TRUCK BODYAND FIFTH WHEEL TRAILER

The invention relates to truck and trailer assemblies, in particular, but not exclusively, truck and trailer assemblies in which the trailer is a fifth wheel trailer and the truck includes a fifth wheel coupling point and a cargo space .

Fifth wheel trailers may be used as travel trailers, and may include sleeping, eating and washing areas. Fifth wheel travel trailers provide a greater amount of living space and comfort when compared to a travel trailer that attaches to a standard towing hitch, for example, a caravan.

Often, those that spend a lot of time travelling between and staying in different places, for example sports people, entertainers, building contractors et cetera, use fifth wheel travel trailers for either temporary or permanent accommodation.

There is a limited range of trucks available which include fifth wheel coupling points and are suitable for use with fifth wheel trailers. These standard trucks are not' specifically designed for use with fifth wheel trailers and might not meet the demands of the user of the truck and trailer assembly.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved truck and trailer assembly including a truck with a fifth wheel coupling point and a fifth wheel trailer coupled to the truck, wherein the truck comprises a truck body which extends beyond the fifth wheel coupling point in a direction towards the rear of the truck so as to receive a part of the fifth wheel trailer.

The word "truck" is used to mean any automotive vehicle suitable for hauling a fifth wheel trailer. For example, a

user may purchase a truck comprising a cab and chassis, and fit a fifth wheel coupling and a truck body to the chassis. That the truck body receives a part of the fifth wheel trailer means that the truck body is so shaped as to surround or generally correspond with a front part of the fifth wheel trailer without being connected to, or coming into contact with, the fifth wheel trailer. A fifth wheel trailer generally includes an approximately rectangular main body, wheels, and a front part including a fifth wheel coupling and an "overhang", which extends from the front part of the approximately rectangular main body. The overhang includes an approximately flat bottom surface extending parallel to the ground from around midway up the rectangular main body, and includes a top surface which extends in a curved manner from the top of the approximately rectangular main body to meet the bottom surface of the overhang. When the truck and trailer are coupled together, the overhang of the fifth wheel trailer is placed such that it is vertically above the truck bed, such that an overlap is created between the rear of the truck and the front of the fifth wheel trailer.

The truck body may receive all or part of the trailer overhang.

The truck body may include a fairing for improving the aerodynamics of the truck and fifth wheel trailer assembly. The fairing may be shaped in order to produce a smooth outline and reduce the drag of the truck and trailer assembly.

The truck body may include at least one rear portion in which a part of the rear portion extends beyond the fifth wheel coupling point of the truck a distance of between 500mm and 1500mm. The rear portion may have a height of

between 2500mm and 3500mm in a vertical direction above the ground. The rear portion may include a part which is so shaped as to correspond with the shape of the part of the fifth wheel trailer received by the truck. The truck body may extend to a position which is contiguous with the end of the truck. Preferably, the gap between the rear portion of the truck body and the front of the fifth wheel trailer is less than 1000mm. In order to allow the trailer to turn relative to the truck body, it is necessary for there to be a gap of between the rear portion of the truck body and the front part of the trailer. More preferably, the gap between the rear portion of the truck body and the front of the fifth wheel trailer is less than 800mm. More preferably still, the gap between the rear portion of the truck body and the front of the fifth wheel trailer is less than 500mm. Preferably, the gap between the rear portion of the truck body and the front of the trailer is less than 60 percent of the length of the rear portion of the truck body. The gap between the rear portion of the truck body and the front of the trailer may be defined by the distance between at least one point on trailing edge of the rear portion of the truck and the corresponding point in a horizontal plane on the leading edge of the front of the fifth wheel trailer. Preferably, the rear portion of the truck body extends to within 1000mm, preferably within 800mm and more preferably within 500mm of the front of the fifth wheel trailer.

