The Village News
Don Cokeley believes this rollover could have been prevented by the Rollinator. Don Cokeley and his partner, John Aho of Oceanside, have patented a device they say will reduce mobile home and modular rollovers caused by wind on the highways, therefore saving lives and substantially reducing insurance losses.
Cokeley estimates that insurance claims for mobile and modular losses could currently total $35 to $40 million per year. He expects the “Rollinator,” could reduce that by 50 to 70 percent in insurance payouts, ultimately reducing premiums. Cokeley, who owned Cokeley Trucking for more than 20 years, invented the device after personally experiencing the vulnerability of mobile and modular buildings and dangerous rollovers while transporting.
“One rollover shut down the I-15 for a few hours,” Cokeley said. “I had to come up with a way to improve the safety of both my team and the innocent drivers around us on the freeway. That’s when I came up with the concept. It was a primitive device back then, but it worked really well. It wasn’t until recently that I had the time to really develop it for other transporters.”
Cokeley hand-built the Rollinator and took it to Aho, who believed in the concept and has taken over the business of marketing aspects of their company, COAHO. The partners took the device to Chuck Miller of Miller Machine, who made some minor recommendations that Cokeley incorporated into the design. They received their patent in February.
The Rollinator has also been adapted for some RVs and box trailers.
When asked if they plan to manufacture and sell the products locally, John said, “What we are really looking for at this point is someone in the manufacturing business who is interested in leasing or purchasing the patent. I believe we have already done what we do best. We want to see this really make a difference in the industry and in people’s lives.”
Photo of Cokeley and Rollinator also attached (Fred Chase photo)
Village/Valley News
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