Vehicle hoisting tow trailer

The subject trailer includes a single tubular for-and-aft horizontal tow-bar towed at its front end by a tow ball hitch. Welded vertically to a rear end portion of the tublar tow bar is a tubular mast having pulleys guiding a cable from a winch on said tow bar up and over said mast and connecting to a towing hammock for attaching to a vehicle to be towed. The hammock has a central pair of flanges guiding the hammock vertically on the tubular mast while allowing the mast to rotate 30.degree. on its own axis between the flanges while bolted to the hammock after the latter being hoisted to the vehicle towing level. Welded to the tow bar is a rigidly symmetrically laterally extending tubular axle co-axially rotatably mounting a pair of #15 sized balloon tired wheels on the opposite axle ends, causing the trailer to track straight behind the towing vehicle by flexing, both at the vertical tow-ball socket joint and at the vertical 30.degree. mast-hammock-flange-and-bolt-joint.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A four foot tow bar is pivotally connected through a standard socket 
trailer hitch to a ball headed post found on the rear bumper of any four 
wheeled automotive highway tow vehicle. One foot from its rear end, said 
bar rests upon and is integrally united by welding with a four foot 
transverse axle pivotally mounting a pair of number 15 balloon tired 
automobile wheels at its opposite ends. 
A hand crank powered cable winch is fixed on a forward portion of the tow 
bar and a three foot six inch tall mast is rigidly welded to the rear end 
of the tow bar and supports a four inch cable pulley in a cleft in its 
upper end. Said bar, mast and axle are preferably formed of three inch 
square steel tubing. A second four inch cable pulley is fixed on said bar 
in the crotch between said bar and said mast and a quarter inch steel 
cable is wound up on the winch and extends therefrom around the lower of 
said pulleys and then around the upper pulley and downwardly to terminate 
in an eye encircling a loop of seven-eighths inch rod welded at its 
opposite lower ends to the middle portion of a horizontal four inch 
channel iron about three feet long and having centrally welded thereto a 
pair of co-axially apertured flanges which guide vertical movement of said 
channel iron on said mast as said channel iron is raised or lowered by the 
operation of said winch. When said channel iron is in its upwardmost 
position, said apertured flanges are at the same level as a pair of 
transverse slots formed in the mast and the channel iron is secured at 
said level on said mast by a seven-eighths inch diameter steel bolt which 
extends loosely through said aligned apertures and slots. A round three 
inch pipe three feet long is suspended sixteen inches below said channel 
iron by two ten inch wide pieces of rubber belting, the upper ends of 
which are clamped on the top edge of said channel iron and the lower edges 
of which are clamped to the rear face of said round pipe. Key hole 
apertured chain locking plates are welded to and extend laterally beyong 
opposite ends of said pipe. The elongation of said mast slots is to permit 
said channel iron to swing in a horizontal plane relative to said mast 
through a net angle of 30.degree. as is required in steering the invention 
when towing a vehicle. 
Welded to lower rear portions of said tow bar and mast and lying in the 
same vertical plane therewith is rearwardly and downwardly inclined guide 
member which keeps the channel iron centered when said bolt is removed and 
said channel iron lowered and then lifted as is required when applying the 
invention to a vehicle to be towed. 
To accomplish this, a pair of chains with hooks at their rear ends are 
looped around parts of the main frame of said vehicle, preferably near the 
front wheels thereof, after which the front ends of said chains are 
inserted through the chain link locking plates on the opposite ends of the 
round pipe so as to hold the latter disposed inwardly under the front end 
of the vehicle to be towed as the winch is manually actuated to wind in 
the cable on the winch and lift the channel iron and the rubber belting 
suspended round pipe so as to raise the front wheels off the ground as the 
apertured flanges at the middle of the channel iron are elevated into 
alignment with the pair of slots provided in said mast, at which point the 
channel iron is secured in its topmost elevated position by the insertion 
of said belt through said mast slots and said flange apertures. 
The winch being locked, the vehicle thus captured may be towed to its 
destination and there deposited by unbolting the channel iron flanges and 
unwinding the cable winch. The chains, being removed from the vehicle thus 
delivered are applied to the pipe to tighten the gear against rattling 
when travelling empty.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring specifically to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, the 
preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a road vehicle hoisting 
tow trailer 25 which includes a four foot tow bar 26 preferably formed of 
three inch square tubing and integrally welded at its front end to a 
standard socket trailer hitch 27 which is capable of readily latching onto 
a ball headed post 28 which is standard equipment for the rear bumpers of 
four wheeled automotive highway vehicles in general when used for 
privately towing trailers. 
About one foot from its rear end, said bar 26 rests upon and is integrally 
united by welding to a four foot transverse axle 29 which is also formed 
of three inch square hollow tubing. Suitable bearings are provided on the 
outer end portions of axle 29 and provide anti-friction concentric mounts 
for a pair of #15 balloon tired automobile wheels 30 which support said 
car hoisting tow trailer 25 and half the weight of any car being towed. 
The ruggedness of the joint formed by welding together the tow bar 26 and 
transverse axle 29 is enhanced by the use of gusset plates 31 which are 
welded solidly in place in the various right angles formed between said 
tow bar and axle. 
A hand crank powered cable winch 32 is fixed on a foward portion of the tow 
bar 26 and includes a latch 33 for locking said winch and a brake 34 for 
slowing down the winch when paying out cable therefrom. 
