Patent ID: 7845668

Claim:
A dual trailer arrangement for towing by a highway tractor having a fifth wheel supported over rear ground wheels, the arrangement comprising: a first trailer portion with a king pin at the front end for attachment to the fifth wheel of the tractor and two or three axles having ground rear wheels thereon at the rear end; a load box on the first trailer; a second trailer having a king pin at a forward end and at the rear end a rearmost axle having ground rear wheels thereon and at least one additional axle having ground rear wheels thereon in front of the rearmost axle; a load box on the second trailer; a fifth wheel at the rear end of the first trailer for receiving the king pin of the second trailer; such that in a loaded position the trailers are supported on all axles; a lifting arrangement for lifting the rear end of the first trailer and the front end of the second trailer into an empty transport position so that the first and second trailers are supported from the ground on the rear wheels of the tractor and the ground wheels of the rearmost axle of the second trailer, with the ground wheels of the first trailer being spaced from the ground and with the ground wheels of said at least one additional axle being spaced from the ground; and a locking arrangement for locking, in the empty transport position, the first and second trailers in a directly aligned position with no freedom to pivot side to side at the king pin of the second trailer such that the first and second trailers can be towed as a single integral trailer supported only on the tractor and the rear wheels of the second trailer when the load boxes are empty.