Curt Manufacturing, LLC

Wolfe C Parzyck

Joel D Diller

Robert G Fehr

Brennan Druckrey

Curtis M Bowe

Graham A Motzing

A fifth wheel hitch has a base attachable to a towing vehicle, a seat attachable at a selected elevation above the base, and a kingpin adapter attachable to a kingpin of a trailer so as to permit rotation of the kingpin adapter relative to the kingpin about a kingpin rotation axis. The seat has a mouth which narrows in the longitudinal direction, such as by having a pyramidal shape. A bottom of the kingpin adapter has a shape which can cause both pivoting rotation of the kingpin adapter relative to the kingpin and longitudinal or transverse translational movement of the kingpin adapter and attached kingpin when the towing vehicle is driven to a position with the seat under the bottom of the kingpin adapter and the kingpin is jacked down so the kingpin adapter seats into the seat.

Fifth wheel hitch

A tow bar assembly has a shank portion for attachment to the towing vehicle hitch, a pivot joint on a trailing end of the shank, and two arms extending from the pivot joint for attachment to the towed load. A stowage block on the shank includes two transversely oriented slots, for receiving a tab on the arms and thereby hold the arms in a transverse, horizontal stowage position. The arms each telescope between extended and retracted positions. A latch, having a retention shaft with a handle, automatically engages to lock the arm in the extended position when the trailing end of the arm is pulled to the extended position. The retention shaft has a shape which, depending on its rotational position as controlled by the handle, either allows the telescoping or interferes with the telescoping, locking the arm in the extended position.

Tow bar assembly

A headache rack is formed substantially from sheet metal, including left and right uprights as part of a framing portion supporting a screen. The forward edge of the uprights has a concave curvature facing the cab and providing a cantilever, and a folded rearward edge causing the uprights to be considerably wider where they contact the pickup truck bed walls than they are at their tops. The framing portion is provided in three separable sections, connectable by the user using fasteners such as nuts and bolts, with a removable screen in the center frame portion.

Headache rack

Frame portion of headache rack

Screen of headache rack

A stake pocket anchor attaches an accessory to a vehicle stake pocket. The stake pocket anchor includes an anchor assembly hung from a tensioning member. The anchor assembly includes two channel members slidably attached to sandwich a center block, with an angled slide direction that enables sliding either upwardly and inwardly to a minimum anchor assembly width or downwardly and outwardly to a maximum anchor assembly width. During use, the anchor assembly gravitationally releases to its maximum anchor assembly width after being inserted through the stake pocket opening. The tensioning member is then used to vertically raise the anchor assembly within the stake pocket until a top of the anchor assembly contacts a bottom surface of the lip and thereafter allows further tightening of the anchor assembly against the bottom surface of the lip.

Stake pocket anchor

A hollow tubular shape is extruded from aluminum and used as a basic building block for one or more different truck accessories, such as a side step, grill guard and headache rack. The outside of the hollow tubular shape provides flat surfaces and angled edges over most of its periphery, including a major wall and several side walls. An attachment wall opposite the major wall includes attachment slides that enable the extrusion to be attached in numerous configurations, including to attachment brackets. The interior of the extruded hollow tubular shape includes openings to receive end caps.

Growing community of inventors

Colfax, WI, United States of America

Wolfe C Parzyck