Patent ID: 8657554

Claim:
A combination transport and load handling vehicle comprising, a truck having a chassis with a cab mounted to a forward portion of the chassis and a hitch plate mounted toward the rear of the chassis, a forklift assembly including a lift frame having at least one first guide boom member pivotally mounted to the chassis adjacent a rear of the cab and at least one second extendable boom member which is reciprocally movable with respect to the at least one first guide boom member between a retracted position relative to the at least one first guide boom member and an extended position relative to the at least one guide boom member, the lift frame being pivotally movable between a generally vertical position adjacent the rear of the cab and a generally horizontal position extending over the hitch plate and beyond a rear of the chassis, the forklift assembly also including a forklift device having a guide frame mounted to the at least one second extendable boom member so as to be generally perpendicular to the lift frame and positioned beyond the rear of the chassis when the at least one second extendable boom member is in the extended position, a rear fork support frame pivotally mounted to the guide frame and being movable with respect to the guide frame, at least two forks mounted to extend perpendicularly to the rear fork support frame, and when the forklift device is not in use and the lift frame is raised to a vertical position adjacent the rear of the cab and the at least one second extendable boom member is withdrawn to the retracted position relative to the at least one first guide boom member, the lift frame and the forks of the forklift device are positioned generally parallel to, and in spaced relationship to and above, the cab such that the forklift assembly does not interfere with the use of the hitch plate.