His Portable Vehicle Hoist Works Great
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“I was sitting on a beach in Florida and this idea just came to me,” says Brussels, Ont. farmer Wayne Hopper, who built his own portable hydraulic car and truck hoist out of steel tubing, loader cylinders and scrap metal. The hoist normally sits in his shop, but he made it portable so he can move it outside to change oil on vehicles without making a mess inside.
Hopper’s hoist has two 12-in. wide wheel ramps made from channel iron. They’re adjustable to the wheelbase and are raised and lowered on four lifting posts made from 4-in. square steel tubing. Each post has a 48-in. hydraulic cylinder. Hopper plumbed the cylinders to supply lines that he connects to his tractor for hydraulic power.
“We’ve always got a tractor available, so it made sense to use those hydraulics rather than buy a special power pack to raise and lower a vehicle,” Hopper says. “Each cylinder is rated for 2,500-lb. lift capacity so the hoist and the tractor have no problem lifting cars or pickups.”
To stabilize the lift he has a 3-in. flat steel X-brace connecting the foot of each leg and an X-brace connecting the two legs on each side. He uses 1/2-in. bolts through each leg when the hoist is in the air, as safety pins.
“The lift is very sturdy when a vehicle is on it,” Hopper says, “so I don’t have it bolted to the floor. That way I can move it outside with a loader or forklift.”
Hopper says materials for the hoist cost him about $1,500 and it took him about a week to build it. “There wasn’t too much head scratching that went into it, which was kind of amazing compared to other things I’ve built. The best part is that it really works. For years and years I’ve rolled under cars on different floor dollies, bumped my head and gotten lots of dirt in my face. This thing makes repair and maintenance a whole lot easier,” Hopper says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wayne Hopper, 85645 Clegg Line, RR 5, Brussels, Ont. N0G 1H0 Canada (ph 808 431-4488).
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His Portable Vehicle Hoist Works Great FARM SHOP Miscellaneous “I was sitting on a beach in Florida and this idea just came to me ” says Brussels Ont farmer Wayne Hopper who built his own portable hydraulic car and truck hoist out of steel tubing loader cylinders and scrap metal The hoist normally sits in his shop but he made it portable so he can move it outside to change oil on vehicles without making a mess inside Hopper’s hoist has two 12-in wide wheel ramps made from channel iron They’re adjustable to the wheelbase and are raised and lowered on four lifting posts made from 4-in square steel tubing Each post has a 48-in hydraulic cylinder Hopper plumbed the cylinders to supply lines that he connects to his tractor for hydraulic power “We’ve always got a tractor available so it made sense to use those hydraulics rather than buy a special power pack to raise and lower a vehicle ” Hopper says “Each cylinder is rated for 2 500-lb lift capacity so the hoist and the tractor have no problem lifting cars or pickups ” To stabilize the lift he has a 3-in flat steel X-brace connecting the foot of each leg and an X-brace connecting the two legs on each side He uses 1/2-in bolts through each leg when the hoist is in the air as safety pins “The lift is very sturdy when a vehicle is on it ” Hopper says “so I don’t have it bolted to the floor That way I can move it outside with a loader or forklift ” Hopper says materials for the hoist cost him about $1 500 and it took him about a week to build it “There wasn’t too much head scratching that went into it which was kind of amazing compared to other things I’ve built The best part is that it really works For years and years I’ve rolled under cars on different floor dollies bumped my head and gotten lots of dirt in my face This thing makes repair and maintenance a whole lot easier ” Hopper says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Wayne Hopper 85645 Clegg Line RR 5 Brussels Ont N0G 1H0 Canada ph 808 431-4488
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