Vehicle for traversing rough terrain

A vehicle capable of traversing rough terrain, which vehicle includes a frame having:

• a pair of elongated, generally parallel side members;
• a first crossmember joining said side members near the rearwardly oriented ends of said side members, the first crossmember having a pivotal portion to permit the forwardly oriented ends of said side members to move up and down;
• and
• a second crossmember pivotally joined at each end to the side members near the forwardly oriented ends of the side members to permit up and down movement of said forwardly oriented ends while providing lateral restraint during the movements thereof, said second crossmember being unattached to structure which would limit its vertical and horizontal displacement during rotation of said side members as said vehicle traverses rough terrain.

A vehicle capable of traversing rough terrain, which vehicle concludes:

• a pair of elongated side members;
• a pair of V-shaped struts, the apices of which are positioned in a confronting relationship between said side members and the legs of which are attached to the side members;
• and
• means pivotally joining the apices of the struts.

A vehicle capable of traversing rough terrain, which vehicle includes a frame comprising:

• a pair of elongated side members supporting a body thereon;
• a first crossmember interconnecting said side members, including means permitting said side members to pivot relative to each other about a transverse axis;
• and
• a second crossmember interconnecting said side members, each end of said second crossmember being pivotally connected to one of said side members to permit limited pivotal movement of said side members relative to said transverse axis while providing lateral restraint thereon, said second crossmember being disposed apart from and movable independently of said body supported on said side members.

A vehicle capable of traversing rough terrain, which vehicle includes a frame comprising:

• a pair of elongated, generally parallel side members supporting a body thereon;
• a first crossmember interconnecting said side members near the rearwardly oriented ends of said side members, including means permitting said side members to pivot relative to each other about a transverse axis;
• and
• a second crossmember interconnecting said side members near the forwardly oriented ends of the side members, each end of said second crossmember being pivotally connected to one of said side members to permit limited pivotal movement of said side members relative to said transverse axis while providing lateral restraint thereon, said second crossmember being disposed apart from and movable independently of said body supported on said side members.