17 replies to this topic

[New lifter]

Hi There. At a risk of sounding idiotic, I would like to ask a question regarding building a small 500 x 100' lift on my ten acres in Northern California. Has anyone ever design a home owner friendly ski lift to cover an approximately 500 foot run with a 75 to 100' rise? I'm not looking for all the bells and whistles of large terminals, multiple chairs, towers, bull wheels and counter weights. Anyone ever consider attaching a winch type moter above the chair that directly drives on the cable? This would allow for a single, fixed cable and a moterized gondola/chair. I'm not looking to build a rope tow. If you could shed some light on alternative lift construction, used parts suppliers and other details, I would be greatly appreciative. Thanks. New lifter.

Attached File(s)

•  front_yard.JPG (44.68K)
  Number of downloads: 99

[New lifter]

mjturley34, on Nov 22 2008, 08:45 AM, said:

Why don't you just walk up the hill & then ski down ? I'll sell you some plans cheap for that kind of "alternative" lift !!

Well I guess I need to explain further. I'm actually not looking to use this as a ski lift. I am looking to use this to haul building materials up the hill to construct a guest unit. However, once the guest unit is completed, the lift will be a nice feature to the property. I am trying to keep the guest unit as remote as possible with only the small foot trail and hopefully a small lift to its location. In addition, with a little clearing, this will also make for a cool ski lift during the winter months. As for your plans, is there any info on this that I can preview to see if it will meet my needs. Thanks. NL

[Lift Dinosaur]

I have never heard of a "traction drive" as you describe in your original statement. Doesn't mean that they don't exist and it's an interesting concept.
One of the issues you will deal with is the maximum weight of your heaviest component. That will be what your system will be designed to.
Have you considered a helicopter?

Dino

[Lift Kid]

I would suggest an inclined elevator. There are many companies out there that build inclined elevators for residential and light commercial use. These particular inclined elevators that I am referring to are most commonly found on lakeshore properties with a large drop-off between the house and the shore. Basically it's a platform that rides on a track. It can have several "landing areas." They are also easy to use and don't usually involve a license to run.

Addition: I was just searching the internet for a company that installs these lifts. Here's what I found: http://www.hillhiker.com/. It appears that they install all over the U.S. and they're located right near me in MN.

This post has been edited by Lift Kid: 22 November 2008 - 05:05 PM

[mikest2]

Lift Kid, on Nov 22 2008, 04:57 PM, said:

I would suggest an inclined elevator. There are many companies out there that build inclined elevators for residential and light commercial use. These particular inclined elevators that I am referring to are most commonly found on lakeshore properties with a large drop-off between the house and the shore. Basically it's a platform that rides on a track. It can have several "landing areas." They are also easy to use and don't usually involve a license to run.

Addition: I was just searching the internet for a company that installs these lifts. Here's what I found: http://www.hillhiker.com/. It appears that they install all over the U.S. and they're located right near me in MN.

Or Randy Gliege

http://summitliftco.net/home.html

[Skiing#1]

very interesting to know about Hillside Elevator and I looked up the internet and there are several different companies have Hillside Elevator.

Google.com or yahoo.com click images....type "Hillside Elevator" then hit search box or enter key. it will show different pictures.

[New lifter]

O.K., this idea may be feasible, but I would still appreciate some feedback regarding this style of lift. Utilizing a winch pulled gondola on a fixed cable. I have attached a couple of rough sketches to attempt to show how this idea is supposed to work (or have tried to). Does anyone know if there are systems similar to this already out there? Or maybe some suggestions on technical issues or just tell me this is lame. Thanks, NL

Attached File(s)

•  Winch_Lift121.jpg (293.21K)
  Number of downloads: 139
•  Winch_skylift_from_top.JPG (28.08K)
  Number of downloads: 84

[chasl]

New lifter, on Nov 23 2008, 05:12 AM, said:

O.K., this idea may be feasible, but I would still appreciate some feedback regarding this style of lift. Utilizing a winch pulled gondola on a fixed cable. I have attached a couple of rough sketches to attempt to show how this idea is supposed to work (or have tried to). Does anyone know if there are systems similar to this already out there? Or maybe some suggestions on technical issues or just tell me this is lame. Thanks, NL

You could have a lot of problems, if you get much rain, snow (your picture shows snow) or ice where you live. I am not sure you will get enough friction between your drive wheels and the rope. When you were talking before, your description outlined a winch pulling the cabin up the 10% slope, that would have a better chance than the diagrams you laid out.

[aug]

This has been tried before in a larger scale on Mt Hood, oregon. check out Timberline lodge , Skiway, on this website. From looking at your drawing, braking may be an issue.

[Lift Kid]

I am not seeing how you would power the drive motor in your drawing. I would think that having the winch at the top of the lift would be a better idea. That way the winch can pull the cabin up, and if set up properly, allow the cabin to go down at a controlled speed. Might I recommend having two track rope instead of one? (like an aerial tram) That way you don't have to worry about sheaves on the bottom cable. Plus, it's way more stable.

[vons]

http://www.accumar.com/

[towertop]

outdoorengineers

[mthornton]

While touring Austria and Switzerland, I noticed many of the farms & vinyards, with fields on quite steep hillsides, had a variety of small ropeways dedicated to moving product & materials up & down. Very quick, cheap & easy to build or relocated, they are mostly powerd by small gas engines.
Garanventa (now part of Doppelmayr) used to make cool small capstan winches. Add some small wire-rope, and a couple of old motorcycle wheels, a beefy come-a-long for tension. Farmer engineered.
No safety though. keep your kids away from it.

[Petz]

Maybe this pictures help a little; this is a bit larger ropeway with two material baskets on two rope lines, most of them only have one.

Attached File(s)

•  MaterialbahnVellau01.jpg (52.92K)
  Number of downloads: 75
•  MaterialbahnVellau02.jpg (87.68K)
  Number of downloads: 74

[brad82]

Just get your physics right.

I see no reason why this isnt possible. Just make sure your stations are anchored with enough concrete to stop them from moving, and check that your haul rope is strong enough. I would seriously reccomend, if you are going to do this, to build a Bi-Cable system, with fixed grip. Just make sure you satisfy all the values of weight etc.

[Bogong]

Buy an "off the shelf" ski lift.

Quick, easy, cheap and fun.

Here is a link to a site with a film of one in operation.
It can be up to 1000 feet long, weighs only 120 pounds and can be set up in 15 minutes.

http://www.snow-stuf...au/skilift.html

This post has been edited by Bogong: 19 April 2009 - 05:40 PM