Trailer level indicating device

Claim 1

A vehicle level indicating device comprised of: a closed, elongate, generally cylindrical tube containing a liquid and a gas bubble for centering between indicator lines to indicate a level position of a vehicle to which the device is secured, said tube being transparent and having an arcuate curvature along its lengthwise extent; and a tube carrier body being of one-piece construction and having: a substantially planar rearmost surface for over-lying a substantially planar surface of a vehicle to which the device is secured; and means defining a receiving recess for rotatably receiving said tube in snap-in interference fit forward of said rear surface and with the central portion of said tube exposed at the front of said carrier body to render said tube accessible to manual rotation into an uppermost orientation after said tube has been received in said receiving recess, said receiving recess including: receiving pockets, and end walls spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to the lengthwise extent of said tube for receiving said tube therebetween in interference fit, said end walls and said receiving pockets being contiguous and extending forwardly of the surrounding front surface of the main portion of said carrier body, said associated end walls and receiving pockets being spaced apart from one another to expose said central portion of said tube: means covering the back of said receiving recess comprising a generally flat, thin strip of material having a reflective surface positioned on said carrier body behind said tube, said strip being positioned independently of orientation of said tube so that said tube may be rotated free of interference from said strip; means defining substantially straight reference surfaces extending longitudinally in the direction of said receiving recess on opposite sides of the central portion thereof to facilitate orientation of the device in relation to the vehicle to which the device is secured; and means for securing said carrier body to a vehicle with said rearmost surface overlying the substantially planar surface of the vehicle to thereby block access to said tube to prevent removal thereof without removal of said carrier body from the vehicle.