Patent ID: 6990757

Claim:
A wheeled work vehicle comprising: a traveling body including front and rear wheels, a traveling drive unit having an engine and a power transmission mechanism, a fuel tank, a work oil tank, and a vehicle frame mounting said front and rear wheels, said traveling drive unit, said fuel tank and said work oil tank; a swivel base disposed upwardly of the traveling body and mounted via a swivel bearing on the traveling body to be swivelable for full-angle swiveling movement relative thereto; a driver's seat mounted at a rear portion of the swivel base; a steering unit disposed forwardly of the driver's seat; and a ground-work implement supported on an implement support unit disposed erect on a front portion of the swivel base; wherein the vehicle frame includes right and left side frames, a front cross beam for interconnecting the right and left side frames at front portions thereof with a predetermined distance therebetween, and a rear cross beam for interconnecting the right and left side frames at rear portions thereof with a predetermined distance therebetween, each said side frame having a horizontal intermediate portion located at an intermediate portion of the side frame, a horizontal front portion located at the front portion of the side frame and having a higher ground level than the intermediate portion, a horizontal rear portion located at the rear portion of the side frame and having a higher ground level than the intermediate portion, a front transition portion connecting the front portion of the side frame and a front end of the intermediate portion, and a rear transition portion connecting the rear portion of the side frame and a rear end of the intermediate portion; wherein said vehicle frame has a front region including said front cross beam and said front portion of each said side frame, said front region mounting a front-wheel suspension unit for the front wheels; wherein said vehicle frame has a rear region including said rear cross beam and said rear portion of each said side frame, said rear region mounting a rear-wheel suspension unit for the rear wheels; wherein said vehicle frame has an intermediate region located between the front and rear wheels and supporting said swivel bearing; wherein said front and rear regions are located at a ground level higher than said intermediate region via said respective front and rear transition portions of each said side frame; and wherein a distance between the intermediate portions of the side frames is increased relative to a distance between the front portions of the side frames and also to a distance between the rear portions of the side frames.