Do any of you remember the Heath Kit radio kits? Some of us older folks remember those ads in the back of magazines to build your own radios and other electronics. Have any of you heard of Heald minibikes? This 1980 Heald Hauler trike is a rare one and they also came as a kit. This three-wheel hauler is listed on eBay with pretty heavy bidding but only a price of $410 so far. It’s located in Creighton, Nebraska.
We have seen Heald Super Broncs here before but never a Hauler trike, at least as far as I know. Yes, that’s a dump box, in case you were wondering. It’s a similar concept to any number of work vehicles but these were different in that they were available in kit form which made them much cheaper. There were different options available depending on what a person needed to do with these rigs.
The story goes that Carl Heald was tapped to create a new market for the Heath company which was famous for mail order radio kits. They wanted in on the burgeoning minibike market. Mr. Heald came up with a couple of models for the Heath company but it wasn’t long before they decided to get out of that business and concentrate on their radios. Thus, Carl Heald, Inc. was born. They made two, three, and four-wheel power equipment and reportedly the kits were so well documented that they only had one person on their help line and they weren’t even that busy. The company was run into the ground in 1988 by a new owner’s group.
The seller says that this Hauler “has always been kept inside and has the Briggs 16hp engine, forward/reverse, electric start, and a new coil pack. It starts, shifts and runs perfectly. It has lights and horn, they are not hooked up but they do work.” There are still parts available and according to Mr. Heald, the frames were all painted “International Harvester Red”. Have any of you heard of a Heald Hauler? How about Heath kit radios?
Never saw one of these, but it reminds me of the Cushman 3-wheelers we used when I worked at the golf course. The Cushmans had a dump bed as well but had a steering wheel instead of handle bars.
Rich J.
I just found and purchased a trike Heald Hauler like the one in the photo here in Montana.
where can I buy parts fro my heald hauler? Need a throttle cable.Thanks for any information you can help with.
Of course I remember Heath kits. Many different radios, even RC radios for radio controlled planes. Eventually I think Heath was purchased by Radio Shack. You could buy the kits from the Shack until I think it was the late seventies.
Yes! I built many Heathkits as a kid. Shortwave radio, alarm clock, calculator, TV, etc.
Loved ’em.
Thanks for sharing the Heald trike, Scotty. Sadly, a lack of suitable parking space – and the unexplainable desire to score a Daihatsu Hallo trike – along with common sense, prevents me from bidding. It looks like a fun toy, perfect for riding around at major swap meets.
A lot of us had Heathkits and Eico kits when we were kids. I still have an Eico VTVM that a friend of mine built when we were in our early teens. It’s now a display item in the garage at the Floyd Lippencott Jr Home for Unreformable Hot Rodders.
B2, six months ago I would have been on a bid-to-win track for this one. Even though, again, what would I ever use it for with basically no place to ride it off-road and living in the city. Still, it would be fun to restore.
Do you have photos of all of your vehicles? It would be fun to see those sometime. You’ve had a few..
I understand your attraction to this particular machine, but then our taste in the interesting and unusual are pretty much the same. Like I said, had I had space, I’d be bidding on the Heald, even though the cost of shipment to NZ would be more than the purchase price (like that S201C Fuji Rabbit I brought in from Japan a few months ago)..!
To answer your question, I have photos of what I currently have in the garage and shed, plus a few odds and ends from my past collections.
For some reason, I took heaps of pics of vehicles at events and/or for magazine features – which, as you know, helped fund my old vehicle addiction – but never thought to take photos of whatever was in the garage/yard at a particular time.
Not being a selfie kind of a person and having had access to some amazing machinery, it just never was on my wavelength. So I sadly have no pics of my riding shotgun in Briggs Cunninghams’ Type 41 Bugatti Kellner Berline, the Porsche 356B Convertible D that my brother and I restored, etc.
I was more of an X-ray glasses kid w/ occasional teeth-blackening gum. All those ads in the back of the comic books were a hoot! Too clumsy then (and to arthritic now) to build the kits. I do like the looks of this
We sewed Heath Kit vests and jackets one year for gifts……
My first Amateur Radio Station was all Heathkit. I was 11 years old. Heath also sold Rokon Mini-bikes about that same era.
Ah, the Heathkit Boonie Bike kit. Had one about ten years ago and sold it. Still kicking myself.