The truck body according to the present invention may also improve the appearance of the outline of the truck and trailer assembly, when compared to the truck and trailer assembly not including the truck body. Furthermore, the truck body according to the present invention may improve the aerodynamics of the truck and trailer assembly when

compared to the truck and trailer body not including the truck body. In many cases, the roof of the fifth wheel trailer is higher than the roof of the truck without the truck body. The truck body may be shaped such that it has a front part with a height in the region of the height of the truck cab and a rear portion with a height in the region of the height of the fifth wheel trailer. There may be a transition between the height of the front parf and rear part of the truck body, and the transition may be a smooth transition.

The truck body may be provided with at least one movable rear portion. Advantageously, a movable rear portion may be movable between a first position, where in normal use of the truck and trailer assembly the movable rear portion receives a part of the fifth wheel trailer and a second position, in which the movable rear portion has been moved to allow enhanced manoeuvrability of the truck and trailer assembly.

The truck body may include a. load carrying space. Advantageously, a user may use the load carrying space to transport items which it is not possible to transport in the fifth wheel trailer. For example,, the load carrying space may be suitable for storing a recreational vehicle, such as a bicycle, a motorcycle, a quad bike, or a jet ski. Alternatively, the load carrying space may be suitable for storing construction materials, tools, or sales products. It will be appreciated that these are examples of a large number of possible uses for the storage space and in no way should they be construed such that they limit the scope of the invention.

The truck body may include at least one doorway to provide access to the load carrying space. The doorway may

be located to the side or the rear of the truck body. Advantageously, the doorway is located in the side of the truck body and enables the load carrying space to be accessed without detaching the fifth wheel trailer. The truck body may include a door associated with the doorway, the door movable between an open position in which it allows access to the load carrying space and a closed position in which it prevents access to the load carrying space. The door may be hinged at the bottom so as to act as a ramp when in the open position. Advantageously, this may facilitate easy loading and unloading of the load carrying space.

The truck body may be removably attached to the truck. Advantageously, the truck body may be switched between different trucks. The truck body may include fixing points suitable for fixing the truck to a variety of trucks.

Advantageously, a single truck body is suitable for fixing to a variety of trucks, hence reducing manufacturing costs and complexity. The truck body may include metal plate fixings for fixing the truck body to the chassis of a truck. The invention also provides a truck body which is suitable for use in a truck and trailer assembly as described above, comprising side and rear walls and a storage compartment, wherein at the side walls correspond in shape to the overhang of a fifth wheel trailer so as to receive the front part of a fifth wheel trailer.

The side walls may include a movable portion. The storage compartment may include a door and doorway arranged to provide access to the storage compartment. The door and doorway may include a locking mechanism to prevent unauthorised access to the storage compartment. The door and doorway may include a spring loaded mechanism to reduce the force required to open and close the door. The door and

doorway may include a damping mechanism to improve the opening and closing of the door.

The storage compartment may have a length of between 1500mm and 3000mm, a width of between 2000mm and 3000mm, and a height of between 1500mm and 2500mm. The side walls are so shaped that they have different dimensions when measured at different points across their height and length. The side walls may have a maximum length, measured in the longitudinal direction parallel to the ground, of between 2000mm and 4000mm. The side walls may have a maximum height, when measured in a vertical ^' direction from the bottom of the truck body to the top of the truck body of between 1500mm and 2500mm.

The truck body may be moulded out of fibre glass. The truck body may include a metal frame to provide strength and ■ stiffness to the truck body.

The invention also provides a truck body having a storage compartment and side walls, wherein the rear parts of the side walls include a lower extension and an upper extension, such that the lower extension and upper extension define a recess.

The lower extension and upper extension of the side walls may include a curved section. The recess defined by the lower extension and upper extension may include a curved boundary.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Figure 1 shows a truck and trailer assembly according to a first embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 2 shows a cross sectional view of a truck body- according to the first embodiment of the invention taken in a vertical plane.

