Vehicle rack for both short and long ladders
View Patent ↗Provided herein is a novel vehicle mounted ladder rack which advantageously combines the ability to carry a short ladder vertically and/or to support one end of a long ladder horizontally. The novel ladder rack of the invention allows workers to select the appropriate ladder length for a particular job and transport it using only a single rack.
1. A system for carrying ladders on a vehicle, comprising
a rack for carrying ladders, the rack comprising a vertical upright comprising a lower and an upper end; a shank which is compatible with a receiver hitch, wherein the shank is perpendicular to the vertical upright and is integral with the vertical upright at the lower end; a horizontal ladder support, wherein the horizontal ladder support comprises a bar, rod, or hollow tube perpendicular to the vertical upright and integral with the upper end of the vertical upright, and which bar, rod, or hollow tube is also perpendicular to the shank; and a vertical ladder attachment mechanism comprising a pair of horizontal rods projecting rearward from the horizontal ladder support; a horizontal cross bar mounted on the vehicle forward of the rack; and
one or more ladders, wherein the one or more ladders is resting in the horizontal position with one end portion supported by the horizontal ladder support of the rack and the opposite end portion of the ladder supported by the horizontal cross bar of the rack, or is mounted to in a vertical orientation the vertical upright of the rack by the one or more vertical ladder attachment mechanisms of the rack.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the rack further comprises a folding element located at the junction between the bottom end of the vertical upright and the shank, which allows the vertical upright to be lowered to a horizontal position.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the vertical upright comprises two or more poles or posts.