Resting on and welded to and extending vertically from a rear end portion 
of tow bar 26 is a forty-two inch mast 35 and this mast is also formed of 
three inch square hollow steel tubing. Extending obliquely downwardly from 
the back face of said mast and also made of three inch square hollow steel 
tubing and solidly welded to said mast and to the rear end of tow bar 26 
is an oblique guide element 40 which terminates at its lower end several 
inches above the ground and forms a 30.degree. angle with the vertical 
mast 35. Welded in place in the forward crotch formed between tow bar 26 
and mast 35 is a pair of vertical parallel plates 41 between which a four 
inch pulley 42 is pivotally supported on a bolt 43. In a similar manner a 
vertical kerf 44 is formed in the upper four inches of mast 35 and a bolt 
45 is extended transversely through the mast so as to mount thereon within 
said kerf a second four inch pulley 46. 
A supply of quarter inch steel cable 47 is wound up on the winch 32 and 
extends therefrom underneath pulley 42 and upwardly from back of said 
pulley around the upper pulley 46 and downwardly therefrom to terminate in 
a cable eye 48 which is surrounded by the end portion of the cable and the 
cable end portions thus produced are clamped rigidly together by three 
bolted clamps 49. 
The cable shielding eye 48 encircles a loop 50 formed by bending a 
seven-eighths inch rod, said loop then being integrally welded in place in 
a central portion of a hammock hoisting channel iron 51. The opposite ends 
of loop 50 are spread apart a sufficient distance before their being 
welded to the hoisting channel iron 51 to allow room for a pair of guide 
flanges 52 having central co-axial inch diameter holes 53, which flanges 
are disposed on opposite sides of the mast 35 to be loosely slideably 
guided vertically by said mast and to allow the rear ends of said guide 
flanges to extend between end portions of loop 50 and be welded in place 
to said loop and to said hoisting channel 51. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, 
the mast 35 has inch-wide horizontal slots 57 formed laterally in said 
mast at a common level therein and about one and three-fourths inches 
long, the holes 53 and slots 57 receiving a seven-eighths inch bolt 58 
having washers 59 for the purpose of supporting the hammock hoisting 
channel iron 51 at its uppermost operative position on the mast 35. The 
slots 57 however, and the freedom of movement allowed by the spacing 
between said mast and said guide flanges 52 permit rotation of the hammock 
hoisting channel iron 51 about the mast 35 with a total range of 
30.degree. from one extreme to the other, this being to facilitate the 
steering of the vehicle hoisting tow trailer 25 of the invention when it 
is towing a vehicle. 
To compensate for the removal of metal from the mast 35 in forming slots 
57, five-eighths inch thick steel bars 60 overlapping this area in the 
mast are welded inside the mast in opposed relation as shown in FIGS. 4 
and 5. Rubber cushions 61 are cemented in place in the mast on opposite 
sides of bolt 58 to prevent chatter of the device when travelling. 
As can be readily seen from the drawings, the upper and lower flanges 69 
and 70 of the hammock hoisting channel iron 51 are turned forwardly and 
flat plate clamps 71 are secured by bolts 72 to the outer ten inch 
portions of upper flange 69 to secure thereto the upper edges of two ten 
inch wide sections of half-inch thick rubber belting 73. Co-extensive 
horizontally with channel iron 51 and suspended from said channel iron by 
being secured by similar clamps and bolts to lower end portions of belting 
sections 73 is a three-inch O.D. round pipe 74. 
Chain locking plates 75 are welded to said pipe to extend laterally beyond 
opposite ends of said pipe, each plate having a T-shaped chain locking 
hole 76 formed therein as shown in FIG. 2. 
A vital accessory employed in the operation of the invention is a pair of 
welded link tow chains 80 each chain having a hook 81 secured to one end 
thereof and being of suitable length and strength for performing their 
functions which will now be described. 
OPERATION 
When the vehicle hoisting tow trailer 25 is being readied for travelling 
empty on the highway or is being placed in storage, the winch 32 is 
operated to raise the hammock hoisting channel iron 51 to its topmost 
position after which the bolt 58 is inserted in place, as shown in FIG. 3, 
and the chains 80 are caught at the respective ends of the pipe 74 in the 
locking holes 76, and the hooks 81 at the opposite ends of the chains are 
employed to tighten the gear against rattling. 
FIG. 6 shows the invention being operated manually by one man after 
applying it to an automotive vehicle and readying the invention to tow 
said vehicle. This is done by inserting the hooks 81 at the inner ends of 
the chains 80 around portions of the main frame of the vehicle to be towed 
and then applying the hooks to the chains and locking the free ends of 
chains 80 to locking plates 75, as shown in FIG. 1. 
The winch is now hand operated to windup the cable 47 which tightens the 
rubber hammock H and finally raises the captured end of the target vehicle 
V until holes 53 and slots 57 are aligned allowing the bolt 58 to be 
inserted and its nut 82 tightened thereon as shown in FIG. 4. 
The winch 32 may also now be locked by setting the latch 33 thereby 
preventing the unwinding of the winch 32 during the towing of the target 
vehicle V as shown in FIG. 6. As heretofore noted, turning movements are 
provided for by the invention to facilitate flexible travel in towing 
target vehicle V on trailer 25 by permitting a substantial degree of 
simultaneous articulation about a vertical axis between tubular mast 35 
and hammock H and about the vertical pivotal axis formed by the ball 
headed post 28 and the ball socket trailer hitch 27 on the front end of 
tow bar 26. Co-ordinating this dual vertical pivotal articulation is the 
automatic, built-in, geared-to-the-road, fore-and-aft tracking of two 
rigidly co-axially, axle tip mounted #15 regular automobile balloon tired 
wheels 30, forward travel of which constantly centralize the tow bar 26, 
independently of the towed vehicle's tendency to join the path of travel 
of the trailer.