Driving bikes: why a bucket is hung on the back of a car

Why hang a small bucket on the hitch?

If the situation is logical in a large bucket, then why hang small buckets with a volume of no more than 500 ml? Motorists themselves answer this question in different ways:

• tribute to the Soviet tradition;
• as a decoration;
• as a talisman;
• as an indicator of readiness to provide assistance on the road.

The small bucket has no function. Although some motorists believe that it can be filled with a thick lubricant and used to lubricate parts, such as bolts when changing wheels.

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Why is there a small bucket on the back of the car?

Author Sergey Bukhransky

28.10.2019 12:47

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Drivers have a lot of rituals and quirks in store. Many must have seen buckets dangling under the bumper behind cars. And if a heavy truck can see a full-fledged galvanized bucket there, then on cars in this place you can find small neat copies of buckets, no larger than a glass.

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Many car owners even claim that the sight of such a bucket at the front of the car has a calming effect. But surely this is not the only reason why he is placed in this place.

• The first legend says that such a tradition came from the time when cars were not yet foreseen. But on the roads of the world, carts pulled by horses, mules and buffaloes were driving with might and main. Cab drivers always carried with them a bucket filled with tar, with which they lubricated the hubs of wooden wheels. And naturally, the drivers of the first cars adopted this habit and also considered it their duty to carry such a bucket with them.
• Another version of this custom comes from a later period. In cars of the past, ordinary water was used instead of a special coolant. In the Soviet Union, the first cars had both water and air cooling. Accordingly, in the heat, the motors often overheated. Naturally, when the engine overheated, the driver grabbed the notorious bucket and raced to the nearest source of water to cool the red-hot engine right on the spot. Today it looks strange, but in those days such actions showed that a person works well.In those days, technology worked to the limit, and naturally overheating was a common thing for drivers of the past.
• There is also a simpler explanation. During the Second World War, a bucket was an attribute of any combat vehicle, be it a tank or a truck. The bucket itself is a very necessary and useful thing in everyday life. In the field, it was used for various purposes. In it it was possible not only to carry water, but also to cook food and even carry cartridges. So this tradition came from the war in peacetime, as the front-line soldiers after the war were transferred from tanks to tractors and other vehicles.

Accordingly, stories were born among the people that told how an ordinary bucket saved in various difficult situations. Thus, the bucket began to bear the properties that can bring good luck. And if woman with empty bucket brings bad luck, then a car with such a bucket should at least be protected from bad luck.

Therefore, if you believe in signs, then feel free to cling to the bucket. This is a great accessory that gives the car personality. Such a bucket looks especially interesting on an expensive premium car.

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Types of balls

There are several types of balls. It depends on the load and preferences of the drivers. Each of them has its pros and cons. The ball on the towbar can be of the following type:

• Ball H;
• Ball type A;
• Type F;
• Type C;
• Ball G;
• Ball V

Type H is one-piece and cannot be detached from the rest of the towbar. Product drawing A shows a removable ball, which is attached with two bolts in a horizontal plane. For type F is characterized by fastening with two bolts. They are located horizontally so that their axis coincides with the axis of movement of the car.Type C refers to detachable and can be dismantled if necessary. Attached with a coupler, which makes it easy to separate. Ball drawing G differs from F in that four bolts are used for fastening. Type V is similar to F, but has a longer shape.

The ball can be made independently if you have a drawing

But this is problematic, if we take into account that it is necessary to comply with all requirements. The drawing, if desired, can be found using the Internet

Several versions of the emergence of this tradition

The first hypothesis for the emergence of the tradition of hanging a metal bucket on trucks is explained by the fact that in the past, when horse-drawn transport was most common, small buckets of grease or tar were hung on carts to grease creaking wooden wheels. It is quite possible that at the beginning of the last century, drivers adopted such a habit, carried a small bucket on the rear beam or towbar mount, in which oil or other technical liquids were stored.

There is also a practical explanation for this tradition. When operating a car in the conditions of the Far North, diesel fuel often froze in the tank, respectively, it was possible to start the car only by lighting a small fire under the frozen gas tank. The easiest way to do this is to have a small metal bucket on hand, in which there were coals or dry wood chips. Such a bucket was set on fire, the gas tank froze, the driver quickly started the car, and then easily extinguished a small fire in a metal bucket.

