Friend just got this at Dinky’s auction.
He called it a Back to Back Trap, but I don’t see the seats configured that way 
The louvers in back say Dogcart to me, but he says there’s no space for a dog under the seat.
What is it:
Check if the back seat can be removed and switched around. It could also be a plain trap where a front seat flips up for access to the rear seat - which looks like with the split seat back on the front seat and what looks like a hinge or pivot attached to the front of it.
I would need more pictures to be able to say more.
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Winner, Winner 
!
I hadn’t noticed the split seat 
Plain Trap it is 
I have no idea what it is, but it is pretty cool looking! Will you get to try it out? I assume you’d need a full size equine to pull it. Your little guy would probably take one look and head for the hills.
Rebecca
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I have seen carriages like this in various sizes from pony to large horse. With the pole on the seat it looks like this is set up for a pair, and probably a large pair as that looks like a long pole.
@RMJacobs & @Christa_P
Yup, horse size & it came with the team pole & shafts for a single.
I made a deal with the owner:
I get his DraftX groomed showready for Fair, he buys me a pass (up from $15 to $20 this year) & I’ll ride with him in the Pleasure class 
I’d LOVE to get that style for my mini 
But the $$ would be better spent on the lightweight aluminum Marathon from Canada I covet.
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I would still check if the rear seat can be reversed. Some traps are (were) built so they could be used either way. If it can be reversed, the back probably drops down like a tailgate to use as a foot rest.
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I would agree with Christa, it is a Trap. Likely can be used as shown with front and rear seats facing forward or the rear seat reversed to face backwards with the tailgate down to use as the footboard. Looks very nice! Practice getting in smoothly, reaching the step to the front can be tricky with wheels so close together. We swung the horse sideways to move the front wheel, expose the step, for easier entry. Same thing to get back out.
That is a “drop pole” which attaches where shafts would fasten to the axle. Pole is long, tip should end at the relaxed horses noses. Yoke slides on pole tip for horses with full neckcollars (light buggy, neck collars are fine) , to carry the pole weight. Breastcollars tend to be pulled sideways too much, rub the horses, so they are not used with the pole much. Harnessed horses have the pole strap from yoke ends attached to collar bottom and should have false martingales to prevent pole and yoke getting too high when stopping. If pole end does not have a strap, owner should put one on the pole to prevent yoke going forward and OFF accidently!! Most folks don’t hitch their Pair in tight enough to prevent yoke being able to move forward and off the pole. Safety strap wrapped around pole in front of yoke, then buckled back behind yoke will prevent pole dropping out, stabbing the ground to cause an accident.
This vehicle usually was pulled by light horses, very popular for city drivers who did not need a wagon to move goods. It can turn very short with a cutunder, like the pictured vehicle, which appears to have a full 5th wheel. A Trap still turns quite short with a cutunder, even if it has a reach between the axles. Not all Traps were cutunder, still very nice to drive, have a comfortable ride. They usually were quite lightweight, short bodied, popular with lady drivers. I see many antique photos with only one light horse pulling a trap.
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@goodhors I was hoping you’d see this
New owner is the guy who bought the junkers at Topeka you helped load 
He drives a single horse - good-sized DraftX - with a breast collar.
I’ll tell him COTH concensus is he indeed got a Trap & Back to Back if that back seat can be switched.
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is it not a phaeton? I thought traps had 2 wheels?
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@2DogsFarm Breastcollar is fine for a single horse pulling the Trap. Just that the pole and yoke don’t stay stable on the horses like when using a fixed or marathon, sprung pole.
Is the Trap new or old? I see brake lines, but maybe they were retro-fitted. Our light horse was smaller, but had no issue managing our light trap with 2 adults and 2 little kids. They did and do come “sized” like carts, small (pony mostly), medium, large.
Hope he has a good time with it! Looks like a fun drive!
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I haven’t seen it in person, but I don’t think the Trap is antique.
Most likely a replica, but very nicely done.
I’m trying to get this friend & another Club member to come to Wade House Carriage Days in July 
I’d bet he’d bring this carriage
It looks like modern, roller bearing hubs and no reach so I’m guessing it’s a reproduction, but it still could be from as early as the 80s. I don’t know when the bearings became common, but I know they were by the 80s.
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Sounds like a good deal! Have fun!
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@Xanthoria Traps in the USA alway have 4 wheels. The UK folks call most owner driven, informal type 2-wheeled vehicles Traps. One of those great “separated by a common language” things that lead to much confusion!! Same word with quite different meanings. The UK has a huge array of lovely 2-wheelers, most go by specific names, with the Trap name being a class of carriages.
My understanding was that the UK had better roads for carriages and that there was a Tax on axles! Well someone had to pay for the nice roads!! The folks got around the Tax by only having one axle and a wide variety of 2-wheel carriage designs for different purposes. They also used to tax how many windows a fancy house had, so only rich people had a lot. My Mother, a lover of antique houses, told me that way back, many USA cities taxed closets in homes! People had movable wardrobes or hooks on the wall for clothing to avoid the extra taxation.
This is like USA folks call many 4-wheel, lightweight, 2 or more passenger carriages “buggies.” USA Phaetons are a type of buggy, smaller front wheels, nice lines, often with folding tops. Usually driven to a single horse. More “fancy” options in lamps, dashboards, fenders, often undercut, than say a plainer Sears buggy. But carriage makers often used names like Phaetons, in trying to make their vehicle sound better, classier. Could be nothing like another maker’s Phaetons design!!
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From what I have seen a Phaeton would have a regular 2 person seat in front and at most a single groom seat in the back, frequently with some sort of top. They don’t have the 2 full seats.
Many of my Club members call anything with 4 wheels a Buggy.
They’ve driven for many more years than I have, but this makes me just a bit 
I like to call a Spade a 
A Meadowbrook a Meadowbrook
& A Trap a Trap 
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I know nothing about carriages, but that looks neat. I noticed the title of this thread and wondered if someone was naming their carriage and needed suggestions. 
I wasn’t going to suggest Carty McCartface….really. But, someone could probably do something creative with “trap”….
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Hoss or Horse Cartwright
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Oh wait! I know! It’s a trap with foldable elements…Trapper Keeper, like the old school binders, lol
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