A float is a form of two-wheeled

horse-drawn cart A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...

with a

dropped axle A dropped axle is the axle of a vehicle that is bent upwards towards the ends, i.e. the centre is 'dropped'. This gives two advantages: the centre of gravity of the bodywork is lowered relative to the wheels, which improves stability; secondly th ...

to give an especially low load-bed. They were intended for carrying heavy or unstable items such as milk churns. The name survives today in that of the

milk float A milk float is a vehicle specifically designed for the delivery of fresh milk. Today, milk floats are usually battery electric vehicles (BEV), but they were formerly horse-drawn floats. They were once common in many European countries, ...

and carnival float. The axle passes beneath the load-bed of the

cart A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed ...

but was cranked upwards at each side. This allows the load to be carried low, for stability and ease of loading with heavy objects such as churns or barrels. The high position of the

stub axle A stub axle or stud axle is either one of two front axles in a rear wheel drive vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, truc ...

s allows large wheels, giving a smooth ride. The box body is open at the rear, with no more than a chain across for safety. Rather than a driving seat or box, they are driven from a standing position, alongside the load. Floats were drawn by a single horse or, especially in Ireland, a donkey.

References

Carts

Animal-powered vehicles {{Cat main, Horse-drawn vehicle This category is to list all animal-powered vehicles. Animal-powered transport Vehicles by fuel ...

{{vehicle-stub

See also

References