Patent ID: 7927061

Claim:
In combination, a forklift and a vehicle comprising: a forklift having a frame, a pair of spaced apart front wheels and at least one rear wheel, said forklift having a pair of forks movably mounted to said frame, said pair of forks movable in at least a vertical direction relative to said frame; a vehicle having a rearward end with a fork support for receiving said pair of forks of said forklift; and a mounting system for mounting said forklift to said vehicle, said mounting system comprising: a pair of mounting brackets, each of said pair of mounting brackets fixedly attached to one of said forklift frame or said rearward end of said vehicle and having an opening defined therethrough, said opening having a closed perimeter; and a pair of receiving pins, each of said pair of receiving pins dimensioned to slide through said opening in each of said pair of mounting brackets; said pair of receiving pins having a supporting position and a release position, said supporting position being a horizontal disposition and rigid attachment of said pins to the other of said forklift frame or said rearward end of said vehicle, said release position being a removal of said pins from said supporting position; wherein said forklift is mounted to said vehicle by sliding said pair of forks into said fork support, using said forks to lift the entirety of said forklift upwardly above the ground so as to position said openings of said pair of mounting brackets in alignment with said supporting position of said pins and disposing said pins in said supporting position; and wherein said pins and said openings cooperate to support the entirety of said forklift in a position above the ground.