Today I welcome guest author Kaitlene Dee as she shares about her latest release.

I have a new book out, called Grace, in the Prairie Rose Collection. Several fabulous authors have released books this past week in the collection’s fifth year of publication. All of the stories in the collection are romances that happened on covered wagon journeys. So, naturally, in writing these stories, we all did a lot of research regarding covered wagons. Not all of the stories take place on the Oregon Trail, but they all do take place in covered wagons traveling to various destinations—though there are several that take place on the Oregon Trail.

Last month, I visited as a guest blogger here and shared about foods that were packed on wagons headed westward. Today, I am sharing about wainwrights and on wagon basics.

We know that most folks chose either mules or oxen to pull their wagons. Oxen were favored for their strength and the fact that they were able to eat poorer grasses and faired the journey much better than horses and mules.

Wagons were made by wainwrights (they made wagons, coaches, sleighs, and gypsy caravans, sometimes carts, though there were tradesmen known as cartwrights). Wainwrights were skilled tradesmen in the making and repairing of wagons. The wheels, I found in research, were made by wheelwrights, although some wainwrights made wheels too.

Wainwrights had special tools for their trade such as planes (for smoothing the wood), compasses which helped them make sure the wheel was completely round, spokeshaves, and saws.

Wagons were made mostly of hardwood (maple, hickory, and oak), with as little metal as possible to keep the weight down, so that the team pulling the wagon wouldn’t tire out. Wagons were pulled by teams of four to six animals. The maximum weight these wagons carried were 2,000-2,500 pounds.

The wheels, understandably, were the hardest part of the wagon to make. They were made of hickory or oak and had rims of iron to make the rough and rugged journey. There were no brakes or springs, so often chains were used around rear wheels. This helped to lock them or provide drag when going down steep hills.

There are three main parts to the wagon: the bed, the cover, and the undercarriage. The bed wasn’t very big: 4 feet wide by 10 feet long. The cover was made of oiled cloth or canvas, supported by a bowed framed and could be closed by a drawstring. The undercarriage had the wheels and the axels. Iron reinforced the tires, axles, and hounds (hounds were points of pivoting that fastened the rear axle to the reach and the front axle to the wagon tongue), in the undercarriage because they took the worst stress (besides the animal team that pulled the wagon, of course). In the rear hung the grease bucket, which held a mixture of tar and tallow to lubricate the wheels, which needed to be done often as needed (about every 30-40 miles was what I found in my research).

These were remarkable vehicles and it’s a wonder that any of them that made such a rigorous journey could even still exist today.

For more information, in case you want a deeper dive into the world of covered wagons and western trails, feel free to visit: http://www.oregontrailcenter.org and http://www.frontieramericanillustratednews.com for incredible adventures on the trail and preparing for it. They are wonderful sites! As well, there is a modern-day wainwright with the best pictures of the vehicles they make or reconstruct (even some for Hollywood), but not just great pics of their crafted vehicles; they have replicas of barrels, coffee grinders, and many other things worth checking out. You can find them here: http://www.hansenwheel.com

Get your copy of Grace today! Available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited at: https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Prairie-Roses-Collection-Book-ebook/dp/B0BXPTR15X/

About Kaitlene Dee: 

When she’s avoiding laundry or weeding the garden, Kaitlene Dee is writing historical western romances, and contemporary cowboy romances, as Tina Dee.

No matter what she’s doing, she’s actually, and most likely, daydreaming about western romances and the spunky heroines who insist on having their own stories written, as well as the swoony cowboys who love them.

She often rescues stray dogs and can’t wait to give a forever home to her next dog or two…or five. She lives on the west coast and enjoys traveling, research, writing, watercolor painting, and hanging out with reader friends in her Facebook readers group or with her newsletter readers. She’s an avid coffee drinker, strong and with vanilla creamer and cinnamon, please! Don’t even think about getting between her and a bearclaw pastry.

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