Patent ID: 8727692

Claim:
A removable platform and load bed apparatus for a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a movable frame adapted to be loaded onto and unloaded from the vehicle, said movable frame having opposite front and rear ends, wherein a longitudinal direction ground surface translator is mounted to said movable frame under said rear end of said movable frame for translation, relative to the vehicle, of said rear end of said movable frame on said translator when said movable frame is unloaded from the vehicle such that said translator is in contact with an under-lying ground level surface; and a platform both mountable onto said movable frame and releasably securable onto said movable frame, said platform for hoisting simultaneously with hoisting of said movable frame when being loaded onto and unloaded from the vehicle, wherein said movable frame includes a first portion positionable for insertion under at least a portion of said platform when said movable frame is unloaded from the vehicle and in a lowered position, and wherein said movable frame engages with an underside of said platform when said first portion of said movable frame is positioned under said at least a portion of said platform and as said front end of said movable frame is raised to raise said movable frame from said lowered position to a first raised position, said platform and said movable frame further including interlocks cooperating between said platform and said movable frame so that when said first portion of said movable frame is positioned under said at least a portion of said platform and as said front end of said movable frame is raised to raise said movable frame from said lowered position to said first raised position, said movable frame mates with said underside of said platform so as to said releasably secure said platform to said movable frame for hoisting into a second raised position ready for hoisting onto the vehicle, whereby said platform and said movable frame are securely hoistable from said second raised position as a unitary combination onto the vehicle.