for hospitals’ tight hallways and restricted storage space. Today, Radio Flyer still makes those red wagons, but it also makes electric bikes and scooters, tricycles, bounce houses—and Teslas for kids. The factory on the west side of Chicago closed in 2004 (it’s the design office now), and most products are currently made in China. Now you can get a fold-up fabric wagon with a metal frame for $70, and models that are pushed like strollers or pulled like a wagon for $200 to $250.
“That was just a brilliant brand-building idea, because the World’s Fair was such a huge deal,” Robert says. Whether visitors left with a tiny wagon or not, they undoubtedly saw the impressive structure, and so couldn’t have left without some knowledge of the Radio Flyer. razor ride ons Fast forward to the 1950s, when Sputnik and “I Love Lucy” came on the scene. It was during this time, when fear of communism loomed, that the little red wagon cemented its status as an American icon. “Sooner or later you’ll have to buy the kids a big red coaster wagon.