Travel trailer

• US 6,343,830 B1
• Filed: 08/01/2000
• Issued: 02/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Teton Buildings, LLC
• Original Assignee: B&B Homes Corporation
• Inventors: Ingram, Anthony G., Johnson, Marion B., Harkins, Terry L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pape, Joseph D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHENEVERT, PAUL A
• Application Number:
  US09/630,204
• Time in Patent Office: 553 Days
• Field of Search: 280/433, 280/789, 296/37.1, 296/156, 296/168, 296/181, 296/182
• US Class Current: 296/168
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 53/061 of flat bed or low loader type or fitted with swan necks detachable swan necks B62D53/065; swan neck-fifth wheel couplings B62D53/08

Abstract

A travel trailer having a two-level chassis supporting at least three discrete floor sections at three different heights above the ground with at least one of those floors being suspended from the chassis. In a preferred embodiment, the chassis has a substantially horizontal forward upper portion and a substantially horizontal rearward lower portion, and an upper floor is secured to the upper portion and a lower floor is secured to the lower portion with an intermediate floor suspended from the upper portion of the chassis to a height intermediate that of the upper and lower floors. The area underneath the intermediate section and above the bottom of the trailer defines a storage area that is not blocked or limited in size by the width of the chassis beams. In a more preferred embodiment, common fixed trailer accessories, such as gray and black water tanks, their related plumbing, trailer heaters and the like are clustered together within and near a limited section of the storage area, such as near the rear of the storage area, such that the majority of the storage area remains unoccupied. Accordingly, storage space within the storage area is optimized, and the full height of the storage area is available throughout the majority of the storage area to accommodate oversized objects.

Claims

1. A travel trailer for being towed by a vehicle including:

a multi-level chassis having an upper portion toward a front end and a lower portion toward a back end and at least one elongate beam;

a wheel assembly secured toward the back end of the chassis;

a mounting portion secured toward the front end of the chassis for detachably securing said chassis to the vehicle;

a shelter secured to the chassis; and

a generally horizontal floor suspended from and positioned below the at least one beam.

2. The travel trailer of claim 1, wherein said chassis is a two-level chassis.

3. The travel trailer of claim 2, wherein said at least one beam includes said upper portion of said chassis, and said floor is suspended from said upper portion of said chassis.

4. The travel trailer of claim 2, wherein the trailer has a lower edge, and further including an enclosed storage area below the suspended floor and above the lower edge of the trailer.

5. The travel trailer of claim 2, further including a generally horizontal upper floor positioned vertically above said generally horizontal floor, and a generally horizontal lower floor positioned vertically below said generally horizontal floor.

6. The travel trailer of claim 5, wherein said upper floor is secured to said upper portion of said chassis and said lower floor is secured to said lower portion of said chassis.

7. The travel trailer of claim 6, wherein:

said trailer has a lower edge;

said chassis includes an upper chassis beam secured to a lower chassis beam at a vertical riser;

said horizontal floor is suspended from said upper chassis beam; and

further including an enclosed storage area below the horizontal floor, forward of the vertical riser and above the lower edge of the trailer.

8. The travel trailer of claim 7, wherein said storage area has a storage area floor and further including:

a first liquid storage tank secured to the storage area floor adjacent to the vertical riser;

plumbing extending from the liquid storage tank to said floor;

a remotely-actuated dump valve having an actuation handle, said valve in fluid communication with said tank; and

said actuation handle secured outside of said storage area to facilitate easy actuation of the valve when the storage area is full.

9. The travel trailer of claim 8, wherein said lower beam has a vertical thickness and further including:

a second liquid storage tank secured below the lower floor, above the lower edge of the trailer, and within the area occupied by the vertical thickness of the lower beam;

a second remotely-actuated dump valve having a second actuation handle, said valve in fluid communication with said second tank; and

said second actuation handle secured outside of said storage area to facility easy actuation of said second valve when the storage area is full.

10. The travel trailer of claim 9, wherein said upper floor defines a bedroom area of the trailer, said floor defines a bathroom area of the trailer, and said lower floor defines a living area of the trailer.

11. The travel trailer of claim 9, further including a heater secured adjacent to said floor within and toward the rear of the storage area.

12. A two-level chassis for use on a fifth-wheel travel trailer having three floor areas supported at three different heights above the ground defining upper, intermediate, and lower floors, said chassis including:

a pair of parallel aligned spaced apart substantially horizontal lower chassis beams;

a pair of parallel aligned spaced apart substantially horizontal upper chassis beams;

a pair of vertical riser assemblies, each riser assembly securing one upper chassis beam to one lower chassis beam such that said upper beam is vertically above and parallelly-aligned with said lower beam;

the upper floor secured to said upper beam;

the lower floor secured to said lower beam;

the intermediate floor suspended from said upper beam to a vertical height intermediate to the heights above the ground of the upper and lower floors.

13. The two-level chassis of claim 12, wherein the lower beam has a lower edge that defines the bottom of the chassis, and the area below the intermediate floor, forward of the vertical riser assemblies and above the bottom of the chassis is enclosed and defines a storage area having a storage area floor.

14. The two-level chassis of claim 13, wherein the storage area has a height, and said height is high enough to accommodate at least one conventional 40 pound LPG removable bottle in its standing position within the storage area.

15. The two-level chassis of claim 14, further including a sliding planar member secured to the storage area floor for easily loading and unloading said 40 pound LPG removable bottle within said storage area.

16. The two-level chassis of claim 12, wherein said upper and lower chassis beams are steel I-beams.

17. The two-level chassis of claim 16, wherein the intermediate floor is suspended from said upper beam by at least one Z-shaped lateral tic extending between said upper chassis beams.

18. The two-level chassis of claim 17, wherein said riser assemblies each include:

an inner vertical chassis riser post having a lower end with one of said lower chassis beams secured at said lower end;

a vertical perimeter chassis post having an upper end with one of said upper chassis beams secured at said upper end; and

,

said inner vertical chassis riser post and said vertical perimeter chassis post secured together by a plurality of transition members.