For sale - Portable electric penthouse lift assist - Sold

[yvrr]

We have a portable electric penthouse lift assist for sale which was developed and assembled by Sportsmobile West. (I think John Kalmbach had a lot to do with the design.) It is about 46" long and plugs into a 12v cig lighter. To use it, plug it in and center it vertically front/back and side/side:



Push the rocker switch on the control unit and it starts up:


Here it is at the top of the lift:


With the top up, you reverse the motor and run the lift back to the stowed position. It takes about 15 seconds to raise the top with the lift assist. We have 3 of the original solar panels on top of our van which probably weigh about 25 lbs. each and have used the lift a few times when we also have our 55 lbs. kayak on the roof.

The lift cost about $600 new and is for sale for $300 plus shipping. I'd prefer a buyer from the San Francisco Bay area so that we could arrange for a meet/delivery. Otherwise, it will be an interesting challenge to ship it given that it weighs about 11 lbs. and will require a shipping tube about 6" in diameter but I'm sure that I can figure something out.

[Jammyauto]

I just sent you a PM.

[billwilson]

just a question:

why are you getting rid of it??

[Langton]

Email sent

[jk1007]

Greetings, I am looking for a portable ph lift for my van. Were you happy with the lift? Is it worth the price? Is this available through SMB west ? Thanks, Jim

[yvrr]

We sold it since we spent the money (big bucks) to have an electric penthouse installed so the portable lift was no longer needed. Is it worth the money? We bought it so that we could lift the penthouse with our kayak on top. Thinking ahead, as we get older, getting the top up would also present a future problem. If we were to purchase a new SMB, we'd order it with an electric top without a question. So....the portable electric lift works well (and is faster than the SMB electric top) but is another thing to store in the van. Hence, we didn't use it that often since we wouldn't take it with us unless we had the kayak with us. I'm assuming the SMB West still has some available but I doubt that they will restock them since they now offer the electric penthouse.

One note....we bought our van before solar panels were available. The top was easy to get up and I "popped" every time we stopped for lunch. Once we added solar panels, it was more difficult (even after the springs were adjusted) and I didn't always pop it for stops such as lunch. With an electric top, we now raise it for most stops. A portable lift can also do that for you...

[jk1007]

Thanks for the advice. I'll give SMB west a call. Jim