Dolly for transporting prefab homes and the like

Abstract

A wheeled dolly for transporting prefab homes or the like and having at least two outboard wheel means spaced apart a distance for normal road travel, and further having at least two inboard wheel means on opposite lateral sides of a longitudinal axis of the dolly whereby when a narrow roadway is encountered the operator can position the inboard wheel means thereon such that either or both of the outboard wheel means may actually be suspended off the sides of the roadway until the roadway regains a normal width, and wherein a steering mechanism is provided to synchronously pivot all said wheel means thru a steering angle whereby the dolly and load can be steered straight ahead or in sideways angular directions to avoid obstacles and to allow maneuvering of a long load around corners which are too sharp for conventional transport means.

Description

FIELD

[0001] This invention concerns a unique dolly construction for carrying large, heavy and cumbersome structures such as prefab homes, or the like over difficult roadways, particularly where the roadway changes in width, e.g., from about 12 ft. or more to about 7 ft. or less.

PRIOR ART

[0002] Heretofore, prefab home structures such as a half of a double wide prefab home, or a manufactured small mountain log cabin or the like generally have been mounted on wheel assemblies such as the common two wheel tandems or double or triple axle wheel units, or on specially built carriages such as that shown, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,896,909; 5,012,879; and 6,129,495, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The home structures are then secured to the wheel assembly or carriage for transportation to the lot site where, e.g., each half, in turn, is to be placed on a more permanent foundation. In such wheel assemblies, typically, the distance between the wheels is at least about 8 ft.

[0003] The transportation of such structures which can weigh up to 20 tons or so, is often made impossible where the roadway narrows down, especially such as over narrow country bridges or roads which often are only about seven or eight feet in width and can barely be negotiated by automobiles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In brief summary, the invention comprises a wheeled dolly having a longitudinal axis and being of heavy, strong steel construction, wherein a plurality of axle means are provided on the dolly, at least two outboard wheel means and at least two inboard wheel means are mounted on said axle means, whereby when a narrow roadway is encountered the operator can position the inboard wheel means thereon such that either or both of the outboard wheel means may actually be suspended off the sides of the roadway until the roadway regains a normal width, of, for example 12 ft. or more, and wherein a steering mechanism is provided to synchronously pivot all said wheel means thru a steering angle whereby the dolly and load can be steered straight ahead or in sideways angular directions to avoid obstacles and to allow maneuvering of a long load around corners which are too sharp for conventional transport means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] The invention will be further understood from the following description and drawings wherein the depictions are not to scale and wherein certain structural portions are enlarged out of proportion or broken away or sectioned for clarity, and wherein:

[0006] FIG. 1 is a top down plan view of the present dolly structure with frame portions and auxiliary wheels (for bringing the dolly to the manufactured home to be transported) shown by dotted line and general area lines;

[0007] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the axle and wheel means with a tandem steering linkage affixed;

[0008] FIG. 3 is a partially cross-sectioned view of a wheel mounting structure taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

[0009] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

[0010] FIG. 5 is a rear view of a loaded dolly travelling on a narrow bridge;

[0011] FIG. 6 is a rear view as in FIG. 5 of the dolly travelling over a narrow country road; and

[0012] FIG. 7 is a top view of a portion of a four wheel tandem steering mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] With reference to the claims and drawings, the present dolly comprises base or frame means generally designated 10 having a longitudinal axis 12 and being of heavy, strong steel construction capable of carrying 5 to 30 or more tons of load 13 and transporting the same over difficult roadways. Laterally spaced girder means 14, preferably about six or more feet in length, are provided on the dolly and are adapted to be connected to laterally spaced longitudinal supporting beam means 16 of the load. The equivalent of 14 and 16 are shown as 42, 44, 46 and 48 in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,495. Also shown in this patent are several devices for attaching the load to girders 14, which devices can also be used with the present dolly. In this regard a bolt attachment device is shown in FIG. 5 as item 17. It is noted that the beam means of the load can run longitudinally, angularly or laterally, or any combination thereof, depending on the construction of the load.