Figure 1 shows a truck and trailer assembly 1 comprising a truck 2 including a fifth wheel coupling point 3, a fifth wheel trailer 4, and a truck body 5. The truck body 5 includes a load carrying space 6 with a door 7 and a doorway 8 providing access to the load carrying space 6, a movable rear portion 9 connected by hinges 10 to the load carrying space 6, and metal plates 11 securing the truck body 5 to the truck 2. The opposite side of the truck is similarly configured, with a movable rear portion. In one possible embodiment the opposite side of the truck body includes a door and doorway, in a further possible embodiment the opposite side of the truck body does not include a door and doorway.

The truck 2 is a standard, commercially available small truck. The fifth wheel trailer 4 is a travel trailer including an overhang section 12, which overhangs the end of the truck 2 and includes the coupling arm 13 for coupling the fifth wheel trailer 4 to the fifth wheel coupling point 3. The overhang section 12 includes a curved section 14. ~ The truck body 5 comprises side and rear walls which define a load carrying space 6. The door 7 and doorway 8 are located in one of the side walls, the door arranged to move between a closed position where it blocks the doorway 8 and prevents access to the load carrying space 6 and an open position where it allows access to the load carrying space 6 and acts as a ramp from the ground to the load carrying space 6. The door 7 may be spring loaded in order to reduce the force required to open and close the door 7.

The side walls also include a movable rear portion 9, which extends in a rearward direction beyond the fifth wheel coupling point 3 to be contiguous with the end of the truck. The movable rear portion 9 also extends above the height of the truck in such a way as to smooth the transition from the truck body 5 to the fifth wheel trailer 4. The movable rear portion 9 is so shaped as to correspond with the shape of the overhang 12 of the fifth wheel trailer 4 and, as can be seen in figure 1, when viewed from the side, includes portions directly above and directly below, in a vertical direction, the overhang 14 of the fifth wheel trailer 4. The truck body 5 therefore receives a part of the fifth wheel trailer 4.

Figure 2 shows a cross sectional view of the truck body as shown in figure 1 taken in a vertical direction. The shell of the load carrying space 6 can be seen and the figure includes a rear roof fairing 21. The rear roof fairing 21 extends rearwardly in a curved manner from the rear of the load carrying space at a height similar to that of the truck 2 to a height similar to that of the trailer 4, such that the roof fairing 21 is vertically above the overhang section 12 of the trailer 4. The roof fairing 21 may be associated the movable portion 9. In an alternative embodiment, the roof fairing 21 is not associated with the movable portion 9.

The movable portion 9 of the truck body 5 is attached to the main section of the truck body 5 by the hinges 10. The movable portion 9 is movable between a first position as shown in figure 1, in which it receives a part of the fifth wheel trailer, and a second position, rotated around the hinges 10 towards the front of the truck. In the first position the movable portion may act to improve the

aerodynamics of the truck and trailer assembly 1. In the second position, the movable portion 9 has been moved to a position which allows full manoeuvrability of the fifth wheel trailer 4, without the possibility of the fifth wheel trailer fouling the truck body 5.

The truck body 5 is made out of a fibre glass composite and an internal frame to provide rigidity. ' There is a plurality of metal plates 11 for securing the truck body 5 to the truck 2. There may be metal plates arranged such that the truck body 5 can be attached to a variety of trucks. Additionally, the truck body 5 may be removably attached to the truck 2, for example, though the use of bolts, or the truck body 5 may be permanently attached to the truck 2, for example, by welding. Whilst the present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention lends itself to many different variations not specifically illustrated herein. By way of example only, certain possible variations will now be described.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the truck body does not include movable side portions.

Where in the foregoing description, integers or elements are mentioned which have known, obvious or foreseeable equivalents, then such equivalents are herein incorporated as _. if individually set forth. Reference should be made to the claims for determining the true scope of the present invention, which should be construed so as to encompass any such equivalents. It will also be appreciated by the reader that integers or features of the invention that are described as preferable, advantageous, convenient

or the like are optional and do not limit the scope of the independent claims.