Patent ID: 7484783

Claim:
A trailer having a support deck having two side ends, a front end and a rear end, a pair of spaced post members each fixedly coupled to the deck to be upstanding from the deck adjacent the same one end of the deck selected from the two side ends, the front end and the rear end, a gate assembly comprising a lower gate member, an upper gate member and a pair of elongate link members, the lower gate member having a lower end, an upper end parallel the lower end, and two side ends, the lower end of the lower gate member connected to the trailer between the post members for pivoting about a first axis between a closed position in which the lower gate member extends upwardly from the one end of the deck to close the trailer between the post members and an extended position in which the lower gate member extends from the one end of the deck as an extension of the deck substantially in the same plane as the deck, the upper gate member having a lower end, an upper end parallel the lower end, and two side ends, the lower end of the upper gate member pivotably connected to the upper end of the lower gate member for pivoting about a second axis parallel to the first axis between a stacked position in which the upper gate member extends upwardly from the upper end of the lower gate member when the lower gate member is in the closed position to close the trailer between the post members above the lower gate member and a fence position in which the upper gate member extends upwardly from the upper end of the lower gate member when the lower gate member is in the extended position, the link members each having a first end and a second end, each first end of each link member pivotably coupled to a respective one of the two side ends of the upper gate member spaced from the second axis towards the upper end of the upper gate member for pivoting about a third axis parallel to the first axis, each second end of each link member pivotably coupled to a respective one of the post members spaced upwardly from the first axis for pivoting about a fourth axis parallel to the first axis, wherein the link members, the post members, the lower gate member and the upper gate member are pivotably coupled together for pivoting about the first axis, second axis, third axis and fourth axis such that when the lower gate member moves to its extended position, the upper gate member moves to its fence position and when the lower gate member moves to its closed position the upper gate member moves to its stacked position.