Patent ID: 8226343

Claim:
An apparatus for loading and transporting a plurality of containers on a vehicle, the vehicle having a bed, the apparatus comprising: a frame pivotally attachable to the bed of the vehicle, the frame pivotable between a generally vertical loading position and a tilted resting position of between about 20 to 40 degrees over the bed; upper forks for loading a first container, the upper forks coupled to the frame and moveable between positions including a first height and a second height along the frame, the first height and the second height differing by greater than at least a height of one of the plurality of containers; lower forks for loading a second container, the lower forks coupled to the frame and configurable between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration at the first height, wherein the upper forks are moveable to the first height for loading the first container when the lower forks are in the stowed configuration; wherein the lower forks are configurable to the deployed configuration at the first height for loading the second container when the upper forks loaded with the first container are at the second height; wherein the upper and lower forks load the first and second containers by slidingly engaging respective sleeves of the first and second containers; whereby the first container and second container may be sequentially loaded and simultaneously transported on the vehicle.