The third version of the origin of such a tradition to carry a small bucket with you comes from lovers of outdoor activities and tourism. In such a small container, it was possible to transport water that was used for drinking or household needs.In such a case, such a bucket was made closed and sealed, which made it possible to exclude water pollution when driving a car, even along country roads.

What do people do in garages, if almost no one parks cars there.

Every day in the morning I drive the same route: from home to the garage. And there are so many garage cooperatives in my city that some people think that there are not as many cars as there are garages in all GSKs. You can look at the photo - these "anthills" begin at the very top and for at least a kilometer down there are rows to the right and left. descent into my garage cooperative

At the same time, up to 50 garages can be counted on each row, and sometimes more (depending on the cooperative).

sometimes up to hundreds of garages in one row

And many can rightly notice that almost no one leaves their car in garages today. Yes, there are still such drivers, but most often they are elderly people who have nowhere else to go, and they need a car once a week, or even less often. Yes, and it's inconvenient now: leave your vehicle in the garage, and go to your house for another 1, 2 or even 5 km.

And often you can see garages, the gates of which are overgrown with grass, and it is immediately clear from such that no one has been using them for a long time. And there are quite a few like that.

abandoned garages are not uncommon

But nevertheless, there are many "living" garages that their owners constantly use. But what do they do there if they do not use it for their intended purpose?

1. Someone uses it instead of a pantry, storing unnecessary trash there or something that simply does not fit in the apartment. Bicycles, baby carriages.various remnants of building materials after repairs, etc.
2. Since most of these premises have cellars under the entire area, food storage is also quite common. And many are not going to sell the garage because of the basement.
3. Warehouses. Recently, there have been a lot of people who work for themselves, and they often use such garages as a warehouse. Under building materials, things, spare parts or even equipment. Very convenient and cheap compared to regular commercial real estate.
4. Car service. This is probably one of the most common activities at GSK, and here everyone does what they want: someone is a diagnostician, others specialize exclusively in repairing steering racks, and others open a tire shop.
5. Auto-dismantling is not so common, but in my city almost every fifth GSK has its own analysis. I myself have been dismantling for 7 years, and it is very convenient: the minimum rent, no problems with neighbors (you do not bother anyone, unlike a private house), and convenient access roads.

Of course, there are several other activities that can be organized in the garage, but such businessmen are often then taken away in a jail in a police UAZ, so we will not talk about them.

What is the function of the bucket behind the car

The bucket on the car on the rear bumper has a practical origin. In the twentieth century, this attribute served as one of the tools for the cooling system. Since antifreeze and antifreeze were in short supply (ordinary citizens could not afford them), a simple way out of the situation was found. To reduce the heating of the vehicle, ordinary water was used. The bucket was hung from behind on the bumper of cars and trucks.It served as a container for collecting water from the nearest source (column, reservoir, etc.).

Bucket on the car on the rear bumper

The version is confirmed by the instrument panel of vehicles manufactured by . Examples of machines on which buckets of different sizes were often found:

• VAZ 2102;
• VAZ 2101;
• VAZ 2103.

On the board of these vehicles there was a scale showing the heating of the engine. Sometimes there was a signature for this element of the instrument panel, called "Water". That is, cooling was required, which explains the bucket on the car on the rear bumper.

Truckers used a bucket to heat diesel fuel. In the cold, diesel fuel froze, it was necessary to make a fire to heat the fuel tank. Being in the conditions of the route remote from the cities, a bucket served as a practical tool for this purpose.

This device, attached to the rear bumper, was also used for household needs - more often for washing vehicles.

Such a place for placing a bucket was chosen in order to save space in the cabin. Later, the tradition was adopted by the owners of passenger cars, who drove mainly in urban areas.

When was the bucket first used?

Truckers and car owners of the 20th century were not the first people to hang a bucket on the back of a vehicle. The phenomenon was common among medieval merchants, whose transport was carriages and carts.

The container was filled with tar, which is used to lubricate the elements of the wooden wheel. Drivers of cars adopted this practical approach from cabbies.

