Extended Forward Tow Saddlemount -- Single Rail

#This invention generally relates to towed motor vehicle transportation and tools for assisting in towing of vehicles from one location to another location.

#The economy of the United States, if not of the world, depends to a great extent on fleets of large trucks for the distribution of goods, such as foods, consumer products, durable goods, and even industrial equipment. There are many manufacturers of such trucks, which concern primarily, but are not limited to, class 7 or class 8 over-the-road trucks. Once these trucks are manufactured, they require shipment or transportation either to the carrier or other company for whom the truck was made, or to a dealer who sells or leases these trucks. The most obvious method to transport these trucks is by driving them directly to their destination. This method has disadvantages, at least because each truck requires a driver, who must be paid for his or her services and for whom return transportation must be arranged.

#In order to overcome the necessity of a driver for delivering each truck, a variety of techniques have been devised to use a first truck that will carry or tow one or more additional trucks to the desired destination. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,214. This patent discloses a tow bar that attaches to the fifth wheel of both the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle. The towed vehicle is towed in a rear-ward fashion behind the front vehicle. Using this technique, the towed vehicle is exposed to the full force of the air that is encountered during the tow. Any aerodynamic surfaces of the towed vehicle will be subjected to reverse stresses, i.e., the wind will impose loads on the truck at 180° from the direction expected during the design of the truck. Thus, the roof cap, side fairings, and any additional fairings, such as side and chassis fairings, should be braced or buttressed for the trip. This adds additional cost to the delivery of the truck. In addition, it is not clear that, even using both fifth wheels, the towed truck will have sufficient freedom of movement to be able to rotate slightly during turns.

#The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a single rail extended forward tow saddlemount;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an extension plate mount as depicted in FIG. 1;

#While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

#Embodiments of the present invention are highly useful in transporting trucks and other vehicles, including new trucks, from one location to another. While embodiments are most useful in this application, they may also be used to transport other vehicles, such as used trucks, from one dealer to another.

#Design for Reduced Stress and Low Profile