Lift for back of truck idea- your thoughts and input :-)

[Madoxen]

I have been Giving lots of thought to the different areas of my build and reading all the ways that you guys are coming up with to overcome the obstacles in your path. One area that I keep coming back to is the lift for the back of the truck for the spare wheels and bike etc, I like what Sitec and B85 have done with either winch set up or Block and chain, but I was wandering if there is another easy form of lifting mechanism for getting the platform up and down.
So long story short I have been dismantling the New Donor Actros 2657 for all of the swappable parts, and had to lift the cab up for the umpteenth time, while doing this I was watching the Hydraulic cab locs open then the ram extending and lifting the cab up, all off of a socket and lever being pumped left and right, “Light Bulb in head starts to blink” could it be possible to use the twin Hydraulic rams mounted to a cam of sorts to both close/lift up( so that the ram is rested in the closed position and wont rust or get damaged ) into the hydraulic cab locs which will loc/fix the platform into place then with the switch of a lever and a few pumps you unlock the cab locs and start to send the platform on its way down. There is also the possibility to use the electric cab tilt motor for the rams off of a recently written off UD450 flatbed I have rusting in the yard, the electric tilt pump has the fall back of a manual pump if it ever gets an electrical fault.
Any thoughts or suggestions? is it possible, has anyone tried this before.

 

[quickfarms]

My solution

 

[Madoxen]

that was my original idea but just not possible with the plans now :-( but wouldnt it be great, even being able to use it fully stretched out over a lake or river with a rope swing

 

[mog]

Is there a reason that you just don't use a conventional liftgate?
Certainly, they are overkill for bikes (great for motorcycles or quads), but your spare tire(s) certainly could justify one.
I have one of the AHT L-AL/AL all-aluminum liftgates. One word - Awesome!
All aluminum, so about 60% lighter than steel, but it still has a 2000+ pound load rating.
It also is powered in both the horizontal and vertical planes, so you can mount your heavy spare wheels to it, stored in the vertical plane, and just lower straight down to remove them. Or power it to the horizontal plane, and use to haul ATVs, motorcycles, or a side X side. The mounts are all extruded and/or billet aluminum. The one I have even has 'lifting legs' to stabilize the back of the truck during loading/unloading. But in a camper application, it provides instance leveling capabilities.

Here is a link to the website, http://www.tail-lifts.com/en/content/index.htm you will have to page through
click- Tailgate Loaders
click- L-AL/AL

OK- now the downside. They are made in Austria and run about 15,000 euros new, plus shipping.
BUT liftgates can be found used for very reasonable, so all the bits are there and spec'ed for each other.
Too bad shipping from Oregon to NZ would be a killer as I am selling mine for <$1000 usd.

 

[Madoxen]

Hi mog
The reason for not using the conventional tail lift is 1 cost. 2 weight .3 in the spirit of making as much as i can from what i have here already it would be nice to create my own . With out reinventing the wheel.

Having said all that it would be nice to fit a off the shelf lift. But unless i could find a NZ sourced All Ali lift for next to no cost(<1000.). I will be doing the hard graft and makeing my own version of the wheel so to speak

Thanks for the link it looks like an awesome lift and if i had other big stuff comeing from states i would consider yours for the bargain price u have it at. Thanks

 

[mog]

That is why I tossed the idea out. I did not know that uber-Austrian billet aluminum liftgates existed unit I saw mine on 'Craigslist' (free internet ads in the USA). According to the brochure, it is just over 300kg for the deck/actuators/mounts etc. Mine came off of an ice cream delivery truck. So it never hurts to keep an eye out for 'treasures' that someone else is tired of.

 

[Wyuna]

Just an idea that came to me, was what if you repurposed a tailgate wheelchair lift, they are rated to 300kg, cheap to buy secondhand on Trademe for modifying it or using the pumps and running gear of them.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/ca...tm?rsqid=53f20be71656498f83804bcfa02e9251-001

Another idea is using a electric hoist winch, such as the Spitzlift

https://spitzlift.com/image-gallery/#Marine

I imported a 12 volt model from the States to Coromandel, when i was living in NZ, it was very handy, although $$$ at the time.

 

[Madoxen]

Hey Wyuna, thanks for the suggestion, it is a good idea but the weight limit of 300KG would only handle 1 spare tyre and a bit of frame work, will need it to lift 2 and maybe a motorbike and anything els that is stuck to the back of the truck.