Do you need a bucket today

Since the bucket was needed for water, which was used as a coolant, there is no need for it now. But the traditions of placing it have taken root and overgrown with superstitions.

Now a small bucket means good luck. According to popular superstition, it acts as a talisman against traffic accidents. Some people decorate their vehicle with it - there are containers of different sizes, shapes, colors on sale.

bucket for good luck

So a bucket that was once practical is not necessary for a modern driver, but it continues to be used as an amulet or decoration of a car.

Versions about the need for a bucket on the back of the car

On modern passenger cars, a small bucket at the back is purely a tradition with no functional need. But the origins of such an action of drivers are due precisely to practical value - there are several versions of where this fashion came from:

• In Soviet-era trucks, ordinary water was used in the engine cooling system, which boiled and periodically ran out due to evaporation. In the summer, the problem became especially serious - the car could get up at any moment. For this reason, drivers often hitched a bucket from behind - with its help it was possible to draw water in the nearest reservoir or in a street column and correct the situation. The location of such a container on the outside made it possible not to take up extra space in the cabin.

• The second version is historical. According to her, the tradition dates back to ancient times, when people traveled in carriages and carts. In horse-drawn transport there was always a bucket of tar for lubricating the wooden wheel.

• The latest version echoes the first, but according to it, the bucket was used not for cooling, but, on the contrary, for heating. Truckers periodically had situations in the winter when diesel fuel froze. The easiest way to fix this is to make a fire under the car, and it was more convenient to make this one in a metal bucket.

All versions have the right to life and to some extent even complement each other. The bucket at the back of the car has become so familiar to people that even today many motorists attach it to their vehicles, only not in full size, in a souvenir format. In addition, many believe that the observance of such a tradition brings good luck on the road, so today the bucket is a funny talisman.

A bucket on a passenger car is an unusual talisman, which, according to motorists, brings good luck. But the origins of such a tradition have a practical meaning - they carried buckets with them on carts when it was necessary to lubricate wooden wheels, and in Soviet times as a container for water.

Accessories

Moving behind any car, you can notice bizarre objects on the towbar. Sometimes, they cause suspicion and irony.

Some car owners install eggs on the hitch. It looks very funny and uplifting. The practical purpose of such an attribute is not entirely clear. Someone just hangs them on a chain. By the way, in the US, this phenomenon is quite common. It is believed that cowboys used to hang them on their cars in order to show his advantage. On request, some firms can make eggs for you. In addition, they are on sale. This product can also be used for practical purposes. For example, provide a drawing of the ball, according to its size, they will make a cap for the towbar in the shape of eggs. You can make a drawing yourself, it's easy. Watching different cars, you can see metal eggs, which can also be ordered for production by someone, providing their drawing.The presence of an object in the form of male testicles on your car will be perceived ambiguously. Someone will just laugh, the other will find it strange. One way or another, this object has a vulgar coloring, especially if it appears to the gaze of small children, worse, girls.

Bucket

Why do you need to hang a bucket on the hitch? This can be explained from a practical point of view. Its presence there has another meaning. Truck drivers used to take a bucket for a towbar with them. Guess why they did it is very simple. The fact is that at high temperatures the engine is very hot. The fan did not cope with the task of cooling enough to prevent boiling. So I had to add water to the radiator. It was necessary to take a bucket with you to the towbar in order to drain the water in winter and it did not freeze, did not destroy the radiator tubes. In addition, starting a cold engine became easier if hot water was poured into the cooling system. When traveling, it was very practical to hang a bucket also because you can wash the windows if there is water nearby and wash your hands.

Everything is clear with trucks, but why drivers of modern cars hang a bucket on a towbar is a mystery. Some do it simply as a symbol or a talisman. There is an opinion that in this way jeep drivers want to show the high cross-country ability of their car. Others emphasize brutality.

So, on the device for the trailer you can see the following items:

• simple cap;
• Bucket;
• Eggs;
• Caps in the form of different animals or a head from a doll.

If desired, there is a practical application for any subject, including those that seem useless.The best combination of all will be the aesthetics and practicality of a particular item.

