Cotton loader and packer

A vehicle for hauling cotton from a harvester to a transport trailer comprising

• an elongated frame having an open end and a closed end, said frame consisting essentially of a U-shaped horizontal base with vertical posts rising up therefrom, the sides of the frame being far enough apart to permit the open end of the frame to straddle the end of a cotton transport trailer;
• ground-engaging wheels mounted to said frame;
• a basket for receiving and carrying cotton, positioned above, and substantially centered over, the U-shaped base of the frame, the basket being supported by the vertical posts of the frame in such a manner as to be vertically movable from a lowest position in which the bottom of the basket is above the ground a distance of about 1 to 3 feet, to a highest position in which the basket can clear the top of a cotton trailer, said basket having a bottom opening through which the basket's contents can be dumped straight down;
• at least one gate hingedly connected to the basket along a horizontal axis to cover the bottom opening, said gate being swingable in a downward direction away from the bottom of the basket to uncover the opening and cause the basket's contents to be dumped, said gate being in a substantially vertical plane when in the open position, with the lowermost edge of said gate being at a lower elevation than the bottom of the basket;
• means for moving said basket up and down between its lowest and highest positions;
• and means for opening and closing said gate.