The Radio Flyer Ziggle, introduced in 2013, is a ride-on toy for kids 3 to 8 with four caster wheels and no pedals. Kids propel forward by wiggling and twisting their bodies in a back and forth motion and moving the handle bars at the same time. A number of designs and styles have been produced by Radio Flyer, often inspired by the automobiles or popular culture of the day. The “Zephyr”, produced in the 1930s, paid homage to the Chrysler Airflow.
The Radio Flyer Ranger wagon has a full-sized seamless all-steel body with no-scratch edges and a seat back for comfortable rides. This wagon includes a child seat belt, and extra long handle for easy pulling and durable molded wheels. Radio Flyer has one of those incredible rags-to-riches stories attached. The Chicago-based company, known for its iconic little red wagons, was launched by a young frozen ride on toy Italian immigrant named Antonio Pasin, who came to Chicago practically penniless in 1914. A cabinetmaker who had trouble getting work in that field, Pasin dug ditches, washed vegetables, and took whatever work he could find, carrying his tools in a wooden wagon of his own design. After the war, the factory went back to making wagons and developed several new models in tune with the times.
From 1942 to 1945, the company shut down its production of wagons and made five-gallon steel gas cans for the war effort. As men returned home at the end of World War II, housing was short and the 1944 G.I. Bill subsidized mortgages, allowing many to flock to the suburbs. The sale of wagons surged during the subsequent baby boom, and Radio Flyer branched out into gardening wheelbarrows to meet changing demands. 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.
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 radio flyer wagon 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.
As of next year, the company will have been around a full century, with roots stretching back to the early 1900s when the future founder of the company, Antonio Pasin, arrived in America. The red test bike, an aluminum-framed M880 with a cloth front basket and a water bottle holder, is on the large side, and gives off an air of solidity. The styling is low-slung and retro, perhaps suggesting a 1930s motorcycle.
Starlight plays an integral role in the partnership, ultimately connecting Radio Flyer with the patients. Starlight Radio Flyer Wagons distributed to hospitals across the country and played an integral part of a child’s pediatric care. Doctors, nurses, child life specialists and caregivers across the US rely on these wagons every day as an integral part of a child’s pediatric care.
He called his new wagon the “Radio Flyer,” another patriotic reference to his homeland, this one after a famous Italian invention, the radio. Intended “for every girl and boy,” the wagons sold for less than $3 each. Even in the depths of the Great Depression, they sold at the rate of 1,500 a day. The group began exploring ways to push their company into the 21st century.
The Radio Flyer and Starlight teams collectively poured more than 1,000 hours into the charitable project, estimates Mark Johnson, vice president of product development for Radio Flyer. The Hero Wagon is now in hospitals in 82 cities across 33 U.S. states and counting–each year, the organizations donate 1,000 wagons, with half going to medically underserved communities. The readily recognizable little red wagon manufactured by Radio Flyer is used in several artistic works, including film and television. A character in the 1992 drama film Radio Flyer flies to safety in a converted Radio Flyer wagon. Radio Flyer wagons appear in a store display in the 1983 film A Christmas Story.