Patent ID: 8459924

Claim:
A gondola carriage assembly, comprising: a wheel driven powered vehicle having a chassis, a control cab and at least one boom controllable from said cab; first pair of tires at a forward end of said chassis and a second pair of tires at a rearward end of said chassis, said tires controllable from said control cab; a forward gondola axle assembly pivotally connected to said wheel driven powered vehicle and pivotable from a first position for on-road travel to a second downward position for engagement with a gondola; a rearward gondola axle assembly pivotally connected to said wheel driven powered vehicle and pivotable from a first position for on-road travel to a second downward position for engagement with said gondola; a first pair of forward gondola wheels disposed on said forward gondola axle assembly and a rearward pair of gondola wheels disposed on said rearward gondola axle assembly; said forward gondola wheels being disposed apart a distance greater than said first pair of tires at said forward end of said chassis and rearward gondola wheels being disposed apart a distance greater than said second pair of tires at said rearward end of said chassis; a first pivoting gusset disposed at said forward end of said chassis and a second pivoting gusset disposed at said rearward end of said excavator chassis; a forward arm extending from said first pivoting gusset to said forward axle and a rearward arm extending from said second pivoting gusset to said rearward gondola axle; said first pair of vehicle tires at said forward end of said chassis engaging said forward gondola axle assembly to rotate said gondola wheels and said second pair of vehicle tires at said rearward end of said chassis engaging said rearward gondola axle assembly to rotate said rearward gondola wheels; and, an actuator extending between said chassis and each of said forward and rearward gondola axles.