AU2009230812A1

AU2009230812A1 - A recovery vehicle

Info

Publication number: AU2009230812A1
Application number: AU2009230812A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ken Barnett; Orvar Ekebol; Wayne Joseph Luck
Original assignee: EKEBOL Pty Ltd
Current assignee: EKEBOL Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2009-07-24
Filing date: 2009-10-29
Publication date: 2011-02-10

Description

1 A RECOVERY VEHICLE FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 This invention relates to a vehicle. The invention also relates to a load manoeuvring arrangement for a vehicle. This invention relates particularly but not exclusively to a recovery vehicle for recovering disabled vehicles from a road accident site. It will therefore be 10 convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to this example application. However it needs to be understood that the invention is capable of broader application. For example, the invention could also be applied to other vehicles including mobile cranes, or utility vehicles used for manoeuvring loads. 15 BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION A recovery vehicle is a vehicle that is used to recover disabled vehicles from a location or site where they have become disabled. For example a recovery vehicle can be used to move a disabled vehicle from an off road position into a 20 position in which it is placed back on the road. A recovery vehicle can also be used to re-orientate a disabled vehicle that has been displaced out of its normal orientation back into its normal position. In another example a disabled vehicle can block a road and obstruct the normal flow of traffic along the road. A recovery vehicle can be used to move the disabled vehicle off the road to 25 enable the flow of traffic to be restored. In yet another example a vehicle may be resting on its side or its roof as a result of an accident. In such case, a recovery vehicle can be used to tip or tilt the overturned vehicle back onto its wheels as a first step in the process of 30 removing the disabled vehicle from the accident site.

2 Further in each of the above scenarios a vehicle can be so badly damaged in a traffic accident that it cannot be towed away from the scene of the accident. A recovery vehicle will be needed to physically lift the disabled vehicle up and literally carry it away from the accident site. Further in each of the above 5 scenarios the disabled vehicle may be a large load carrying truck in which case the removal thereof may present a formidable task In view of the fact that roads in major cities carry large volumes of traffic and the fact that road networks are so important to the proper functioning of commerce, 10 and particularly logistics, there is an imperative to develop effective ways of dealing with road accidents and restoring normal traffic flow to a road after an accident. Applicant is aware of the use of a mobile crane vehicle to assist with the 15 recovery of a disabled vehicle away from an accident site and the subsequent removal of the disabled vehicle from the accident site. The mobile crane vehicle lifts and moves the disabled vehicle from its accident position to another position in which it does not obstruct normal traffic flow and from which it can be towed away or loaded onto a truck. Such a mobile crane vehicle can also be 20 used to retrieve a vehicle after it has rolled over onto its side or run into a ditch next to the road. One way in which this can be achieved, is by attaching a wire rope from the mobile crane towards a side of the vehicle (spaced away from its centre of gravity), and then lifting up one side of the vehicle so that the vehicle tilts back onto its wheels under the influence of its own weight. 25 A conventional mobile crane is constrained by having a single hoist rope, limited equipment size, and limited safe working loads that limit its utility in a recovery environment. Further for a mobile crane to be effective in recovering a disabled vehicle the operator needs to have a high level of expertise and experience as 30 well as be a skilled rigger. Further a conventional mobile crane may be vulnerable to tilting, sliding, and swinging in an uncontrollable fashion when used as a recovery vehicle. Another potential shortcoming of the use of a 3 mobile crane is that it might take a considerable amount of time for the crane to travel to the site in a situation where speed is of the essence. All these factors limit the usefulness of a conventional mobile crane. 5 It would be advantageous if a recovery vehicle could be devised that had a capability to recover a disabled vehicle relatively easily and quickly, particularly when such a disabled vehicle was located in an awkward position. It would also be advantageous if a recovery vehicle could be provided that had a capability to tilt a disabled vehicle in a controllable manner and that did not overly rely on a 10 high level of operating skill by the operator. This in turn would help in the safe recovery of disabled vehicles. It would also be advantageous if disabled heavy trucks could be moved off a road at an accident site expeditiously so as to restore traffic flow as soon as possible. 15 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a vehicle which includes: 20 a chassis including a front chassis part and a rear chassis part, wherein the rear chassis part is pivotally connected to the front chassis part whereby to enable the front and rear chassis parts to articulate relative to each other; a boom assembly having a proximal end mounted on the first chassis 25 part and projecting in a forward direction away from the proximal end, and a remote end that is remote from the vehicle chassis; and a hoist comprising at least two independently controllable hoist winches mounted on the boom assembly towards the proximal end thereof, each hoist 30 winch running respective hoist ropes out along the boom assembly.

4 The boom assembly may include two hoist winch mounts that are arranged side by side across the width of the boom assembly and the hoist winches may be mounted on the winch mounts thereby to mount them to the boom assembly. 5 Each hoist winch may include a hoist fairlead assembly mounted on the boom assembly towards the remote end thereof by means of a fair lead swivel whereby to permit the fairlead assembly to swivel relative to the boom assembly. Conveniently the hoist fairlead assembly may be mounted at the remote end of the boom assembly. 10 Each fairlead swivel may include a sheave. The fairlead swivel may permit the associated hoist fairlead assembly to be operatively able to swivel relative to the boom assembly about a swivel axis that is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the boom assembly. 15 Each hoist rope may include a hoist rope attachment towards a free end of the hoist rope. The hoist rope attachment may include a safety hook and a safety hook swivel for mounting the safety hook onto the free end of the hoist rope, so that the safety hook can swivel relative to the hoist rope. 20 The two hoist winches may be of the same type and rating, and the two hoist ropes may have the same load capacity, whereby to enable the two hoist winches to perform equivalent tasks. Thus the two hoist winches are sized and designed to perform equivalent tasks and functions and will generally not 25 constitute or comprise a main hoist and an auxiliary hoist. The boom assembly may be longitudinally extendible and retractable whereby to enable the position of the remote end of the boom assembly relative to the chassis to be changed to suit the particular task which the vehicle is carrying 30 out.

