Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle

Abstract

A recreational off-highway vehicle includes side-by-side passenger and driver seats held within a chassis that is approximately 50 inches wide. The seats sit low in the chassis and are covered by a roll cage. Grab handles are positioned on the sides of the passenger seat. Select large round tubing protects the vehicle, while rectangular tubing frames the portions of the vehicle beneath body panels. The vehicle is powered by an engine rearward of the seats that is connected to a transaxle. The engine and transaxle are isolation mounted together with a portion of the air intake assembly. The vehicle is suited for rough terrain travel.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: 
     
         1 . A side-by-side recreational off-highway vehicle having two front wheels and at least two rear wheels, the vehicle comprising:
 a chassis having a forward portion coupled to the front wheels, a rearward portion coupled to the rear wheels and securing an engine, and a middle portion supporting an occupant area with side openings for occupant entry and exit;   a passenger seat and a driver seat laterally adjacent the passenger seat, the driver and passenger seats being supported by the chassis within the middle portion;   a floorboard forward of the passenger seat, the floorboard including an integrally molded passenger footrest.   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the floorboard further comprises an integrally molded cup holder adjacent a front of the passenger seat. 
     
     
         3 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the floorboard includes a driver floorboard integrally formed therewith. 
     
     
         4 . The vehicle of  claim 3 , further comprising a throttle pedal forward of the driver seat, wherein the driver floorboard includes a raised heel step between the driver seat and the throttle pedal closer to the throttle pedal than the driver seat, the floorboard rearward of the raised heel step being generally flat for a distance greater than the distance between the raised heel step and the throttle pedal. 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle of  claim 4 , wherein the floorboard includes a raised heel step forward of the passenger seat and to the side of the passenger footrest. 
     
     
         6 . The vehicle of  claim 5 , wherein the raised heel step forward of the passenger seat is secured directly to a chassis member. 
     
     
         7 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , further comprising a lateral grab handle to the right of the passenger seat and a medial grab handle to the left of the passenger seat, the lateral and medial grab handles being secured to the chassis. 
     
     
         8 . A side-by-side recreational off-highway vehicle having two front wheels and at least two rear wheels for rolling over a ground surface, the vehicle comprising:
 a chassis having a forward portion coupled to the front wheels, a rearward portion coupled to the rear wheels and securing a prime mover, and a middle portion forming an occupant area;   the occupant area including a driver seat and a passenger seat arranged in a side-by-side configuration, a steering interface in front of the driver seat, floorboards in front of and below the passenger seat and driver seat, and foot controls in front of the driver seat, the foot controls including a throttle pedal; and   a driver heel step between the driver seat and the throttle pedal, the heel step extending transversely below and to the rear of the foot controls.   
     
     
         9 . The vehicle of  claim 8 , further comprising a passenger heel step in the floorboard forward of the passenger seat, the heel step extending transversely across the floorboard and being configured to engage both heels of an occupant in the passenger seat. 
     
     
         10 . The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein chassis members extend immediately in front of the driver heel step and the passenger heel step, the chassis members being beneath the driver and passenger floorboards. 
     
     
         11 . The vehicle of  claim 9 , further comprising an upwardly angled footrest forward of the passenger seat, adjacent the passenger heel step. 
     
     
         12 . The vehicle of  claim 11 , wherein the footrest and heel step are integrally molded with the floorboard. 
     
     
         13 . The vehicle of  claim 12 , further comprising a cup holder integrally molded with the floorboard. 
     
     
         14 . The vehicle of  claim 9 , further comprising a lateral grab handle to the right of the passenger seat and a medial grab handle to the left of the passenger seat, the lateral and medial grab handles being secured to the chassis. 
     
     
         15 . The vehicle of  claim 8 , further comprising an upwardly angled footrest forward of the driver seat and adjacent to and outboard of the driver heel step, the footrest extending higher than the heel step vertically above any lower extent of the throttle pedal. 
     
     
         16 . The vehicle of  claim 8 , wherein the floorboard rearward of the driver heel step is generally flat. 
     
     
         17 . A side-by-side recreational off-highway vehicle having two front wheels and at least two rear wheels for rolling over a ground surface, the vehicle comprising:
 a chassis having a forward portion coupled to the front wheels, a rearward portion coupled to the rear wheels and securing a prime mover, and a middle portion forming an occupant area;   the occupant area including a driver seat and a passenger seat arranged in a side-by-side configuration, a steering interface in front of the driver seat, floorboards in front of the passenger seat and driver seat, and foot controls in front of the driver seat, the foot controls including a throttle pedal; and   a driver heel step between the driver seat and the throttle pedal, the heel step extending transversely below and to the rear of the foot controls, the floorboard rearward of the heel step being generally flat without obstructions for a distance rearward of the heel step greater than the height of the heel step.   
     
     
         18 . The vehicle of  claim 17 , further comprising a passenger heel step forward of the passenger seat, the passenger heel step being directly adjacent and rearward of a chassis frame member. 
     
     
         19 . The vehicle of  claim 18 , further comprising an upwardly angled footrest forward of the passenger seat, adjacent the passenger heel step. 
     
     
         20 . The vehicle of  claim 17 , wherein the passenger floorboard and the driver floorboard are integrally molded in a unitary member including the driver heel step.