Good Ideas !!

My neighbour (the one with the boat) was looking at the "house" a couple of days ago and was wondering why I was about to attack the back end of the house with an angle grinder.
I explained that I was about to put in all the reinforcing I thought was necessary to lift up and support my motorbike and spare wheels (which are enormous) on tracks on the back of the house. It was going to require substantial track mounts, winch mounts, pulley mounts, locking clamp mounts etc at the top edge to enable the required platform to be winched up and then secured in place.
My truck does not have a hydraulic PTO fitted (a regretful oversight of the previous owner) or I may well have considered a commercial tailgate lift which would have solved a multitude of problems!
He suggested instead that some sort of arm could perhaps be used.
I rejected the arm as not practical but it did inspire some further thought.
I remembered the folding ramps on the back of low loaders for driving equipment on and off and it occurred to me that a similar arrangement (although mounted sideways) lifted by a winch (see at the end) and pulley system would do the job perfectly and have numerous advantages, not the least of which is the mounting system is all low down in the strongest part of the house. And if I was a "little bit clever" it could be arranged to be swapped left to right for safety in LHD/RHD countries (similar to the doors, one on each side).

Some quick measurements determined that it should all work and the previously purchased tracks and rollers etc. have been relegated to the "next shed door track box".
Some bushes were turned up and welded into some 150 x 50 x 3 RHS which would fit neatly into the back wall and provide the mount shaft for the ramp.
This shows the bush from inside the generator bay (with a dummy pin in place to hold up some aligning beams on the outside).






















Like so :














A shaft was also turned up with a thread on one end which will enable it to be locked firmly in place when mounted in the bush. This will have a pipe sleeve over it to which the ramp will be welded. You cant see the bush from the outside here as the aligning beams cover it all up while the RHS is welded in place.



















All will be revealed as progress continues.

As not much more than 10 days remains until the outside fibreglass goes on as much progress as possible (given the lack of material delivery) has been made with the overall framing.


















Fortunately just at the end of the day the remaining tubing turned up on the truck so full on tomorrow!

I don't know how this is going to work out but I found this on the "NET" the other day. It is marketed in Australia from a mail order house only on the other side of the country and given the price it may well be "foreign junk". (I really did try to find one locally . . .)
But at $160 delivered - you have to at least give it a try !!