Patent ID: 8622173

Claim:
In combination with a tactical vehicle comprising a cab portion located at a front of the vehicle and a vehicle bed located at a rear of the vehicle, the vehicle bed comprising a base platform, a deck deployment system adapted to facilitate transfer of personnel between spaced elevations, said deck deployment system comprising: an elevated personnel deck and defining a deck surface for supporting personnel, said deck surface extending substantially from the front of said vehicle to the rear of said vehicle, and said personnel deck comprising a pivoted front deck section extending directly over and above the cab portion of said vehicle and a fixed-elevation rear deck section located directly over and above said base platform, the front deck section designed to elevate relative to and independent of the rear deck section; a convertible stairway hinged to the rear deck section of said personnel deck and adapted for movement independent of the front and rear deck sections between a stowed condition and a deployed condition, said convertible stairway comprising an adjustable frame assembly and a series of articulating horizontally-disposed foot treads carried by said frame assembly, said foot treads remaining substantially horizontal upon movement of said stairway between the stowed condition and the deployed condition, such that: when said stairway is in the stowed condition, said foot treads integrate with the rear deck section of said personnel deck to form substantially flat and continuous portion of said deck surface; and when said stairway is in the deployed condition, said rear deck section opens to form a personnel deployment passage directly over and above said base platform at the bed of said vehicle, and said foot treads cooperate to form steps extending downwardly from the rear deck section of said personnel deck to said base platform.