Section 3: Assistive Technology Notes

Section 3: Assistive Technology Notes — Commercial Lifts

Life Essentials Lift

Life Essentials (LE) staff has over 37 years of hands-on experience in the rehabilitation and automotive equipment technology industries. The company uses the latest innovations in mobility equipment and products to build lifts for combines, tractors, and trucks. Each lift is tailored to fit the ability and needs of the specific customer. Because LE specializes in producing lifts, it can offer "off the shelf" solutions to farmers with disabilities that other companies do not.

LE staff reports that most tractors built in the last five to six years have cab door openings and cabs that are large enough to accommodate the modifications necessary to install a Seated Pilot or a Standing Platform Lift. Despite older models’ small cabs and cab-door openings, to date, LE has been able to manufacture a lift to fit any tractor.

Lift mounted to back of pickup providing access to nearby tractor.
Life Essentials "new" truck mounted lift.
Photo courtesy of Life Essentials.

Specifications & Costs

A Seated Pilot Lift weighs approximately 550 pounds and is powered by the equipment’s 12-volt battery. It has two sets of controls (a) a hand held switch box connected by a cable to the lift operator’s location or a radio frequency switch box that can be worn around the operator’s neck on a lanyard and (b) a control mounted at the machine operator’s location. The Pilot Lift has a vertical mast that raises a 2-axis motorized arm and seat that allows the operator to move in three directions while seated. This maneuverability enables an operator to transfer from a wheelchair onto the lift seat and then onto the tractor seat. Movement is achieved with a six-function pendant, enabling users with good upper-body strength to position themselves in the operator’s compartment without the help of others.

The current price of a tractor lift is approximately $8990.00 and a combine lift is approximately $9250.00. LE technicians travel across the U.S. and into Canada to install lifts. Basic installation fees are $900 plus the travel and shipping fees. With proper care and basic maintenance, LE lifts are still working after 18 years.

Truck Mounted Lift

In early 2001, LE staff manufactured and installed their first lift that mounts into the bed of any pick-up truck. The lift is bolted into the truck frame with 4 bolts and has an eight-foot reach. A person can back the truck up close to the equipment, transfer from the truck onto his or her wheelchair, then onto the lift seat, and then be lifted up and into the tractor or other equipment. The mast tilts over the top of the cab for transport and it has two hydraulic stabilizers that level and stabilize the truck while the lift is in use. This lift is powered the 12-volt truck battery and uses radio frequency remote control for the lift and arm motion. The switches for the stabilizers and the mast are mounted on the back end of the truck.

The lift cable can be installed on the truck either at the farm or at the LE shop. The lift takes up just over half of the truck bed leaving the remainder open for hauling. After unscrewing the four bolts and disconnecting the wire harness from the battery, the lift can be removed with a hoist or front loader and stored until needed. This unit costs $14,300.

Safety Considerations

Although LE builds a standing platform and a seated lift, the staff report that, "we do offer a Platform Lift, but we find that most customers, for the price, prefer the Pilot lift." The seated lift is more adaptable and gets the person into the cab. It includes a seatbelt that goes around the person, making his/her position on the lift more secure than on the standing lift. People who have used the lift report that they feel safer and more secure with a seatbelt around them. In addition, if later the person should not be able to stand, the platform lift would have to be changed to a seated lift.

In the study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh (Willkomm, 1997), of 21 tractor lifts, the LE Seated Pilot Lift was reported to have the lowest number of ergonomic risk factors when compared to the lifts made by farm families themselves or by local machine shops. During the past 16 years, no falls have occurred from the over 300 LE lifts that have been manufactured and delivered to farmers and ranchers. Because the truck—mounted lift is brand new, no report on its ergonomic risk factors is yet available.

Reference: Wilkomm, T. (1997). Risks in using modified tractors by operators with spinal cord injuries and their co-workers. University of Pittsburgh, Doctoral Dissertation.

Illinois Grain Farmer uses Pilot Lift

Mark Newell is a 42-year-old Illinois grain farmer. Newell has debilitating arthritis that has seriously affected his spine. To treat the disease he underwent five surgical laminectomies. During the fifth surgery, his spinal cord was damaged at T11, which resulted in paraplegia.

He describes himself as "a big guy" and says he still has good upper body strength and strong arms. None-the-less, to preserve his strength, he uses a Jazzy 1170XL Pride electric wheelchair. With the help of Illinois AgrAbility Project staff, Newell contacted the state division of vocational rehabilitation (VR) to request assistance with securing lifts for his tractors and combine.

Mark Newell sitting in tractor.
A Life Essentials Pilot Lift puts mark Newell in the operator's seat.
Photo courtesy of AgrAbility Unlimited - Illinois.

In August 1997, he purchased his first lift, a Life Essentials Pilot Lift for his 1996 John Deere 7800. In July 1998, VR agreed to cover the cost of purchase and installation of the same type of lift on both his John Deere 4020 tractor and 9500 combine.

Newell reports that he has been using the lifts regularly since they were installed nearly four years ago and has had no trouble with any of them. He says that the first few times he used them it was "a little scary being that high off the ground" but he quickly gained confidence and now feels quite secure when using them. He feels that they move at the right speed to be safe and are very reliable.

A feature that he finds especially helpful is that the lifts can be moved out of the way of operators who do not need to use them. The one thing that he would like to see changed on the lift is the seat. A ridge around the outside edge keeps the operator from slipping off the seat while the lift is moving, but in Newell’s case, it also makes it difficult for him to slide off onto the tractor seat. Having to slide up and over that ridge is a problem for him because he has difficulties with pressure sores and they are aggravated during the transfer

BACK: Focus—Commercial Lifts

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In This Issue
Section 1: Client Story—Filer Uses Pilot Lift to Access Tractor Section 2: Focus—Commercial Lifts Section 3: Assistive Technology Notes—Commercial Lifts	Section 4: State Project Feature—Delmarva Project Section 5: Tips for Preventing Slips or Falls When Using Tractor Chair Lifts Section 6: Contacts