5 The boom assembly may include three boom parts that are telescopically received within each other in a retracted condition and that project out of each other in an extended condition. Further the boom assembly may include linear actuators extending between adjacent boom parts, for displacing adjacent said 5 boom parts telescopically relative to each other. The boom assembly may include three boom parts that can be telescopically received within each other in a retracted condition and that project out of each other in an extended condition. The boom assembly may include linear 10 actuators extending between adjacent boom parts, for displacing adjacent boom parts telescopically relative to each other. The linear actuators may include hydraulic cylinder and ram actuators. The boom assembly may also include a lug defining an aperture for hooking the 15 safety hook for each hoist rope onto the lug. The lug may be pivotally mounted to the boom assembly adjacent to the fairlead assembly for pivoting about a pivot axis that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boom assembly. The vehicle may include a boom support mounted on the front chassis part for 20 mounting the boom assembly on the chassis, e.g. mounting the boom assembly indirectly on the front chassis part. The boom assembly may be hingedly mounted on the boom support towards a proximal end of the boom assembly whereby to enable the boom assembly to pivot up and down relative to the chassis. The boom assembly may hinge about a hinge axis that extends 25 broadly horizontally from one side of the boom assembly to the other. The boom support may include a pair of laterally spaced apart boom support arms extending up from the chassis. Each boom support arm may have one end that is mounted on the front chassis part, and another end that is pivotally 30 mounted to the boom assembly. The boom support arms may be hingedly mounted to the boom assembly on each lateral side thereof.

6 The vehicle may include a boom actuator for driving the boom assembly to pivot up and down on demand. The boom actuator may comprise a pair of linear actuators that extend between 5 the front chassis part and the boom assembly. The pair of linear actuators may be positioned on the front chassis part spaced in front of the boom support arms, e.g. by a short distance. Further each linear actuator may be hingedly connected to each of the chassis and the boom assembly. The pair of linear actuators may be attached to the two lateral sides of the boom assembly. 10 The vehicle may include at least one front pull winch for operatively pulling a load that is positioned in front of the vehicle in a direction towards a front end of the vehicle. 15 The vehicle may include two laterally spaced apart said front pull winches, each of which has a front pull rope for pulling a load towards a front end of the vehicle. The front pull winches may be mounted on the front chassis part in a front winch mounting position, e.g. that is spaced rearward of a front end of the vehicle, and each front pull rope may be routed from the associated front pull 20 winch along the chassis to the front end of the vehicle. The two front pull winches may be mounted on the two boom support arms, and their associated front pull ropes may be routed along the support arms and then along the chassis to the front end of the vehicle. 25 The front pull winches may also include swiveling safety hooks mounted on the free ends of the front pull ropes. The two front pull winches may match each other by being of the same type and 30 rating. Similarly the two front pull ropes may match each other and may have the same load capacity.

7 The vehicle may also include at least one rear pull winch having a rear pull rope, and the rear pull winch may be mounted on the rear chassis part in a rear winch mounting position, e.g. that is spaced forward of a rear end of the vehicle. The rear pull rope may be routed from the rear pull winch along the chassis to 5 the rear end of the vehicle. The vehicle may include a front bumper arrangement that includes a laterally extending fixed front bumper bar that extends substantially fully across the width of the vehicle. The fixed front bumper may have a substantially 10 rectangular configuration. The fixed front bumper bar may define two laterally spaced apart rope apertures through which the two front pull ropes pass. The bumper arrangement may also include two front pull rope fair lead assemblies on the fixed front bumper bar, 15 each fair lead assembly being for guiding a said front pull rope through the associated rope aperture. Each front pull rope fair lead assembly may include at least one pair of spaced apart opposing friction rollers for guiding the front pull rope through the 20 associated rope aperture. Each pull rope fair lead assembly may include a further pair of guide rollers orthogonally mounted relative to the first pair also for guiding the front pull rope through the associated front rope aperture. The front bumper arrangement may also include a displaceable bumper 25 assembly that comprises a displaceable bumper member that is positioned above and adjacent to the fixed bumper bar. The front bumper arrangement may include at least one actuator that is operatively able to displace the displaceable bumper member hingedly relative to the fixed bumper bar. 30 The displaceable bumper member may comprise a bumper frame that is hingedly connected to an upper edge of the fixed bumper bar for hinged or pivotal movement about a horizontal hinge axis. The displaceable bumper 8 member may have a height selected to extend substantially entirely across a front window of a cabin of the vehicle when in an upright position. The vehicle may also include a front push bar assembly that includes a push 5 bar extending laterally across the front end of the vehicle below the fixed front bumper bar. The push bar may comprise an elongated blade that has a concave-convex cross section. The push bar may also include a blade foot that extends along a lower long edge of the blade that is T-shaped in cross section. 10 The displaceable push bar assembly may include a push bar actuator for raising or lowering the push bar. The push bar actuator may include a hydraulic cylinder and ram. The vehicle may include an operator cabin for housing an operator of the 15 vehicle that is mounted on the front chassis part, and a control arrangement for controlling the recovery vehicle within the operator cabin. The boom assembly may be mounted on the front chassis part behind the cabin and may project in a forward direction overhead the cabin. 20 The vehicle may include a front tow coupling for mounting a tow coupling adaptor onto the front end of the vehicle for attaching to a vehicle to be towed. The front tow coupling may be a tow bar or a tow hitch and may be a quick coupling type. 25 The vehicle may include a rear tow coupling at a rear end of the vehicle for attaching to a trailer vehicle to be towed. The rear tow coupling may include a tow bar or a tow hitch. The vehicle may also include a detachably attachable vehicle lifting and moving 30 assembly for use in lifting and moving disabled vehicles. This feature may be useful where it is necessary to physically lift up a vehicle to move it from one position to another at a crash site.

9 Conveniently the vehicle end lifting and moving assembly may be a detachably attachable front end lifting and moving assembly that is mounted on the front end of the front part of the chassis for use in lifting and moving disabled 5 vehicles. The front end lifting and moving assembly may include a coupling adaptor for detachably mounting the front end lifting assembly on the front tow coupling of the vehicle. 10 The front end lifting and moving assembly may include an upright guide for mounting on the chassis of the vehicle, and a lifting arrangement that is mountable to the upright guide. The upright guide may be removably mounted on said coupling adaptor whereby to mount it and thereby also the lifting 15 arrangement on the vehicle. The lifting arrangement may include a vertically extending leg and a horizontally extending arm extending away from the vertically extending leg for cooperating with a load to be lifted and moved. 20 The vertically extending leg and the horizontally extending arm of the lifting arrangement or lifter, may be L-shaped, and may be hingedly attached to each other so that the horizontal arm is hingedly displaceable between a horizontally extending operative position in which the arm projects away from the lower end 25 of the vertically extending leg for cooperating with a load, and a stowed position in which the arm is moved to a vertically extending position in which it is adjacent to the upright leg. The lifting arrangement may also include a boom attachment arrangement for 30 attaching the lifting arrangement to the boom assembly, so that the lifting arrangement can be caused to be raised or lowered by raising or lowering the boom assembly.

