Lifting doubles into truck?

[ScubaVideo]

Tailgate ramps and a scuba tank dolly. Also you could try a good floor jack with a basket large enough for the tanks mounted to the floor jack. You would still have to lift them into the basket, but that would not be as high. Another Idea along the lines from the lift above, is a cherry picker. They make them for lifting engines out of cars and also people out of or into wheelchairs. They also make giant airbags that are used for lifting patients from the ground to gurney height. Those might be costly though.

Also, I bet if you have the room you could build a wooden ramp and leave it in a garage or side of the drive when not in use.

The lift (crane) mentioned above looks cool too and I think the idea of storing them high to start with and backing the truck up to them would work if space allowed.

Cherry Picker - One poor review because it's from China.

 

[tkdgodess]

I lay mine sideways in the back, it's easier to pull them upright, and I wear them in/out of the truck, garage , diveshop. I have a bench I can sit them onto in my garage. If I have them without the backplate (like right now, in the back, going for fills tomorrow) they are sideways, (easier to tilt up right) and I hug them to my body, and squat to the ground to get filled. I am 5'8" which helps a little. I dare not ask my husband to carry them, because if he finds out how heavy they are he will stop doing all the other "man" things I want him to do around the house!

 

[danvolker]

Tommy Gate Pickup Truck Lift Gates

 

[Rainer]

The only immediate idea I have right now is to carry the doubles into the house, Lift them up to the sofa, then put my back plate on & back pack them to the truck bed.

Lol, that's actually exactly what my wife and I do. We're in a second story apartment, though, so the doubles have to come upstairs anyway.

 

[Peter_C]

The idea of sliding them into the truck is a good one. The first thing is the tail gate is going to get trashed. You can put something on it to protect it, or call it a truck and use it! I fall into the latter, having grown up on a farm. An easy way to move and get the tanks in and out is a dolly.

My initial search for "dolly" revealed this. Might not be able to afford one to use for heavy lifting.

Then I remembered they are also called hand trucks. It will need to be able to slid up the tail gate, so it must be equal on the back side. They make nice aluminum ones, and I think I have seen them at Costco before. You would lean the hand truck against the vehicle then lift it up from a dead lift until it starts sliding into the P/U, wherein the P/U would take the weight.

Maybe this could be incorporated for use?

Of course simple and cheap, DIY, is always the best. Think recycled! Say the word FREE!

Of course some Trex would work just fine for sliding them in and out of the P/U. Screw them together like this so the tanks can not fall off. _^_ Well except without the gaps. A single 14"+ wide board with a rail down the middle would do the same thing.

 

[tstormdiver]

Thanks all! Some great ideas,... some out there, but great entertainment.

Sorry I couldn't respond quicker. Had to take shelter for a possible tornado going through the area:shocked2: The storm has passed, now & things are fine here.

I do have a hand truck (I've got to reinflate the tires though...) & a ramp of some sort may just be the ticket. I had thought about the truck crane, but with a new bed cover,... I just don't think it would work very well.... I've also toyed with the idea of putting a hoist up in the garage to lift them. A rack system may also work well.

 

[carolrose]

I'm short, and have a tough time lifting things up high, but if I jump into the back of my truck, I have no trouble dragging them up after me. Doing it that way lets me lift most of the weight with my leg muscles which are definitely stronger than my arms. I suspect its the same for most females.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[mikemill]

I'm big and strong and my double 119s rarely go below waist level. They are moved from my X-table to my vehicle on my back (attached to the backplate). When I take them in to get filled I carry them on my back. When I take them out of the vehicle I carry them on my back.

Seriously, carry them on your back, it is so much easier.

 

[NuclearOOPS]

This might help. Even works with a tonneau cover.

 

[matt_w]

I'm short, and have a tough time lifting things up high, but if I jump into the back of my truck, I have no trouble dragging them up after me. Doing it that way lets me lift most of the weight with my leg muscles which are definitely stronger than my arms. I suspect its the same for most females.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

I think most people have a tough time tossing around double 108s. Lp 95s (roughly HP 130s) is as much tank as I want in or out of the water. I have not tried it myself, but side mount does sound like an interesting option. I know people make the switch for many different reasons, but it seems like a good solution for many kinds of divig.