Inventor and Transit Owl Founder Daniel Cardenas Solves Road Safety Issues With the Scorpion Wire-Free Trailer Connector

Before achieving the first powered airplane flight in 1903, the Wright Brothers made multiple prototypes and trials and faced skepticism from the public. To successfully create something that solves people’s problems, ingenuity, determination, and persistence are all key qualities an inventor must have. Having a brilliant idea is not enough – an inventor must not be easily discouraged if their invention is not working out, and they must be flexible enough to try other approaches if the current one is unfeasible.

Daniel G. Cardenas, founder of Transit Owl and creator of the Scorpion, the first wire-free trailer connector on the market, is one of these lifelong inventors. From a young age, Dan showed talent with tools and engineering, and he would often look for ways to improve various things and make them more efficient. He also took up car restoration as a hobby. At one point, Dan worked as a manufacturer representative for several medical and dental equipment companies, and he took a huge interest in how each device worked, making sure to know them inside and out to better present them to clients. He also developed several inventions and established several businesses.

However, the roots of the Scorpion came from a tragedy that befell Dan and his family. In 2006, Dan’s son died in a motor accident at the age of 23. His late son left behind a motorcycle mechanic shop, and its customers pleaded with Dan to keep the shop open to honor his memory. Dan agreed, but the business eventually encountered difficulties. In a bid to prevent the shop from closing, Dan approached a friend who owned a fleet of trucks and trailers, offering to handle the fleet’s maintenance.

“We started doing the maintenance for these trucks and trailers, and we discovered that the most common problem was the hitch connection, including the couplers, the hitch bar, the wires, and the plugs,” Dan says. “Many times, a truck that we’d serviced on Monday would be back on Friday for that same problem. I couldn’t understand what was happening. At first, I thought the problem was neglect or carelessness of the operators, so I talked to them and I learned that they were under a lot of pressure in their job, and they would often get stopped by the police for non-functioning trailer lights because the wiring had failed yet again. They told me that if there was a trailer hitch wiring solution that would allow them to drop it, latch it, and go, they would buy it in an instant.”

After several years, operating the mechanic shop became unsustainable, and Dan regretfully shut it down. However, the ‘drop it, latch it, and go’ idea was stuck in his mind. This fixation led to him researching how to create a solution to the problem of trailer wiring failure, taking up most of his free time. Already having the equipment in his personal workshop, Dan began creating prototypes. This was not a quick and easy process, and it took eight years of determination and dedication along with 23 iterations before he arrived at the final design. Dan established Transit Owl in 2017 and in 2020 the Scorpion was finally ready to go to market.

“Every time I got it wrong, it was back to the drawing board,” Dan says. “I needed to make an electrical connection that would withstand the constant movement of towing a trailer and was protected from the harsh elements, such as heat, cold, rain, mud, grease, and salt. I came up with a long-neck hitch ball design and a zero-compression spring design, and I began studying metallurgy to find the best alloy to use in the creation of the hitch ball. Eventually, I arrived at a gold alloy for the electrical connections, due to its unique properties. This, of course, made it more expensive, but was also resistant to corrosion and expanded and contracted uniformly, making it the most cost-efficient choice in the long run.”

Dan has truly created this wire free trailer connector – Scorpion – to provide a safer alternative in the market. The demand for a device like this is only going to increase in Australia as reports show that the number of employees in the Motor Vehicles & Trailers market is projected to amount to 30.44k in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 1.52% expected (CAGR 2024–2029). Its usage goes beyond land; this device can be used in boats. The boating industry in Australia has shown a national turnover of $9.64 billion for 2022-23​, according to data collated by the Boating Industry Association of Australia. And, with 25,760km of coastline and 905,000 registered boats and counting, the demand for such a safe substitute is only going to increase.

According to Dan, he chose the name Transit Owl for his company because of the owl’s ability to see almost 360 degrees, embodying the business’ ethos of always being on the lookout for solutions. Meanwhile, the Scorpion is named for its namesake animal’s hardiness, resilience, and usefulness to humans, helping eliminate insect pests such as roaches. This Scorpion eliminates the pain points of faulty wiring in a single, simple step. Transit Owl recognizes the potential of the Scorpion to benefit consumers in other markets, such as Australia, where trailers and caravans are popular due to a strong camping culture.

Transit Owl is a family-owned company, and Dan is joined by his daughters Daniela Cardenas-Roberts as director of operations and Natalia Cardenas as VP of sales. Prior to becoming part of Transit Owl, Daniela worked in the software industry, and she brings her expertise in process optimization and project management to the business. Natalia was in the beverage industry, having managed distribution, sales, manufacturing, and many other aspects. Both Daniela and Natalia were interested in having their own businesses, but their father approached them about joining Transit Owl, recognizing their individual talents.

“With Transit Owl, I can fully unleash my enthusiasm at work,” Natalia says. “In other organizations, oftentimes there’s so much red tape and dealing with different departments, which limits how much influence I can have on a project. It’s very liberating to directly make a positive impact on people’s lives with an innovative product such as the Scorpion.”

“I truly believe that the Scorpion can be a game changer in the industry,” Daniela adds. “This is why I joined Transit Owl, to help our father run the company’s day-to-day operations. It’s a culmination of my career experience and I feel like the timing of everything is working out. It’s not without bumps in the road, but we’re all ready to hitch our trailers and go.”