10 The vertically extending leg of the lifting arrangement may be pivotally mounted to the boom assembly about a horizontal pivot axis, so that extension or retraction of the boom assembly causes the lifting arrangement to hinge about 5 the horizontal pivot axis to effect pivotal movement thereof. The horizontally extending arm of the lifting arrangement may include a plurality of arm extension members that are telescopically extendible and retractable. The arm, e.g. the arm extension members, may also include a check means for 10 enabling the horizontal arm to be checked in a number of different check positions. The horizontal arm of the lifting arrangement may also include a transverse cross bar pivotally mounted to the horizontal arm towards an end thereof, e.g. 15 so as to form a T-shaped horizontal arm. The cross bar may also be adapted for selectively receiving any one of a group of adaptors for cooperating with a disabled vehicle whereby to lift and move the disabled vehicle. The vehicle may also include a compressed air outlet connected to a 20 compressed air supply whereby to be able to provide compressed air at an accident site. The compressed air outlet can be connected to a piece of equipment that is driven by compressed air to power the equipment at an accident site. 25 Further the vehicle may also include at least one electrical outlet including an electrical socket whereby to be able to provide electrical power at the scene of an accident. This can be used to energize and power electrical equipment at an accident site. 30 Conveniently one each of an electrical socket and an air outlet may be provided towards the front of the vehicle, and one each of an electrical socket and a compressed air outlet may be provided towards the rear of the vehicle.