I remember these. There were a few made it out before the larger quads took over. Actually, it seems to me that builders ceased production on trikes quite abruptly because too many people were flipping them over. I recall a guy on a Honda trike either in Dutton or Conrad, MT. It was a real freak accident; the guy was just riding down a road allowance across the field the way he always did; hit a badger hole just right and the machine was on top of him; broke his neck. It was right about then that there was a lot of hell raised over 3-wheeled vehicles. Of course it would stop me from riding around on one….
Oops! A little error in my post: I should’ve said: ‘It would NOT stop me from riding around on one…
Dad had one of their CB base stations in
the early ’60’s. In fact, he and his close
friend Charley Law bought many of these
CB radio kits, assembled them, and then
sold them as ready to use units. These
radios were high quality units that were
powerful transmitters for their day and
were the first 23-channel rigs on the market back then. Dad and Charley did
very well selling Heathkits as opposed
to the Globe Star, also a CB unit that was
not as good as the Heathkit was. For
a while, they sold both brands side by side and dropped the Globes after they
found out the Heathkits oulsold the Globes by about 3 to 1. As for the trikes,
they would be ideal for delivering things
in a big city environments where space is
tight. If kits or blueprints were available,
I would build an EV version for delivering
newspapers. Here in Central Florida,
these trikes would be the ideal vehicle
to have after a hurricane hits. Great find!
Thanks for sharing.
My Wife’s cousin’s Husband built a Heath Kit color tv. It cost more than a prebuilt. It had a real wood cabinet and was extemely heavy.
I built a no name amplfier from a kit in 1962 or so. Wires were pre stripped and color coded, and the diagram was full size.When i went to College a friend had it’s twin. I gave him mine and he had stereo.
I have one of those in the barn, in almost as good of condition. Plus, I’ve got all the paperwork from when it was bought, including the instructions to build it. I have new tires for it, just need the time to put them on. Quite useful around the farm, just load up the bed, and go dump it.
That’s really a cool rig.
I had a Super Bronco nearly 50 years ago and had tons of fun with it. Replaced numerous parts on it simply due to wearing the thing out over time…..no telling how many gallons of the cheap, red, tractor gas that was consumed in those days.
I had a Heath Kit “Boonie Bike” my dad built for me in the mid 60’s. It had a wide rear tire like a garden tractor and a 2 speed jack shaft powered by a 5 horse briggs. We lived in the Michigan UP so he got it with a ski for the front wheel and a tire chain for the rear. I had blast with that thing, I would love to find one now I’d buy it in a heart beat!
I had one. Pretty cool but worn out
A school friend’s dad built a Hi-Fi radio, record player.
First one I ever heard.
Those were the day’s, can’t even repair my own computer car. Just
fool around with old no computer cars and this is getting to costly. I see that 58 lincoln in the go cart photo. Money in a family. Have a un restored one sitting here. 2 dr Hd/Tp.
:-(
I have a three wheel kit bike. My Shrine club has 21 parade bikes that are dressed up with lots of chrome and rolls bars. We are Shriners and ride in a lot of parades. As I said they were purchased by each unit member. Folks love them as much as we do. Wish I was able to purchase this one. Hope it gets a good home. Looks like it’s been cared for.
I too have a Heald Hauler. It was trapped behind old machinery in a neighbor’s shed. Now it’s trapped behind stuff in mine! Complete and running with little fuss. It came with a factory front blade that is lifted with a chrome handle along side your leg,
When I was a kid I sent off for a brochure on the Heald haulers. That was early 80s. I didn’t have any money but their brochures were free and I drooled over them constantly. I should have kept the brochures!
Hi, We bought a hauler years ago. Love it, but the cog has messed up and bent so the chain will not work properly. Was wondering if anyone out there has any and the price or where we can find them.
Thanks so much
Try here.
http://rt21trading.com/catalog/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=224
My grandparents had one of these when I was a kid, it was given to my mom and now my brother has it. As kids we had certain trails we could ride this down others, we were only allowed to ride with the 3 wheeler because of the width, although we did try it a few times, the branches and ferns in the back usually gave us away lol. We used to pack all of our friends into the back we would line the back with blankets or life jackets because that was a rough ride. My grandparents used it for yard work which the dump box was great for. Some of my best childhood memories were on the hauler.
I bought my first Heald Hauler three wheeler in 2019. I am trying to rebuild the brake system but it’s hard to find original parts.
I just realized I have one. It’s been modified thought. By myself. I’m not done with it yet, but here are the pics from beginning til now…well I guess I can’t leave a picture. I’m not a member…