Why do they hang a bucket on the hitch

44% of the survey participants voted for the answer “Somehow it happened”, and the answers “The bucket is used to wash the car” and “From the evil eye” scored 22% of the votes each. 16% of respondents believe that they hang a bucket "For beauty". There were among the subscribers and those who answered the question themselves. Valentina Valentinova says that she saw several times how: “Passing-by people threw coins into such miniature buckets.” “To fly off and pierce the rear windshield,” Roman Odarchenko answered. In Odnoklassniki, the majority of respondents chose the answer: “It somehow happened.” Alla Sapova decided to dilute her thoughts with a poetic line: “A bucket hangs under the bumper, it does not give rest ...)))))”. And Natalya Arkova shared a link to an article from a car magazine.

During the survey, we also did not waste time in vain. And they found the answer. To do this, we had to make an excursion into history. The tradition of hoisting buckets on the back of vehicles dates back to the days of horse-drawn transport, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports. Cab drivers attached a bucket of tar behind the stern of carts or chaises, which was used to lubricate the hubs. Or from a bucket it was always possible to drink a draft animal.

When cars appeared, the tradition of carrying a bucket with you was preserved, only now the container was used to scoop up water from a river, well or column and add it to the radiator. And in winter, this had to be done often. Indeed, so that the water does not freeze on cold nights, it was drained in the evening, and in the morning the already warm liquid was poured back into the radiator. The same bucket was used to heat water and diesel fuel.

It also happened - a bucket was often used instead of a warning triangle, exposing it behind the stern in the event of a breakdown or accident of the car

And often with a bucket they went out onto the road when the tank ran out of fuel - it was easier to attract attention and indicate their intentions: it was immediately clear that the driver was asking to pump out five liters of gasoline or diesel fuel to him so that he could get to the nearest gas station

Today, the bucket can still be seen under the rear axle of trucks, most often truckers. The latter use such a container to rinse headlights, lanterns, windshield, wash license plates or wash their hands after repairing or changing a wheel. Often, off-road drivers - jeepers, tourists and fishermen - also benefit from buckets behind the "stern". This practice is also understandable. In the field, you can boil water in a bucket (for example, for fish soup) and even make a fire - in windy weather it is much more convenient to do this in a bucket.

Surprisingly, even under the bumpers of modern cars today you can see buckets, most of which, however, are small, decorative and not even always steel. Cars are decorated with such attributes for good luck.

Indeed, for many years of use by drivers of buckets, the function of a kind of amulet was fixed for the latter, promising an accident-free trip. And finally, by hanging a bucket under the bumper, drivers indicate that they are watching their car and are ready to help other road users in emergency situations. Thus, it is also one of the symbols of the automotive brotherhood.

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What is the meaning of the little bucket

Now, without problems, in almost any store of car accessories and not only, you can buy yourself a small decorative bucket for your car.

Its price is ridiculous. Go to Aliexpress, or go to local stores, and see for yourself.

Talking about some practical use of this accessory does not make sense. It's just a decorative element. But there are several reasons to use it on your vehicle:

• good luck symbol. Most of the time, that's what it's about. Drivers are superstitious people, which is why many of them use different symbols in cars. One of them is a bucket. Allegedly, this protects against problems on the road, breakdowns, engine overheating, etc .;
• A sign of a good and kind driver. Now among motorists there is such an unspoken symbol. The presence of a bucket indicates that the driver not only monitors his own transport, but is also ready to come to the rescue of other road users. The unspoken symbol of the brotherhood of drivers;
• Elementary joke. It's absolutely simple. The driver wanted to hang a souvenir on the hitch. There are no additional meanings here.

On this, in fact, the list of options ends.

It is unlikely that such a bucket is able to mask any defects on the vehicle. Nothing can be put in there.

Interestingly, I personally observed in one restaurant how such buckets were used as a container for a check. I asked the waiter to calculate us, and the girl brought a bucket in which there was a check for our order.

As you can see, there are really many applications.

For those who are interested, follow this link to read about popular and common superstitions among drivers. To be honest, I believe in some of them myself. But I'm not ashamed of it.