11 The vehicle may also include one or more storage containers for storing tools and equipment. The vehicle may include one or more of the following: a water tank, an oxyacetylene set, a fire extinguisher, an air hose and a reel, a tyre 5 gauge, an air gun, a work lamp, a CCTV camera, an electric traffic directing light board, a plurality of amber warning lamps, and a first aid kit. The vehicle may be a recovery vehicle, particularly for the recovery of large trucks. 10 According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a vehicle, including: a chassis; and 15 a detachably attachable front end lifting and moving assembly mounted on the chassis for use in lifting and moving disabled vehicles. The front end lifting and moving assembly may include an upright guide 20 mountable on the vehicle, and a lifting arrangement that is receivable by the upright guide. The lifting arrangement may be generally L-shaped, so that a vertical leg of the lifting arrangement is guided, in use, up and down along the upright guide, and 25 a horizontal arm of the lifting arrangement projects away from a lower end of the vertical leg for cooperating with a load, e.g. that is in the form of a disabled vehicle. The vertical leg and the horizontal arm of the L-shaped lifting arrangement may 30 be hingedly attached to each other. The horizontal arm may be hingedly displaceable between a stowing position in which the horizontal arm is adjacent 12 the upright leg, and an operative position in which the horizontal arm projects away from the lower end of the vertical leg for cooperating with the load. The vehicle may further include an overhead boom assembly mounted on the 5 chassis. The front end lifting and moving assembly may also include a boom attachment arrangement for attaching to the boom assembly, so that the lifting arrangement can be raised or lowered by raising or lowering the boom assembly. The 10 upright leg of the lifting arrangement may be pivotally mounted about a horizontal pivot axis, so that the extending or retracting of the boom causes the lifting arrangement to hinge about the horizontal pivot axis to effect pivotal movement thereof. 15 The vehicle may include a front tow coupling, and the vehicle may include a coupling adaptor for detachably mounting the front end lifting assembly on the front tow coupling of the vehicle. The horizontal arm of the lifting arrangement may include a plurality of leg 20 extension members that may be telescopically extendible and retractable. The leg extension members may also be able to be checked in a number of different positions. The horizontal arm of the lifting arrangement may also include a transverse 25 cross bar mounted towards an end of the horizontal arm, so as to form a T shaped horizontal arm. The cross bar may be pivotally connected to the horizontal arm. The cross bar may also be adapted for receiving selectively any one of a group of adaptors for cooperating with a load, e.g. a disabled vehicle, whereby to lift and move the disabled vehicle. 30 13 The vehicle may include a hoist that includes at least two independently controllable hoist ropes, and the hoist ropes may extend along the boom assembly. 5 The vehicle may be a recovery vehicle and may include any one or more of the other features including the optional features defined in accordance with the first aspect of the invention. According to yet another aspect of this invention there is provided a load 10 maneuvering arrangement for use on a vehicle, e.g. a recovery vehicle, the load maneuvering arrangement including, a hoist having at least two independently controllable hoist ropes for attaching to a load. The load manoeuvring arrangement may also include at least one front pull 15 winch mounted on the vehicle for attaching to the load for pulling the load towards the vehicle. The vehicle may include an overhead boom assembly and the two independently controllable hoist ropes may travel along the boom assembly. 20 The hoist may include two hoist winches and the two winches may be mounted on the boom assembly. The hoist and the boom assembly may include any one or more of the optional features of the hoist and boom assembly defined above in the first aspect of the invention. 25 The load manoeuvring arrangement may include two said front pull winches. The front pull winches may include any one or more of the optional features of the front pull winches described above in the first aspect of the invention. 30 According to yet another aspect of this invention there is provided a load maneuvering arrangement for use on a vehicle, e.g. a recovery vehicle, the load 14 maneuvering arrangement including a detachably attachable front end lifting and moving assembly for use in lifting and moving disabled vehicles. The front end lifting and moving assembly may include an upright guide that is 5 mounted on the vehicle, and a lifting arrangement that is receivable by the upright guide whereby to mount the lifting arrangement thereto. The front end lifting and moving assembly may generally L-shaped, so that a vertical leg of the lifter is guided, in use, up and down along the upright guide, 10 and a horizontal arm of the lifting arrangement projects away from a lower end of the vertical leg for cooperating with a load. The vertical leg and the horizontal arm of the L-shaped lifter assembly may be hingedly attached to each other so that the horizontal arm is hingedly 15 displaceable towards a stowing position in which the horizontal arm is adjacent the upright leg, and an operative position in which the horizontal arm projects away from the lower end of the vertical leg for cooperating with the load. The lifter assembly may also include a boom attachment arrangement for 20 attaching to a boom assembly of a vehicle on which the front end lifting and moving assembly is mounted, so that the lifting arrangement may be raised or lowered by raising or lowering the boom assembly. The upright leg of the lifting arrangement may be pivotally mounted about a horizontal pivot axis, so that the extending or retracting of the boom causes the lifting arrangement to hinge 25 about the horizontal pivot axis to effect pivotal movement thereof. The vehicle may include a front tow coupling. The front end lifting and moving assembly may include a coupling adaptor for detachably mounting the front end lifting and moving assembly on the front tow coupling. 30 15 The detachably attachable front end lifting and moving assembly may include any one or more of the other features of the front end lifting and moving assembly defined in any of the preceding aspects of the invention. 5 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A vehicle that is a recovery vehicle and a load manoeuvring arrangement in accordance with the invention may manifest itself in a variety of forms. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe in detail two example embodiments of the 10 invention with reference to accompanying drawings. The purpose of providing this detailed description is to instruct persons having an interest in the subject matter of the invention how to carry the invention into practical effect. However it is to be clearly understood that the specific nature of this detailed description does not supersede the generality of the preceding broad description. In the 15 accompanying diagrammatic drawings: Figure 1 is a front three dimensional view of a recovery vehicle having a boom assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the invention and showing the boom assembly in an extended condition; 20 Figure 2 is a rear three dimensional view of the recovery vehicle of Figure 1 again showing the boom assembly in an extended condition; Figure 3 is a rear three dimensional view of the recovery vehicle of Figure 1 25 towing an articulating trailer and showing the boom assembly in a retracted condition; Figure 4 is a rear three dimensional view of the recovery vehicle and trailer of Figure 3 in which the trailer is shown being coupled to the front end of the 30 recovery vehicle; 16 Figure 5 is an exploded three dimensional view of a hoist fairlead assembly for a winch of the boom assembly of the vehicle in Figure 1; Figure 6 is a three dimensional view of the fair lead assembly shown in Figure 5 5; Figure 7 is a three dimensional view of front pull winches mounted on the chassis of the vehicle of Figure 1; 10 Figure 8 is a three dimensional view of a fixed front bumper bar on the vehicle of Figure 1; Figure 9 is a rear view of the fixed front bumper bar shown in Figure 8; 15 Figure 10 is an exploded three dimensional view showing each pull rope opening defined in the fixed front bumper bar and also showing the fairlead assembly associated therewith; Figure 11 is a schematic three dimensional view of one application of the 20 vehicle of Figure 1 being used for the recovery of a disabled large vehicle; Figure 12 is a schematic three dimensional view of two recovery vehicles as shown in Figure 1 being used in another application for the recovery of a disabled large vehicle; 25 Figure 13 is a schematic three dimensional view of two recovery vehicles as shown in Figure 1 being used in yet another application for the recovery of a disabled large vehicle; 30 Figure 14 is a schematic three dimensional view of two recovery vehicles as shown in Figure 1 being used in yet another application for the recovery of a disabled large vehicle; 17 Figure 15 is a schematic side view of the vehicles being used in the application shown in Figure 14; 5 Figure 16 is a three dimensional view of a recovery vehicle in accordance with another embodiment of the invention having a front end lifting and moving assembly on the front end of the vehicle; and Figure 17 is a three dimensional view of the vehicle of Figure 16 showing the 10 front end lifting and moving assembly in a different position. In the drawings, reference numeral 10 refers generally to a recovery vehicle in accordance with the invention. 15 The recovery vehicle 10 includes a hoist, generally indicated by reference numeral 12 for hoisting a load, such as a disabled vehicle 14. The hoist 12 includes a boom assembly, generally indicated by reference numeral 16, having a proximal end, at 18, supported proximate to the vehicle 10 20 and a remote end, at 20 more remote from the vehicle 10. The hoist 12 also includes two hoist winches 24 mounted on the boom assembly 16 towards the proximal end, at 18, of the boom assembly 16. The two hoist winches provide two hoist ropes 26 for hoisting a load, such as a disabled vehicle 14. The two hoist ropes 26 are run out along the boom assembly 16 towards the remote 25 end, at 20, of the boom assembly 16. Each hoist winch 24 is independently controllable so that the two hoist ropes 26 can perform different tasks. The two hoist winches 24, in this example, match each other in the sense that the two hoist winches 24 are of the same type and rating, and the two hoist 30 ropes 26 have the same load capacity.

18 Each hoist winch 24 also includes a hoist rope attachment 28 towards a free end of its hoist rope 26. The hoist rope attachment 28 includes a safety hook and a safety hook swivel for mounting the safety hook onto the free end of the hoist rope 26 so that the safety hook can swivel relative to the hoist rope 26. In 5 this example embodiment, each hoist winch 24 has a load capacity of fifteen tons and a winder drum wound with 20 mm diameter steel wire rope having 6 strands and 36 strand wires. Each hoist winch 24 is a hydraulic winch available from a company trading as SEPSON T M , and marketing the hoist winch 24 as model H150PF. 10 The boom assembly 16 is longitudinally extendible and retractable in the direction shown by the arrow 15. The boom assembly 16 is telescopically extendible and retractable, and includes three boom parts 30, 32, 34 that are telescopically receivable within each other and telescopically extendible relative 15 to each other. The boom assembly 16 further includes linear actuators, indicated by reference numeral 36, extending between adjacent boom parts 30, 32 and 32, 34 for displacing adjacent boom parts telescopically relative to each other. The linear 20 actuators 36 are in the form of hydraulic cylinder and ram actuators. The hoist 12 also includes a hoist fairlead assembly 38 associated with each hoist winch 24 that is mounted at the remote end 20 of the boom assembly 16 for guiding its hoist rope 26. 25 The hoist fairlead assembly 38 includes a sheave 40, and a fairlead swivel for mounting the sheave 40 so that it is operatively able to swivel relative to the boom assembly 16 about a swivel axis that is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the boom assembly 16. The fairlead assembly 38 is generally in the form of a 30 block 42 and includes the fairlead swivel for mounting the block on the boom assembly 16.

