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Dale Bronk's Portable Chair Lift
Dale Bronk's Portable Chair Lift
Two photos (1) The purchased two-wheeled telescoping boom lift with outriggers; (2) the delivery end of the boom with modified bucket that houses the chair.

Dale Bronk's Portable Chair Lift is made from a commercially available, trailer-mounted, telescoping-boom lift (similar to what utility companies use) that the Plainfield, IL, farmer had modified. The original bucket mounted on the telescoping boom was modified to form a chair by (a) removing the bucket's front and part of its right side, (b) mounting a seat in the bottom and an armrest on the left side, and (c) adding a seatbelt and footrest. The lift is powered by a 12-volt DC, electrically operated hydraulic system, with the hydraulic pump and reservoir mounted in a protective bracket next to the cylinder that raises and lowers the boom. A motor on the lift trailer pivots the boom from side to side, and a second hydraulic cylinder inside the boom moves the telescoping tube in and out. When the lift is positioned for use, four adjustable, manual outriggers (one at each corner of the trailer) are lowered to provide stability. Operation of the chair lift requires two people—Bronk using controls in the lift seat to precisely access the operator's station of the machine being boarded, and another person attending the controls on the trailer to move the lift away once Bronk is situated.

Estimated Cost Cost range: See below

Limitations Limitations Addressed by Product: Lower extremity


SourceDale Bronk
R.R. 2
Plainfield, IL, 60544
Last updated: Jan 25, 2022


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