Pickup-Mounted Lift Helps Physically Challenged

Pickup-Mounted Lift Helps Physically Challenged TRACTORS Accessories 27-4-40 Tractor and combine-mounted lifts have helped farmers with physical limitations to continue working around the farm, but in the past, a separate lift has usually been needed on every implement. Hubert Von Holten and Kathy Smith have come up with a pickup-mounted lift that can be used anywhere you can go with a pickup. For 18 years, Life Essentials, a company owned by Smith and founded by Von Holten, has produced and sold lifts and other equipment to help physically challenged people continue to enjoy activities like operating equipment, horseback riding, swimming, camping, etc. Polio cost Von Holten the use of his legs at age five. "But it didn't stop me from working and doing other things I wanted to do," he says. That included farming. Two versions of the pickup-mounted lift are available. One mounts in the front of the bed, behind the cab. "This one can pick you up from the truck seat and put you onto a combine or anywhere else, up to about 8 ft. high and 15 ft. away," Von Holten says. The second pickup lift mounts in the back of the bed. "It can reach higher and farther, but it requires you to get out of the pickup and onto the lift," he says. While Smith and Von Holten start each lift they sell with the same basic design, no two installations are the same. "We design them to fit each individual's abilities, so each one is different," Von Holten says. "A tractor or combine lift can cost around $9,000, and works only on the one machine," he continues. "The pickup lift starts at around $13,000, but it can put you onto any machine, so you may only need one lift. It may not be quite as handy as an implement-mounted lift, but it's much more versatile." Von Holten says grants and assistance programs are available in most states and through the Easter Seals Society to help pay for equipment. He also recommends getting in touch with Bill Field, who directs the Purdue University Breaking New Ground program for farmers with physical limitations. "He can help you locate anything you might need, from wheelchairs to wagon hitches to automatic gates," he says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Hubert Von Holten or Kathy Smith, Life Essentials, 8796 S US 231, Brookston, Ind. 47923 (ph 800 LIFE-740 or 765 742-6707; email: lifeessentials@earthlink.net; website: www.life-essentials.net).

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