19 Figure 5 and Figure 6 show the hoist fairlead assembly 38 in more detail. The assembly 38 includes a hoist fair lead mount 52 at the distal end, at 20, of the boom assembly 16. The hoist fairlead mount 52 includes two trapezoidal spaced apart plates 54, held in their spaced apart position by two cylindrical 5 sleeves 56. The hoist fairlead assembly 38 includes a cylindrical bush 58 that fits axially into the sleeve 56 to form the swivel for the fairlead assembly 38. The hoist fairlead assembly 38 further includes the sheave 40 that is rotatably mounted between two sheave mount brackets 60 about a pin 62. The hoist 10 fairlead assembly 38 also includes a sheave cover member 64 defining side plates for guiding the hoist rope 26 and for resisting demounting of the hoist rope 26 from the sheave 40. The boom assembly 16 also includes a lug 41 defining an aperture for hooking 15 the safety hook 28 onto the lug 41 for each hoist rope 26. The lug 41 is pivotally mounted adjacent the hoist fairlead assembly 38 for pivoting about a pivot axis that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boom assembly 16. The vehicle 10 also includes a boom support, generally indicated by reference 20 numeral 80, mounted on a chassis 86 or support frame of the vehicle 10. The boom assembly 16 is hingedly mounted onto the boom support 80 towards a proximal end 18 of the boom assembly 16 for hinging about a horizontal laterally extending hinge axis 17. 25 The boom support 80 includes a pair of laterally spaced apart support arms 82 extending upwards from the chassis 86. The support arms 82 are hingedly mounted to the boom assembly 16 towards respective lateral sides of the boom assembly 16. 30 The boom support 80 further includes a pair of linear actuators 84, each in the form of a hydraulic cylinder and a ram that extends between the chassis 86 and the boom assembly 16. The linear actuators 84 are hingedly connected to the 20 chassis 86 and the boom assembly 16. The linear actuators 84 flank the boom assembly 16 at a position, at 86, spaced forward of the proximal end, at 18, of the boom assembly 16. 5 The boom assembly 16 further includes two laterally spaced apart hoist winch mounts 22 towards its proximal end, at 18, onto which the two hoist winches 24 are mounted. The hoist winch mounts 22 are in the form of two winch cradles positioned side by side across the width of the boom assembly 16 within which the hoist winches 24 are received and mounted. The hoist winch cradles 22 are 10 formed from metal plates to define generally box-shaped cradles having open lateral ends. The recovery vehicle 10 further includes at least one front pull winch 44 operatively for pulling an external load, e.g. in the form of a disabled vehicle or 15 the like, towards a front end of the recovery vehicle 10. In the illustrated embodiment the recovery vehicle 10 has two laterally spaced apart front pull winches 44. Each front pull winch 44 has a front pull rope 46 for pulling a load towards the front end of the recovery vehicle 10. 20 The front pull winches 44 are mounted on the chassis 86 spaced rearward of the front end of the recovery vehicle 10. In the illustrated embodiment the front pull winches are mounted on the support arms 82 supporting the boom assembly 16. The pull ropes 46 of the front pull winches 44 are routed from the support arms 82 over the chassis 86 and then through the front end of the 25 recovery vehicle 10. The front pull winches 44 also include swiveling safety hooks towards free ends of their pull ropes 46. In this example, the two front pull winches 44 match each other in the sense that they are of the same type and rating. The two pull ropes 46 are of the 30 same load capacity. The two front pull winches 44 used in this embodiment have a load capacity of 10 tons and are hydraulically driven winches available under the model H1OOPS from a company trading under the name SEPSONTM 21 The pull ropes 46 are 16 mm in diameter and include 6 strands, each with 36 strand wires. The recovery vehicle 10 further includes a front bumper arrangement, generally 5 indicated by reference numeral 50. The front bumper arrangement 50 includes a laterally extending fixedly mounted front bumper bar 66 in the form a bar having a channel cross section. The bar 66 defines two laterally spaced apart rope apertures 68 through which the two pull ropes 46 pass. 10 The bumper arrangement 50 also includes a pull rope fairlead assembly 70 for guiding the associated pull rope 46 through the rope aperture 68. Each pull rope fairlead assembly 70 includes at least one pair of spaced apart opposing friction rollers 72 for guiding the pull rope 46 through the rope aperture 68. Each pull rope fairlead assembly 70 also includes a further pair of guide rollers 15 74 orthogonally mounted relative to the first pair of guide rollers 72 also for guiding the pull rope through the rope aperture 68. The friction rollers 72, 74 are mounted rotatably between mounting brackets 76, 78 provided on a rear surface of the bumper bar 66. The rollers 72, 74 are 20 mounted for rotation about pins that are mounted between their respective mounting brackets 76, 78. Each pin defines an axial passage and includes a lubrication nipple towards one end of the axial passage. The axial passage opens through a fluid outlet for smearing the contact surfaces between the pins and the rollers 72, 74. 25 The bumper arrangement 50 also includes a displaceable bumper assembly, generally indicated by reference numeral 90 that includes a displaceable bumper member 92 that is displaceable relative to the fixed bumper bar 66. The displaceable bumper member 92 is in the form of a generally rectangular 30 open bumper frame that is hingedly connected to an upper edge of the fixed bumper bar 66 for hinging about a horizontal hinge axis extending substantially parallel to the front end of the vehicle 10.

