Patent ID: 8087868

Claim:
A forklift truck for mounting on the rear of a carrying vehicle, the forklift truck comprising a u-shaped chassis having a crossbar and pair of side bars mounted at the ends of the crossbar and projecting forwardly therefrom in the longitudinal direction of the truck, a wheel located adjacent the front of each of the sidebars, a steerable rear wheel located centrally on the crossbar, a driver's station positioned to one side of the chassis and a motive power unit positioned on the opposite side of the chassis, the chassis mounting a lifting member carrying forks, the lifting member being connected to the forks by way of a side shift mechanism comprising a fixed carriage and a movable carriage slidably mounted on the fixed carriage, the forks being mounted on the movable carriage, and means to shift the movable carriage relative the fixed carriage from a central position to positions laterally extending therefrom on either side of the fixed carriage, the means to shift the movable carriage laterally relative the fixed carriage further comprises a pair of fluid actuated rams each having a cylinder, a piston and an elongate piston rod connected at one end to the piston, the cylinders of the pair of fluid actuated rams being connected together side by side, the free end of one of the piston rods being connected to the fixed carriage and the free end of the other piston rod being connected to the movable carriage.