Watch this video on YouTube

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What is a towbar

it the device is intended for interface with the vehicle trailers and other goods on wheels. For fixation, a ball is used, which is located in the upper part. The fastening and strength of the material are calculated according to the direction and magnitude of the load. Vertical and horizontal forces act on the ball and on the entire structure as a whole. In each part, mechanical stresses arise that do not remain constant when the car is moving. Sharp shock impacts require a large margin of safety. The coupling of the towbar with the machine is carried out, as a rule, by means of threaded connections. Some cars are equipped with this device from the factory, others need to install it yourself. To do this, you need to know the characteristics of the machine. They depend on the power of the engine, the strength of the gearbox components, wheels, etc. This information can be found in the owner's manual. In accordance with the data obtained, select the desired product and install it.

A metal bucket is a common souvenir

In most cases, the bucket is hung on the hitch. It is not necessary to fix it, but for reliability, you can glue electrical tape.In general, you can hang a bucket anywhere, the main thing is that there is a hole for this. Disconnect the handle on one side, stick it through the hole and fasten it back. Nothing unusual.

If initially such metal buckets were used by truckers and drivers of all kinds of agricultural machinery, then subsequently small metal souvenir buckets were also loved by car owners. Of course, hanging such a metal bucket on an executive sedan or a sports coupe with a low clearance will be problematic, and simply stupid, but on an SUV or a full-fledged crossover it will be an original and unusual accessory.

On sale, you can pick up original versions of such metal buckets, made forged or branded for specific cars. In the latter case, such accessories will be a great gift for every car owner. At the same time, it is not at all necessary to carry them on a towbar, they can be used to store various devices, oils and other technical fluids, which are transported in small cans in the trunk of a car.

Summing up

Today on sale you can find various souvenir metal buckets designed to be used as an accessory to decorate a car. In the past, on trucks, such buckets had at least some practical significance, but today they are only decorative accessories; accordingly, small-sized miniature metal buckets that are hung on the rear beam or towbar mount are popular.

16.08.2019

The bucket on the towbar can be fixed with a pipe mount

Male power on the towbar

By the way, drivers abroad hang part of the male organs on the towbar, apparently in order to betray male power to the car and confidence to the driver. In our country, this, to be honest, not the most aesthetic talisman is not very common. Although we also have drivers who believe in the power of this particular symbol. In social networks, you can find many offers of chrome-plated, multi-colored personal belongings for a towbar worth about 1000 rubles.

Text: Sergei Mikhailov.

Welcome!

A bucket hanging on the back of a car - many have already seen such a situation when, for example, you are driving behind some kind of car and an iron metal bucket is hanging behind it, a small truth, but why is it hanging there? Many people ask this question, and many already know the answer to it (The older generation of people), since this thing was very common before 2000, after 2000 such buckets are less and less common, but why are they broadcasting? Now we'll figure it out!

A little about the history of this bucket!

Many will now begin to say that this is not beautiful, but still people will continue to broadcast them, so there is something not easy in this, right? In fact, everything is true, there is from this bucket (Or rather, it used to be useful), when there was still no normal antifreeze and antifreeze as such (Or rather, they were, but they cost a lot of money and not everyone could fork out for a normal coolant in those days) , people poured into the cooling tank not the same coolant that everyone is already used to now, but simply the usual water drawn from the tap or from the pump and this water was poured into the tank, thereby the car warmed up less and cooled only from one water.

Legends and opinions

Some people at a fairly advanced age, who have overgrown samples of the domestic auto industry, keep such an accessory in memory of wonderful times behind the steering wheel as a souvenir. Usually a bucket is hooked to a device that is designed to tow various trailers. As you can see, this custom is old and should have had at least some explanation.

Main myths:

• Digging deep into the historical jungle, it turns out that the bucket was in the village carts and in the carriages for the gentlemen. Then, on the streets of any Russian city, horse-drawn carts were mainly used. It was still a long time before the invention of bearings, so instead of an assembly unit, a respected cab driver had tar grease for the hub. Many drivers still consider it a kind of talisman when traveling on the road.
• The second version is more practical. Experienced truckers and road train drivers in the northern part of the country have repeatedly encountered freezing diesel fuel. Only one thing remains, in order to melt the diesel fuel, it was necessary to make a fire under the tank where the fuel is located. It is here that the treasured bucket will help, because in the conditions of a long-distance flight this is the only means available for making fire on the road asphalt.