Patent ID: 7527118

Claim:
A moveable axle assembly for attachment to the rear of a skid steer loader, the skid steer loader having a pair of non-pivoting front wheels and a pair of non-pivoting rear wheels, the moveable axle assembly increasing the wheel base of the skid steer loader and providing straight line operating stability, the moveable axle assembly comprising: an axle assembly having a pair of non-pivoting wheels in the same vertical plane defined by the front and rear wheels of the skid steer loader; a lift actuator assembly having two hydraulic lift cylinders, constructed and arranged to be connected to a hydraulic system of the skid steer loader to cause movement of the axle assembly with respect to the skid steer loader from an non-engaged position, wherein the front and rear wheels of the skid steer loader are in a ground engaging position with the axle assembly in a position where the wheels of the axle assembly do not engage the ground, to an engaged position, wherein at least the front wheels of the skid steer loader and the wheels of the axle assembly engage the ground; the wheels of the axle assembly being of a dimension generally equivalent to the dimension of the front and rear wheels, and wherein when the wheels of the axle assembly are in the engaged position, the effective wheel base of the skid steer loader is longer, with the three wheels on each side of the skid steer loader fixed in the same plane of operation.