The present invention generally relates to the field of tow dollies. More specifically, the present invention relates to a novel tow dolly that can be folded and whose wheelbase can be adjusted to accommodate different vehicles. The tow dolly has a center chassis made of square metal stock (i.e., steel square bar or steel square tube) and positioned between two-wheel platforms. The wheel platforms are secured to the chassis and a pair of tongues are used in use of the dolly for towing vehicles. The center chassis and the wheel platforms can be folded in opposite directions to fold the dolly for easy storage and transportation. Accordingly, the present disclosure makes specific reference thereto. Nonetheless, it is to be appreciated that aspects of the present invention are also equally applicable to others like applications, devices, and methods of manufacture.
By way of background, a tow dolly is a specialized device used for transporting motor vehicles. Commonly, a tow dolly consists of a trailer-like structure that is towed behind a motor vehicle, such as a truck or an RV. The purpose of a tow dolly is to carry another motor vehicle, typically a car, while ensuring that its front or rear wheels are securely mounted on the dolly. Generally, to properly secure the towed vehicle on a tow dolly, several components and connections are required. These typically include straps, chains, or other fastening mechanisms that hold the vehicle in place and prevent it from shifting or falling off the dolly during transport.
However, using a standard tow dolly can sometimes be challenging and frustrating. One issue is that a standard tow dolly may not provide sufficient stability to securely hold the towed vehicle in place. This can lead to the vehicle shifting or swaying during transportation, potentially causing damage, or compromising safety.
Conventional tow dolly is not foldable and cannot be collapsed or compacted for storage or easy transportation when not in use. The lack of foldability can make storage of a tow dolly inconvenient, as the tow dolly takes up a significant amount of space. Further, customizing a conventional tow dolly for towing vehicles of different sizes is difficult which makes their usage limited and difficult.
Therefore, there exists a long felt need in the art for an improved tow dolly for transporting vehicles. There is also a long felt need in the art for a tow dolly that can be folded for easy transportation and storage. Additionally, there is a long felt need in the art for a tow dolly that has barrel locks for folding and unfolding the tow dolly. Moreover, there is a long felt need in the art for an improved tow dolly that includes casters for easily rolling the tow dolly on a surface. Further, there is a long felt need in the art for a foldable tow dolly whose wheelbase can be adjusted for accommodating and supporting vehicles of different sizes. Finally, there is a long felt need in the art for a tow dolly that can be folded and obviates moving the wheels from the axles to fold and store.
The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodiment thereof, comprises a foldable car tow dolly. The tow dolly is configured to have transition between a folded state and an unfolded state. The dolly comprises a generally square center chassis, a first wheel platform, a second wheel platform, a first tongue secured to a top side of the center chassis, a second tongue secured to the center chassis and is positioned on top of the first tongue, an X-bar attachment, each wheel platform has an associated wheel and the center chassis has a plurality of casters, the tow dolly is in an unfolded position when the first wheel platform is secured to one side of the center chassis using a pair of spring-loaded barrel locks, the second wheel platform is secured to the opposite side of the center chassis using another pair of spring-loaded barrel locks and the X-bar attachment is connected to the bottom of the center chassis. The tow dolly is in a folded position with the first wheel platform and the second wheel platform being released from the center chassis by releasing barrel locks wherein the tongues are also released from the dolly.
In this manner, the foldable tow dolly of the present invention accomplishes all of the forgoing objectives and provides users with a foldable car tow dolly to make towing an automobile during travel a more convenient experience. The dolly has an adjustable wheelbase and tilt design that eliminate loading difficulties and can be folded when the dolly is not used.
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed innovation. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some general concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodiment thereof, comprises a foldable car tow dolly. The tow dolly comprises a center chassis, a first wheel platform, a second wheel platform, a first tongue secured to a top side of the center chassis, a second tongue secured to the center chassis and is positioned on top of the first tongue, each wheel platform has an associated wheel and the center chassis has a plurality of casters, the tow dolly is in an unfolded position when the first wheel platform is secured to one side of the center chassis using a pair of spring-loaded barrel locks, the second wheel platform is secured to the opposite side of the center chassis using another pair of spring-loaded barrel locks and the tow dolly is in a folded position with the first wheel platform and the second wheel platform released from the center chassis.
In yet another embodiment, each wheel platform has center inner arms which are inserted into the center outer arms of the center chassis for securing the wheel platform and the center chassis, an X-bar attachment is attached to the center chassis using fasteners for providing stability and support to the center chassis.
In a further embodiment, three hinges are welded in the two vertical bars of the center chassis to allow for articulation wherein the center chassis folds upward and the wheel platforms fold downwards.
In yet a further embodiment, the wheel platforms can be extended outwards from the center chassis and pull towards the center chassis to lock in a desired position using the barrel locks to adjust the wheelbase of the tow dolly for accommodating different vehicles.
In yet another embodiment, a foldable tow dolly configured to transform between a folding and non-folding state wherein the folding state is used for storage and transportation of the dolly and the non-folding state is used for towing a vehicle, wherein a pair of wheel platforms having a center chassis therebetween. An upper tongue and a lower tongue are used for connecting the dolly to a rear of a vehicle such as an RV wherein a towed vehicle is placed on the wheel platforms.
Numerous benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon reading and understanding of the following detailed specification.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the disclosed innovation are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles disclosed herein can be employed and are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The description refers to provided drawings in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the different views, and in which:
The innovation is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding thereof. It may be evident, however, that the innovation can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate a description thereof. Various embodiments are discussed hereinafter. It should be noted that the figures are described only to facilitate the description of the embodiments. They are not intended as an exhaustive description of the invention and do not limit the scope of the invention. Additionally, an illustrated embodiment need not have all the aspects or advantages shown. Thus, in other embodiments, any of the features described herein from different embodiments may be combined.
