Abstract:
A trailer is provided with a fixed height and length. The trailer has a frame with a hitch located at a front area and wheels mounted to axles at a rear area. The frame has a middle section that has an unobstructed opening where a middle floor rests below a top surface and is surrounded by the middle section. The middle floor is located below an upper floor to form a two-story trailer. A rear floor is located at an elevation between the middle floor and the upper floor.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/978,515, filed Apr. 11, 2014, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This present disclosure relates to mobile living quarters, specifically tow-behind trailers or recreational vehicles with multi-level construction. Currently many different types of trailers, recreational vehicles, and towable living spaces exist that attempt to maximize storage space. Many manufacturers utilize slide-out sections to increase living space, but these are limited to increasing horizontal space. Other manufacturers attempt to increase space by having a pop-up section. However, pop-up sections make the living space unusable during transportation, as the pop-up must be in a stowed position. Sealing, mechanism, and other failures complicate the use of a pop-up section. Therefore, an improved multi-level living space is needed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure describes a fifth-wheel trailer that is constructed with a lower, intermediate, and upper level. The lowest level is in the centermost portion, located forward of the axles and rearward of the hitch. By having multiple levels, the living space can be split into several compartments, allowing privacy while not requiring a pop-up section. Usable living space is created by maximizing the height of a room. The height of the room is limited by the location of the floor and the height of the ceiling. By attaching the lowest floor to the bottom section of the frame as low as possible, enough height is created to have a 2-story trailer with a fixed roof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A preferred embodiment of this invention has been chosen wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of the trailer with a sidewall removed; 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the trailer with the roof, a front, rear, and a sidewall removed; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of only the frame from the trailer in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom isometric view of the trailer with the sidewall removed; 
         FIG. 5  is a top isometric view of the trailer frame only; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial view  6  in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a partial view  7  in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 8  is an isometric view of section  8 - 8  in  FIG. 1  with only the trailer frame visible; 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the trailer frame in  FIG. 8 ; and 
         FIG. 10  is a bottom isometric view of section  10 - 10  of the trailer in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A multi-level trailer  10  as shown in  FIG. 1  is made from a frame  12  with a hitch  14  and axles  16 . The axles  16  are attached to the frame  12  through axle attachment points  108  as is shown in  FIG. 3  and commonly known in the art. The frame  12  is made up of several sections as is shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 . The detail of the gooseneck section  20  as shown in  FIG. 6  is located most forward of the trailer  10  where a hitch  14  is attached. The middle section  22  is located just rearward of the gooseneck section  20  and is the lowest point on the trailer. As is shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , support and bracing frame members  112 ,  114 ,  116  connect the gooseneck section  20  to the middle section  22 . The rear section  24  is located just rearward of the middle section  22  and above the axles  16 . The axles  16  as shown are swing-arm style, allowing the frame rails to be closer to the ground by putting the spindle near or above a bottom surface of the rear section  24 . Likewise as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , support and bracing frame members  102 ,  110 ,  132 , connect the middle section  22  to the rear section  24 . The frame  12  is one structural component, made from assembling several individual frame members. 
     Turning now to the detail of the frame structure, the gooseneck section  20  is made up of lateral frame rails  160  and cross members  162 . The forwardmost cross member is curved to match the profile of the front  56 . The hitch  14  is attached at a forward portion of the gooseneck section  20  on the cross members  162 . Further reinforcements  161  extend between cross members  162  to provide further support. The gooseneck section  20  extends rearward and can partially overhang the middle section  22 . The end of the gooseneck section is defined by rearward ends  23  of lateral frame rails  160 . The middle section  22  has lateral frame rails  100  which are elongate structural components that span from the front to the rear of the middle section. As shown, the lateral frame rails  100  are several pieces but can be a single structural component. The lateral frame rails have support members  104  affixed adjacent to a bottom surface  150  of the rails  100 . Abutting the front of the middle section  22  is a front cross member  112  that spans between the lateral frame rails  100  and defines the forwardmost edge of the middle section  22  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . A support member  104  is affixed to the bottom surface of the cross member  112 . A vertical frame member  116  extends substantially perpendicular from a top surface  158  of the frame rails  100  and meets the gooseneck section  20  on a bottom surface of the lateral frame rails  160 . An additional frame member  114  is set further forward and joins the frame members  100  to the gooseneck section  20  on the bottom surface of the lateral frame rails  160 . At the rear of the middle section  22 , a rear cross member  110  connects the frame rails  100 . As shown, the rear cross member  110  is made up of several pieces but can be formed from a single structural member. The rear cross member  110  defines the rearmost edge of the middle section. Rear cross member  110  has a reinforcing member  104  affixed to the bottom surface. A perimeter is formed between the frame rails  100 , front cross member  112 , and rear cross member  110 . A vertically unobstructed area  103  is created by the perimeter in the middle section  22  of the frame. There are no cross members spanning between the frame rails  100  in the middle section between front cross member  112  and the rear cross member  110 . Extending into the unobstructed area  103  are corner gussets  78  that reinforce the intersection of frame rails  100  and their corresponding cross member  110 ,  112 . These are visible in  FIGS. 6, 8, 9, and 10 . 
