There’s an old saying that goes, “Don’t put the wagon before the horse.” A new invention of a folding flat wagon by Richard N. Shapiro does away with the horse completely.  Wagons and carts have been helping people do yard work, haul camping and fishing gear and even children for years.  The problem is that the traditional utility wagon was big and bulky and took up about as much room in your garage as a lawn mower.  Unless you owned a mini van and were willing to take the back seat out there wasn’t much hope in dragging a traditional wagon on trips along with you.  That’s where Shapiro stepped in with his patented folding flat wheel technology.  This folding wheel technology is so innovative that Radio Flyer, a leading wagon manufacturer, has just struck a deal with the Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) inventor and attorney.  Find out which of Shapiro’s 14 patents has fixed their little red wagon.  

Whether looking for outdoor adventures on the Appalachian Trail or along the Blue Ridge Parkway, having the right camping gear will make all the difference.  As a mom and a new camper I can tell you right away that I needed an extra hand getting all my gear…and kids from point A to point B as I did not have a big RV along with me.  That’s where the pancake flat wagon came in handy.  Since this wagon folds to 7 inches flat I was able to pack it in my car and still had room for all my other camping equipment.

We arrived to the camp ground later than anticipated after a couple of unscheduled stops.  The camp ground was first come first serve and daylight was quickly fading as we drove past a number of recreational vehicles up the winding dirt paths searching for an open site.  When we finally did locate an open one near some RV's it was quite a haul from where we parked our car.  

Setting up a tent in the dark is no fun.  So I was glad that I could pack all my equipment including my cooler into the pancake wheel wagon and get all my gear to the campsite in one trip.  Despite its light weight the wagon can hold up to 200 pounds.  By the time the sun set our tents were up and we had just got our fire started.  Thanks to this handy little invention I was not only able to get everything to my campsite in time I was able to do it without so much as a groan or a moan from the kids about having to drag their stuff up and down the trails.  If there was a signal out here I’m sure they’d already be posting about the camping trip on facebook.

Here are some camping tips from Camping Gear Magazine that will help make your camping experience a bit more relaxing even with the help of the pancake wheel wagon.

1. Arrive early. Give yourself plenty of time to set up camp before dark. 

2. Choose a level spot. Sweep it free of debris. If you must sleep on an incline, rest with your head uphill. 

3. Check for potential hazards such as anthills, wasp nests, piles of rock or branches where snakes or scorpions would make a home. 

4. Look up! Rocks that may tumble, hanging pinecones, and dead tree branches are dangerous. 

5. Don’t park or camp under a lone tree in a field, especially on high ground. It (and you) will be a lightning rod in the event of a thunderstorm.

Where can you get this pancake flat cart by pancake wheel, this newest piece of essential camping gear?  You can order online from www.foldflatworld.com or find it on Amazon Marketplace.

If you’re like most American’s you’ve owned or at least had a neighbor that owned a Radio Flyer wagon.  This little red wagon has been perfect for family fun at home for years but not so much if you wanted to travel with it unless you have an SUV with plenty of room in the back.  That was until inventor Rick Shapiro created U.S. patents that developed ways to fold a wagon handle inside the wagon to get it out of the way.

Historically, RF wagons included what is called a wagon "bolster" which is the part under a wagon to which a handle mounts.  The bolster would also swivel.  Most of us realize that RF handles could be steered by a kid inside a wagon with the handle partly folded back inside.  Although today we don't see many kids rocketing down a hill steering their wagons, but in the good ole days that was a big deal. 

But this bolster design had a big drawback: you could not fold the handle out of the way.  This means it was hard to travel with the typical "red wagon" inside a regular car trunk.  I think this drawback led RF to consider lots of ways to get a wagon handle out of the way for travel or storage.

But that has all changed now that  inventor Rick Shapiro has signed a patent technology license agreement with Radio Flyer (http://www.RadioFlyer.com) The license agreement covers a leading edge fold flat handle design patented by Pancake Wheel LLC and inventor Rick Shapiro. Radio Flyer has adopted this fold away handle design so that the wagon handle stows flat inside the Radio Flyer wagons.

Where did Rick come up with this stroke of genius?  To tell the truth he has been inventing and designing fold flat wheels for consumer wheeled products since 2001 and holds about 15 patents with several pending.  Amazon is now carrying his Hideaway Pancake flat wagon that folds to 7 inches flat.

But wagons aren’t the only thing of Rick’s that folds flat he also has a great jogging stroller design that is not yet licensed or in production.  He has also patented fold flat tricycles, ride on cars and bike trailers too.