Tractor wheel dolly

Claim 1

A wheel dolly for heavy, large diameter wheels, said dolly including a generally horizontal frame having opposite side elongated longitudinal members interconnected at their rear end portions by means of an elongated transverse member extending and secured therebetween, the front end portions of said longitudinal members being free of bracing members extending therebetween and defining an entrance passageway through which the lower periphery of an upright wheel is received upon the frame being forwardly advanced toward the wheel in an axial direction, said longitudinal members including flap-type structures extending therealong and projecting laterally outwardly of said longitudinal members toward each other, means oscillatably supporting the flap-type structures from said longitudinal members for swinging about axes generally paralleling said longitudinal members and adjacent the remote edges of said flaptype structures, and force means connected between the adjacent free swinging edge portions and said frame operative to simultaneously swing said flap-type structures to elevate the adjacent free swinging marginal edges thereof, each of longitudinal members including an upwardly and outwardly inclined frame, an elongated upwardly and inwardly inclined swing arm pivotally mounted, intermediate its opposite ends, to the free upper end portion of each of said frames for oscillation about an axis generally paralleling said longitudinal members, the upper free ends of said swing arms including cradle members opening toward each other for engaging, embracing and supporting an adjacent peripheral portion of a tire, means connected between each swing arm and the corresponding inclined frame operative to releasably secure said swing arms in adjusted oscillated positions relative to said frames, said upwardly and outwardly inclined frames being pivotally supported at their lower ends from said elongated longitudinal members for oscillation relative thereto about axes extending longitudinAlly of said longitudinal members, said inclined frames and said longitudinal members including coacting means limiting angular displacement of said inclined frames to swing the upper ends thereof away from each other.