22 The displaceable bumper assembly 90 includes two linear actuators 94 that are operatively able to displace the bumper frame 92 hingedly relative to the fixed bumper bar 66. The displaceable bumper member 92 has a height that is 5 selected such that the member 92 extends substantially entirely across a front window of a cabin of the recovery vehicle when in an upright position as shown in Figure 1. The vehicle also includes two compressed air outlets 96 for supplying 10 compressed air for powering a pneumatic tool or the like, e.g. for use at a motor accident site. One compressed air outlet 96 is positioned at the front end of the vehicle and the other compressed air outlet 96 is positioned at the rear end of the vehicle. The vehicle also includes an onboard compressor or compressed air supply for supplying compressed air to the compressed air outlet. 15 The vehicle also includes two electrical outlets 98 in the form of electrical sockets for coupling to an electrical plug for energizing an electrical tool or a piece of electrical equipment, e.g. for use at a motor accident site. One electrical outlet is positioned at the front end of the vehicle and the other 20 electrical outlet is positioned at the rear end of the vehicle. The recovery vehicle 10 also includes at least one rear pull winch 47 having a rear pull rope 49 for pulling a disabled vehicle towards the rear end of the vehicle. The rear pull winch 47 is mounted on the chassis 86 at a position that 25 is spaced forward of the rear end of the vehicle 10. The pull rope 49 is routed from the winch 47 along the chassis 86 to the rear end of the recovery vehicle 10. The recovery vehicle 10 is an articulated vehicle. The chassis 86 of the vehicle 30 10 includes a front chassis part 100 and a rear chassis part 102 that are pivotally connected to each other about a vertically extending pivot axis 106. The two chassis parts 100, 102 can articulate relative to each other when the 23 vehicle 10 is in use to help to stabilize the vehicle and also to assist the vehicle to manoeuvre. The front chassis part 100 includes a cabin 108 for a driver having a control 5 arrangement. The boom assembly 16 which is described above, passes above the cabin 108 as shown in the drawings. The control arrangement within the cabin 108 enables the operator to control the various components of the vehicle 10 used for manoeuvring heavy loads 10 and in particular the recovery of vehicles. In particular the control arrangement enables an operator to control the winches, the boom assembly, the displaceable bumper bar, and other utilities of the recovery vehicle. Naturally the operator is also able to drive the vehicle from a position within the cabin using vehicle driving controls located within the cabin. 15 The vehicle also includes a front push bar assembly 112 that includes a push bar 114 extending laterally across the front of the vehicle 10 below the fixed mounted bumper bar 66. The push bar 114 is in the form of an elongated generally rectangular blade having two major surfaces that is cavo-convex in 20 cross section. The blade has an upper long edge and a lower long edge. Basically it is curved with one major surface being convex and the other major surface being concave. The blade 114 includes a blade foot 116 that extends along a lower long edge of the blade 114. In the illustrated example the blade foot 116 is T-shaped in cross section. However it would be appreciated by 25 those skilled in the art that other shapes for the blade foot could equally be used. The displaceable push bar assembly 112 also includes an actuator 118 in the form of a hydraulic cylinder for raising or lowering the blade 114. The purpose 30 of the push bar assembly 112 is to scrape and push material and debris off a road at an accident site.

24 The recovery vehicle 10 also includes a front tow coupling 110 for mounting tow coupling adaptors (see below) onto the front end of the vehicle 10. The front tow coupling may be a quick-coupling type that is positioned broadly centrally on the front end of the vehicle. Figure 4 shows a trailer vehicle 122 coupled to 5 the front tow coupling 110. Moreover, the vehicle 10 includes a rear tow coupling 120 towards a rear end of the vehicle. In particular the rear tow coupling may be used for coupling the vehicle 10 to a trailer vehicle 122 in the manner shown in Figure 3. It will be 10 appreciated that the tow couplings 110, 120 can include a tow bar or a tow hitch. Figure 16 and Figure 17 show a recovery vehicle that is a variation on the vehicle shown in Figures 1 to 10. 15 The following description will focus on the differences between this vehicle and that described above with reference to Figures 1 to 10. Unless otherwise indicated the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same components. 20 The recovery vehicle 10 shown in Figures 16 and 17 includes a detachably attachable front end lifting and moving assembly that is generally indicated by reference numeral 124. 25 The front end lifting and moving assembly 124 includes a coupling adaptor 126 for mounting to the front tow coupling 110 of the vehicle 10. The front end lifting and moving assembly 124 include an upright guide 128 formed from the laterally spaced apart upright members 130 that defines a slide way or a sliding channel between them. The upright members 130 are formed from square 30 tubes. The upright members are attached to the coupling adaptor for mounting to the front tow coupling 110 of the vehicle 10.