As noted above, there is a long felt need in the art for an improved tow dolly for transporting vehicles. There is also a long felt need in the art for a tow dolly that can be folded for easy transportation and storage. Additionally, there is a long felt need in the art for a tow dolly that has barrel locks for folding and unfolding the tow dolly. Moreover, there is a long felt need in the art for an improved tow dolly that includes casters for easily rolling of the tow dolly on a surface. Further, there is a long felt need in the art for a foldable tow dolly whose wheelbase can be adjusted for accommodating and supporting vehicles of different sizes. Finally, there is a long felt need in the art for a tow dolly that can be folded and obviates moving (i.e., removing) the wheels from the axles to fold and store.
The present invention, in one exemplary embodiment, is a foldable car tow dolly. The tow dolly comprises a center chassis, a first wheel platform, a second wheel platform, a first tongue secured to a top side of the center chassis, a second tongue secured to the center chassis and is positioned on top of the first tongue, each wheel platform has an associated wheel and the center chassis has a plurality of casters, the tow dolly is in an unfolded position when the first wheel platform is secured to one side of the center chassis using a pair of spring-loaded barrel locks, the second wheel platform is secured to the opposite side of the center chassis using another pair of spring-loaded barrel locks and the tow dolly is in a folded position with the first wheel platform and the second wheel platform released from the center chassis.
Referring initially to the drawings,
Referring to
The X-brace attachment 140 as illustrated in
Referring to
A first square bar stock (i.e., steel square bar or steel square tube) center support piece 124 extends across the square bar stock outer center arm pieces 104, 108 and includes welded barrel locks 126 and a pair of attachment mounts for an X-brace 140 as illustrated in
In one embodiment, the first elongated member 142 can be from 24 inches to 30 inches in length and the members 144, 146 can be from 10 inches to 16 inches in length. The steel plate 158 can be generally square or rectangular and can have sides having a length from 1 inch to 4 inches.
A receiver coupler 182 is used for receiving a hook for towing a vehicle and has chains 184 for additional support. The two inch square bar stock 176 tapers to a four inch angle change portion 186 which is about one foot in length.
The 2½ inch C Channel 172 also extends to a C-channel taper portion 188 which further extends to four inch C-channel 190. The ends of the outer support arms 178 have chassis attachments 192 for attaching the bottom tongue 170 to the central chassis 102.
A top inside center arm 200 and a bottom inside center arm 202 extends from the horizontal bars 196 wherein the inside center arm 200 slides into the center outer arm 106 and the bottom inside center arm 202 slides into the center outer arm 110 to attach the wheel platform 194 to the center chassis 102 as illustrated in
The three hinges 132 as illustrated in
It should be noted that although the arrangement of connection of the wheel platform 194 and the chassis 102 is described herein but the connection of the opposite wheel platform 226 and the chassis 102 is achieved in the same manner with the coupling of corresponding center inner arms of the wheel platform 226 by inserting them into the center outer arms 104, 108 of the chassis 102.
The wheel platform 194 can be held in a permanent position with spring-loaded heavy-duty spring-loaded barrel locks as disclosed in
The wheel platform 194 has a plurality of gussets 214 wherein each gusset can be made of angle iron and can be four inches long. The gussets 214 are positioned in the joining corners 216 of the wheel platform 194 where the wheel platform 104 connects with the center chassis 102. The wheel platform 194 also has a ratchet 218 with J-hook for securing basket straps 230 (illustrated in
Initially, the steel cable wire and handle are removed or released to allow the wheel platforms of the tow dolly to swing outwards from the locked position (Step 1002). Then, the spring-loaded barrel locks are used for securing the wheel platforms with the center chassis 102 (Step 1004). Then, the X-brace attachment 140 is secured using the steel plates to secure the chassis 102 from flexing (Step 1006). Thereafter, the lower tongue 170 is attached to the center chassis 102 using receiver pins and similarly, the top tongue 138 is attached to the chassis (Step 1008). Finally, the wheels 204 are attached to the wheel platforms 194 using the axle hub as illustrated in
For tilting the tow dolly 100, the receiver pin between the upper tongue 138 and the lower tongue 170 is removed and the lower tongue 170 is removed from the chassis 102 by removing chassis attachments 192, for allowing the dolly 100 to tilt.
The tow dolly 100 can be adjusted for different vehicles by releasing the spring-loaded barrel locks 126, 130 to pull the wheel platforms 194, 226 outwards or inwards to achieve a desired wheelbase. The spring-loaded barrel locks 126, 130 can be locked to secure the wheel platforms with the center chassis 102.
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular features or components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different people may refer to the same feature or component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components or features that differ in name but not structure or function. As used herein “tow dolly”, “foldable tow dolly”, “dolly”, and “vehicle towing foldable dolly” are interchangeable and refer to the foldable tow dolly 100 of the present invention.
Notwithstanding the forgoing, the foldable tow dolly 100 of the present invention can be of any suitable size and configuration as is known in the art without affecting the overall concept of the invention, provided that it accomplishes the above stated objectives. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that foldable tow dolly 100 as shown in the
Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplary embodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the present invention. While the embodiments described above refer to particular features, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments having different combinations of features and embodiments that do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the scope of the claims, together with all equivalents thereof.
What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subject matter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the claimed subject matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.
The present application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/392,156, which was filed on Jul. 26, 2022, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63392156 | Jul 2022 | US |