How many times have you wished for a small, fun-to-use vehicle that could haul things around your property? More than a hundred times for me, and yet I still own one of these things. This circa-1980 Heald Hauler trike can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the seller is asking $2,250. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
We’ve seen three articles on Heald machines here on Barn Finds over the years, and have heard the story of the founder of the company, Carl Heald. As an engineer and tinkerer, he started out making built-it-yourself electronic devices, such as radios, that people could build at home by themselves with simple tools and not much money. As with almost anything, the labor costs are more than the materials, and even on these three-wheelers, buyers could save $1,000 by building them at home. There were a ton of ads in magazines in the 1970s and 80s showing the company’s different vehicles that consumers could buy and build.
Some literature refers to these little trikes, or trykes, as mini trucks, and that isn’t to be confused with the 1990s mini-truckin’ trend. This is a small “truck,” but often it was enough for farmers, ranchers, and regular homeowners to haul a few things around without using a wheelbarrow or carrying it. Plus, it’s just fun to have a powered vehicle to ride around on, no? Yes. This example may or may not have been repainted at some point, as there aren’t the typical stickers on the side of the small dump bed, as seen in this example.
Page 6 of this super fun brochure shows this little rig and some of its features. They mention an 11 hp or 16 hp engine, but this one has a 10-hp engine. I’m not sure if it’s an older model or if that’s a replacement engine. It also comes with a spare engine. Most folks would buy a new engine, I’m guessing. The manual dump bed is a nice feature, and this one has an optional headlight. This “mini truck” looks really nice in the photos and it would be fun to tinker with a cosmetic restoration, or just keep it maintained and use it for hauling up to 500 pounds.
Electric start is nice, and the seller says it has a new battery and all of the lights work. One cool thing is a rare front ski option, which is usually seen on the two-wheeled minibikes, but it should work on these as well. It looks like it could use some work to fasten the mounts back again, but it would be great for a vintage snowmobile show. There aren’t any downloads on this page yet, but it shows some of the Heald models. Would any of you have a use for a small, vintage hauler like this Heald three-wheeler?
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