25 The front end lifting and moving assembly 124 further includes a lifting arrangement that is a lifter 132 that is generally L-shaped. A vertical leg 134 of the lifter 132 is guided, in use, up and down along the slideway between the square tubes 130 of the upright guide 128. A horizontal arm 136 of the lifter 5 132 projects away from a lower end of the vertical leg 134, for cooperating with a load that is a disabled vehicle 14. The vertical leg 134 and the horizontal arm 136 of the L-shaped lifter 132 are hingedly attached to each other so that the horizontal arm 136 is hingedly 10 displaceable towards a stowing position (see Figure 17) in which the horizontal arm 136 is adjacent the upright leg 134. The lifter assembly 132 includes a boom attachment arrangement 138 for attaching to the boom assembly 16, so that the lifter assembly 132 can be 15 raised or lowered by raising or lowering of the boom assembly 16. The upright leg 134 of the lifter assembly 132 is pivotally mounted about a horizontal pivot axis, so that extending or retracting of the boom assembly 16 causes the lifter 132 to hinge about the horizontal pivot axis. 20 The horizontal arm 136 of the lifter 132 includes a plurality of arm extension members 140, 142, 144 that are telescopically extendible and retractable. The horizontal arm 136 of the lifter 132 further includes a transverse end cross bar 146 that is mounted towards a front end of the horizontal arm 136, so as to 25 form a T-shaped horizontal arm. The end cross bar is pivotally connected to the horizontal arm, and adapted for selectively receiving any one of a group of adaptors for cooperating with the disabled vehicle. The vehicle 10 includes storage containers 150 for storing tools and equipment, 30 and a water tank. The vehicle 10 also includes an oxyacetylene set 152 for cutting through metal, fire extinguishers 154, an air hose and a reel 156, a tyre gauge, and an air gun. A plurality of work lamps 158 are also mounted on the 26 vehicle. A CCTV camera is mounted on the rear end of the vehicle 10, with its display module positioned in the cabin where it can be viewed by the operator. These features would typically be contained in the Figure 1 embodiment as well as in the Figure 16 embodiment. 5 An electric traffic directing light board (omitted from the drawings) is mounted on the vehicle with the board facing rearward. A plurality of amber warning lamps 160 are also mounted on the vehicle. 10 The hoist 12 and associated hoist winches and the front pull winches 44 form a load maneuvering arrangement for the vehicle 10 that is able to raise or tilt a load, such as the disabled vehicle 14. In use, the recovery vehicle can be used to lift and move disabled vehicles, 15 particularly at an accident site. The vehicle 10 is operated by an operator seated within the cabin 108 who operates the control arrangement. The operator performs this task of recovering disabled vehicles 14 by using the boom assembly 16 and hoist winches 24 in 20 combination with the front pull winches 44 described above. Some examples of the manner in which the recovery vehicle 10 may be used to recover a vehicle 14 are shown in Figures 11 to 15. However it must be clearly understood that these drawings are given by way of example only and the recovery vehicle can be used in a myriad of other ways that are different to those shown. 25 Figure 11 shows the recovery vehicle being used to lift a truck back onto its wheels. To do this each of the hoist ropes 26 of the hoist winch 24 are fixed to a suitable point on the body of the truck 14 as is shown schematically in the drawing. The hoist ropes 26 are then drawn in to pull the truck 14 back onto its 30 wheels. The bumper arrangement 50 may simultaneously be used to resist the truck 14 from sliding across the support surface in response to the pull of the 27 hoist ropes 26. Further the length of the boom assembly 16 may be adjusted during the operation to provide space for the truck 14 to land on its wheels. Further more than one recovery vehicle 10 may be used to lift and move a 5 disabled vehicle particularly a heavy truck carrying a load. Figure 12 shows two recovery vehicles 10 arranged side by side working in concert to lift a disabled truck 14 resting on its side back onto its wheels. Thereafter the vehicle 14 could be moved off the road. 10 In another example application Figure 13 shows two recovery vehicles using their hoist winches 24 and their front pull winches 44 together at the same time to help in righting a truck 14. In yet another example application Figure 14 shows two recovery vehicles at 15 respectively front and rear ends of a truck that is lying on its side. Once again the winch ropes 26 and the front pull ropes 46 are attached to the disabled vehicle 14 in the positions indicated on the schematic drawings. Generally speaking the winch ropes 26 and the front pull ropes 46 are attached 20 to the disabled vehicle 14 in the positions indicated on the schematic drawings. The different winches are then selectively and independently operated by the operator to right the vehicle 14 and place it back on its wheels. In summary both the recovery vehicles described above have a dynamic 25 capability that has a number of dimensions. The dynamic capability relates to displacement, positioning, rolling and righting, winching, holding, pushing and extricating disabled vehicles. It also extends to the provision of ancillary equipment that might be required at a recovery site. 30 An advantage of the recovery vehicle described above with reference to the drawings is that has it has a hoist with two independently controllable hoist ropes. This feature enables the hoist to wind in one hoist rope while paying out 28 the other hoist rope, or reeling in the other hoist rope at a different speed to said one hoist rope. This functionality assists in righting vehicles and lifting vehicles back onto their wheels at a road accident scene. It can also assist in lifting vehicles, particularly heavy vehicles out of ditches. It can also assist in pulling 5 vehicles up embankments. The feature of having two independently controllable hoists and hoist ropes is quite different from a mobile crane that has only one hoist hook connection that is designed for straight forward lifting and moving operations. 10 A further advantage of the recovery vehicle described above is that it has a fairlead assembly associated with each winch rope at the end of the boom assembly. The fairlead assemblies increase the range of movement of the winch rope and this renders the winch more versatile in recovery situations and therefore suitable for use in recovering disabled vehicles. 15 A yet further advantage of the recovery vehicle described above with reference to the drawings is that the boom assembly is mounted on support arms that enable it to pivot up relative to the chassis and thereby change the attitude or angle of inclination of the boom assembly. The boom assembly is also 20 telescopically extendible thereby to enable its length to be adjusted depending on the position of the disabled vehicle to be recovered. A yet further advantage of the recovery vehicle described above with reference to the drawings is that it has two laterally spaced front pull winches with front 25 pull ropes for assisting in a vehicle recovery. A yet further advantage is that it has a detachably attachable lifting and moving assembly that assists in lifting up an end of a disabled vehicle and then towing it away from its accident position. Further this attachable lifting and moving 30 assembly can pivot on its mounting to the front end of the vehicle to assist it in getting underneath a disabled vehicle. Further a forward projecting part of the 29 lifting and moving assembly can be pivoted up into a stowed position where it is out of the way when the lifting assembly is not being used. A yet further advantage of the vehicle described above with reference to the 5 drawings is that it enables vehicles to be recovered cost effectively by providing an apparatus that is custom designed to handle vehicle recovery and caters for a wide range of recovery situations. It will of course be realized that the above has been given only by way of 10 illustrative example of the invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto, as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art, are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as is herein set forth.

Claims

1. A vehicle which includes: 5 a chassis including a front chassis part and a rear chassis part, wherein the rear chassis part is pivotally connected to the front chassis part whereby to enable the front and rear chassis parts to articulate relative to each other; a boom assembly having a proximal end mounted on the first chassis 10 part and projecting in a forward direction away from the proximal end, and a remote end that is remote from the vehicle chassis; and a hoist comprising at least two independently controllable hoist winches mounted on the boom assembly towards the proximal end thereof, each hoist 15 winch running respective hoist ropes out along the boom assembly.

2. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the boom assembly includes two hoist winch mounts that are arranged side by side across the width of the boom assembly, and wherein the hoist winches are mounted on the winch mounts. 20

3. A vehicle according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each hoist winch includes a hoist fairlead assembly mounted on the boom assembly towards the remote end thereof by means of a fair lead swivel whereby to permit the fairlead assembly to swivel relative to the boom assembly. 25

4. A vehicle according to claim 3, wherein each fairlead swivel assembly includes a sheave, and wherein the fairlead swivel permits the associated hoist fairlead assembly including the sheave to be operatively able to swivel relative to the boom assembly about a swivel axis that is parallel to a longitudinal axis of 30 the boom assembly. 31

5. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each hoist rope includes a hoist rope attachment towards a free end of the hoist rope, and the hoist rope attachment includes a safety hook and a safety hook swivel for mounting the safety hook onto the free end of the hoist rope, so that the safety 5 hook can swivel relative to the hoist rope.

