Patent ID: 8613338

Claim:
A chassis for a tractor, the chassis comprising: a pair of longitudinally extending frame rails, each frame rail having a terminal end defining an end face of the frame rail, each frame rail further defining a top edge and a bottom edge; a first transition frame extending from the terminal end of one of the frame rails and a second transition frame extending from the terminal end of the other of the frame rails, each of the first and second transition frames including an aft end coupled to the terminal end of one of the frame rails and a forward end spaced apart from the aft end, each of the first and second transition frames defining a tapered profile between the aft end and the forward end; and a generally planar nose plate coupled to the forward end of each of the first and second transition frames, the nose plate extending laterally from the first transition frame to the second transition frame, the nose plate extending forward from each of the first and second transition frames so as to be positioned at or above a line extending along the bottom edge of each frame rail, wherein a bottom of each of the first and second transition frames is positioned at or above the line extending along the bottom edge of each frame rail.