     As is shown in  FIG. 5 , the rear section  24  is made from two rear frame rails  120  and attached at the front to the center section  22  at terminal ends  130 . Several reinforcing members are optionally included due to the unconventional structure of the center section  22 . Horizontal gussets  132  reinforce the connection between the terminal ends  130  and the rear cross member  110 . Further, vertical gussets  102  reinforce the ends of the frame rails  100  to the ends of the rear cross member  110 . Rear frame rails  120  are located inwardly from and parallel to frame rails  100  where a top surface  121  is coplanar with top surface  119  of cross member  110  and the top surface  158  of the frame rails  100 . The bottom surface  82  is located higher than the bottom surface  150  of the frame rails in the middle section. This allows increased clearance for wheels while allowing the frame rails to be closer to the ground. Axle attachment points  108  are attached to the bottom of the frame rails  120 . Much like the gooseneck section  20 , the rear section  24  has cross bracing  106  and  107 . Frames can be formed from steel, aluminum, wood, or composite materials and can be C-shaped, I-shaped, U-shaped, tube or box shaped. The rear frame rails  120  are closer to each other than the lateral frame rails  100  and  160 . 
     Turning now to the trailer detail, the trailer  10  has several floor levels as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 . Floors are normally attached on the top surface of frame rails and cross members, such as an axle floor  36 , front floor  31 , and a rear floor  38 . The middle floor  30  is the lowest floor in the trailer  10  and is attached to the middle section  22 . Because of the unobstructed area  103 , it can be attached beneath the top surface and preferably nearly the bottom of the frame rails  100 . A lower surface  148  of the middle floor  30  rests on an upper surface of the reinforcing members  104 . The lower surface  148  is near the bottom surface of the frame rails  100  and cross members  110  and  112 . The axle storage floor  36  is located just rearward and at a higher elevation than the middle floor  30 . Located most rearward of the trailer  10  is the rear floor  38 . The front floor  31  is attached to the gooseneck section  20 . 
     Attached to the frame are sidewalls  50 , a rear wall  52 , and a front wall  56  as is shown in  FIG. 1 . Opposite the frame  12  and attached to the sidewalls  50 , rear wall  52 , and front wall  56 , is the roof  54 , which all combine to form an interior cavity, apportioned for living and storage space. Slide out sections  60 ,  62  can be installed in the sidewalls  50  such that living space can be increased as commonly known in the art. An entry door  70  is installed through one of the sidewalls  50  located rearward on the trailer and opens to stairs  42 . 
     Attached to the sidewalls  50  are other floor levels such as the upper front floor  32  and upper rear floor  34 . The upper front floor  32  is located forward and at a higher elevation than the upper rear floor  34 . As is shown in  FIG. 2 , compartmentalized areas are formed between the floors  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 ,  38  and roof. These areas are utilized as storage or living space. Between the middle floor  30  and the upper front floor  32 , a usable amount of living space  73  is created due to the middle floor  30  being attached to the middle section  22  as low as possible. Because there are no cross members between frame rails  100 , the middle floor  30  must be either self-supporting or supported from another part of the trailer such as interior walls. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the upper front floor  32  is roughly centered between the roof  54  and the middle floor  30 . The middle floor  30  has sufficient room for an average height person to stand. The distance between the roof  54  and the upper front floor  32  is also sufficient for a person of average height to stand. The roof  54  slopes downward towards the rear  52  and the upper rear floor  34  is located lower than the upper front floor  32 . The upper front floor  32  is accessible from the upper rear floor  34  by stairs  44 . The upper rear floor  34  is accessible from the middle floor  30  through another set of stairs  40 . The upper rear floor  34  is accessible from a door  70  through the third set of stairs  42 . A forward storage compartment  72  is created between the upper front floor  32  and the front floor  31 . An axle storage compartment  74  is created between the upper rear floor  34  and the axle floor  36 . A rear storage compartment  76  is created between the upper rear floor  34  and the rear floor  38 . 
     Landing gear  142  is affixed to the frame on opposite sides of the center section  22  and rearward of the axles  16 . The landing gear  142  has a foot  80  that can be deployed to support and stabilize the trailer  10  when it is not connected to a vehicle. In  FIGS. 1-7 , the landing gear is shown in the refracted position. 
     It is understood that while certain aspects of the disclosed subject matter have been shown and described, the disclosed subject matter is not limited thereto and encompasses various other embodiments and aspects. No specific limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred. Modifications may be made to the disclosed subject matter as set forth in the following claims.