6. A vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the two hoist winches are of the same type and rating, and wherein the two hoist ropes have the same load capacity, whereby to enable the two hoist winches to perform equivalent tasks. 10

7. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the boom assembly is longitudinally extendible and retractable whereby to enable the position of the remote end of the boom assembly relative to the chassis to be changed to suit the particular task which the vehicle is carrying out. 15

8. A vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the boom assembly includes three boom parts that can be telescopically received within each other in a retracted condition and that can project out of each other in an extended condition, and wherein the boom assembly includes linear actuators extending 20 between adjacent boom parts, for displacing the adjacent boom parts telescopically relative to each other.

9. A vehicle according to any one of claims 5 to 6, wherein the boom assembly also includes two lugs, each lug defining an aperture for receiving the 25 safety hook a said hoist rope, and wherein each lug is pivotally mounted adjacent to a said fairlead assembly for pivoting about a pivot axis that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boom assembly.

10. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the vehicle 30 includes a boom support mounted on the front chassis part whereby to mount the boom assembly indirectly on the front chassis part, and the boom assembly is hingedly mounted on the boom support towards a proximal end of the boom 32 assembly whereby to enable the boom assembly to pivot up and down relative to the chassis, and wherein the boom support includes a pair of laterally spaced apart boom support arms extending up from the front part of the chassis, each boom support arm having one end that is mounted on the front chassis part and 5 another end that is pivotally mounted to the boom assembly.

11. A vehicle according to claim 10, including a boom actuator for driving the boom assembly to pivot up and down on demand, and wherein the boom actuator includes a pair of linear actuators that extend between the front chassis 10 part and the boom assembly, that are positioned on the front chassis part spaced in front of the boom support arms, and wherein each linear actuator is hingedly connected to each of the chassis and the boom assembly.

12. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the vehicle 15 includes two laterally spaced apart front pull winches, each of which has a front pull rope for pulling a load towards a front end of the vehicle.

13. A vehicle according to claim 12, wherein the front pull winches are mounted on the front chassis part in a front winch mounting position that is 20 spaced rearward of the front end of the vehicle, and wherein each front pull rope is routed from the associated front pull winch along the chassis to the front end of the vehicle.

14. A vehicle according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the vehicle also 25 includes at least one rear pull winch having a rear pull rope, and wherein the rear pull winch is mounted on the rear chassis part in a rear winch mounting position that is spaced forward of a rear end of the vehicle, and wherein the rear pull rope is routed from the rear pull winch along the chassis to the rear end of the vehicle. 30 33

15. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the vehicle includes a front bumper arrangement that includes a laterally extending fixed front bumper bar that extends substantially fully across the width of the vehicle. 5

16. A vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the fixed front bumper bar defines two laterally spaced apart rope apertures through which the two front pull ropes pass, and wherein the bumper arrangement also includes two front pull rope fair lead assemblies on the fixed front bumper bar, each fair lead 10 assembly guiding a said front pull rope through its associated rope aperture.

17. A vehicle according to claim 15 or claim 16, wherein the front bumper arrangement also includes a displaceable bumper assembly that comprises a displaceable bumper member that is positioned above and adjacent to the fixed 15 bumper bar, and at least one actuator that is operatively able to displace the displaceable bumper member hingedly relative to the fixed bumper bar.

18. A vehicle according to claim 17, wherein the displaceable bumper member comprises a bumper frame that is hingedly connected to an upper 20 edge of the fixed bumper bar for hinged or pivotal movement about a horizontal hinge axis.

19. A vehicle according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein the vehicle also includes a front push bar assembly that includes a push bar extending 25 laterally across the front end of the vehicle below the fixed front bumper bar, and wherein the push bar comprises an elongated blade that has a concave convex cross section and a blade foot that extends along a lower long edge of the blade. 30

20. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the front chassis part includes an operator cabin for an operator and a control arrangement for controlling the recovery vehicle, and wherein the boom 34 assembly is mounted on the front chassis part behind the cabin and projects in a forward direction overhead the cabin.

21. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the vehicle 5 includes a front tow coupling for mounting a tow coupling adaptor onto the front end of the vehicle for attachment to a vehicle to be towed, and wherein the vehicle includes a rear tow coupling at a rear end of the vehicle for attachment to a trailer vehicle to be towed. 10

22. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein the vehicle also includes a detachably attachable front end lifting and moving assembly that is mounted on the front end of the front part of the chassis for use in lifting and moving disabled vehicles. 15

23. A vehicle according to claim 22, wherein the front end lifting and moving assembly includes an upright guide for mounting on the chassis of the vehicle, and a lifting arrangement that is mountable to the upright guide, and wherein the lifting arrangement includes a vertically extending leg and a horizontally extending arm projecting away from the vertically extending leg for cooperating 20 with a load.

24. A vehicle according to claim 23, wherein the vertically extending leg and the horizontally extending arm of the lifting arrangement are hingedly attached to each other so that the horizontally extending arm is hingedly displaceable 25 between a horizontally extending operative position in which the arm projects horizontally away from the lower end of the vertically extending leg for cooperating with a load, and a stowed position in which the arm is moved to a vertically extending position in which it is adjacent to the upright leg. 30

25. A vehicle according to claim 24, wherein the lifter assembly also includes a boom attachment arrangement for attaching the lifting arrangement to the boom assembly, so that the lifting arrangement can be caused to be raised or 35 lowered by a raising or lowering of the boom assembly, and wherein the upright leg of the lifting arrangement is pivotally mounted to the boom assembly about a horizontal pivot axis, so that extension or retraction of the boom assembly causes the lifting arrangement to hinge about the horizontal pivot axis to effect 5 pivotal movement thereof.

26. A vehicle according to claim 25, wherein the horizontally extending arm of the lifting arrangement includes a plurality of arm extension members that are telescopically extendible and retractable, and wherein the arm extension 10 members also include a check means for enabling the horizontal arm to be checked in a number of different check positions.

27. A vehicle according to claim 26, wherein the horizontal arm of the lifter assembly also includes a transverse cross bar pivotally mounted to the 15 horizontal arm towards an end thereof, and wherein the cross bar is also adapted for selectively receiving any one of a group of adaptors for cooperating with a disabled vehicle whereby to lift and move the disabled vehicle.

28. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 27, wherein the vehicle is a 20 recovery vehicle that is suitable for use in recovering disabled vehicles from road accident sites.

29. A recovery vehicle substantially in accordance with any one of the embodiments described in the detailed description of the invention with 25 reference to the drawings.