[0014] A plurality of axle means such as 18,20,22,24 are provided on the dolly, preferably on a common lateral axis 26 normal to said longitudinal axis 12 and lying on opposite lateral sides thereof. Outboard wheel means 28,30 are mounted on the outboard axle means 18,24 and are spaced from each other a distance preferably of at least about eight feet as measured from the centerlines "c" of the wheels. Inboard wheel means 32,34 are mounted on the inboard axle means 20, 22, each said wheel means being laterally spaced from said longitudinal axis a distance preferably of at least about one foot also as measured from the centerline "c" of the wheels. A preferred steering mechanism generally designated 36 is provided to synchronously pivot all said wheel means thru a steering angle such as ".alpha.".

[0015] It is noted that any number of axles and wheels may be used on the present dolly, and any number of dollies may be employed, e.g., two or three for long loads, however, for transport of typical moderate size manufactured homes, the arrangement as shown in the drawings is highly preferred.

[0016] The preferred axle structure shown in FIGS. 1-4 for mounting the wheels comprises an axle 38 on which a bearinged wheel is rotatably mounted. Each axle 38 is integral with a steering knuckle 40 which is pivotally mounted on a portion of frame 10 by a pin 42.

[0017] The preferred steering mechanism 36 comprises a steering arm 44 connected by a ball joint or the like 46 to an arm 48 which is pivotally connected as shown in FIG. 4 to a T member 50 pivotally mounted on frame 10 by pin 52. As shown in FIG. 1 a tie rod 54 is pivotally connected by pins 56 to the T members 50. A cylinder 58 which is manually or electrically operated air or hydraulic, is pivotally mounted on frame 10 by pin 60 and its piston rod 62 is pivotally connected by pin 64 to tie rod 54. In operation, actuation of 58 will steer all wheels synchronously in the same direction thru the same angle ".alpha.".

[0018] As shown in FIG. 7, the steering means is simplified in that the steering arms 44 are integral with the axles 38 and tie rod 54 is pivotally connected to each individual steering arm 44 such that a T member 50 is eliminated. In place of rod 54 a rack and pinion type of power likeage, and also electrical motor steering power means may be employed.

[0019] As shown and described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,495 auxiliary wheels such as 97 which are readily placed on and removed from frame means 10 are employed to bring the present dolly to the home and position it thereunder for attachment of the dolly to the home.

[0020] This invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications will be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A wheeled dolly structure comprising base means having a longitudinal axis and being of heavy, strong steel construction capable of carrying 5 to 30 or more tons of load and transporting the same over difficult roadways wherein girder means are provided on the dolly and are adapted to be connected to supporting beam means of a load, a plurality of axle means mounted on said base means on lateral axes normal to said longitudinal axis and lying on opposite lateral sides thereof, outboard wheel means mounted on outboard axle means and spaced from each other a distance of at least about eight feet, inboard wheel means mounted on inboard axle means each of which is laterally spaced from said longitudinal axis a distance of at least about one foot, whereby when a narrow roadway is encountered the operator can position the inboard wheel means thereon such that either or both of the outboard wheel means may actually be suspended off the sides of the roadway until the roadway regains a normal width, and wherein a steering mechanism is mounted on said base means for synchronously pivoting all said wheel means thru a steering angle whereby the dolly and load can be steered straight ahead or in sideways angular directions to avoid obstacles and to allow maneuvering of a long load around corners which are too sharp for conventional transport means.

2. The dolly structure of claim 1 wherein said outboard wheel means are spaced from each other on said lateral axis a distance of at least about nine feet, and wherein said inboard wheel means are spaced from each other on said lateral axis on opposite sides of said longitudinal axis a distance of at least about two and one half feet.

3. The dolly structure of claim 1 wherein each wheel means comprises single or dual wheels mounted on the same axle.

4. The combination of the dolly structure of claim 1 mounted on and affixed to supporting beam means of a manufactured home.