STEERING DEVICE AND CARGO HANDLING VEHICLE

A cargo handling vehicle includes a universal joint that allows an upper shaft to swing with respect to a lower shaft around a predetermined horizontal axis, a column tube that covers an outer periphery of the upper shaft, and a lockable gas spring that supports the upper shaft via the column tube. The gas spring is disposed under the column tube and connects a cowl with the column tube. The column tube has a cowl backing bracket that is disposed on a side of the universal joint and connected to the cowl, and the cowl supports the cowl backing bracket swingably around the horizontal axis,