Even if you own a lift cart (which most people don't), transferring loads from it to a truck bed can still be a physically demanding task. The Lift & Slide Cart was designed to address that problem, as it does indeed allow users to both lift and slide up to 440 lb (200 kg) of cargo.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Lift & Slide was first envisioned by Portland, Oregon-based entrepreneur Yervant Wei when he was just 13 years old. He and his father Robert, who is an international business expert, proceeded to build a series of prototypes.
When in rolling-along-the-ground mode, the present version of the Lift & Slide looks much like any other cargo cart. It has a 47.2 x 28.3-inch (1,199 x 719-mm) carbon steel load platform, a handle that can be folded down for transit and storage, and four rubber-tired wheels – the rear wheels swivel, and are equipped with parking brakes.
Once you get the cart to the back of your truck, you activate a battery-powered hydraulic scissor-lift mechanism located on its underside. That mech raises the cart (wheels and all) to the height of your truck's folded-down tailgate. You then manually stop the lift.
At this point, with a regular lift cart, you would have to lean in and physically lift each cargo item off of the cart and into the truck bed. With the Lift & Slide, though, you just slide the cargo-laden cart into the bed along a set of rails that extend horizontally from the truck-side of the lift.
In a final step, you withdraw the lift mechanism, which pulls itself up into its truck-level aluminum frame. The whole folded-up mech is then slid forward – along the same set of rails that were used before – so that it's once again on the underside of the cart.
The loading process is demonstrated in the following video. Unloading, needless to say, is just the same process in reverse.
The Lift & Slide should reportedly work with just about any make and model of pickup truck, as long as its bed isn't higher than 50 inches (1,270 mm). It also ought to be compatible with most SUVs and vans, if their cargo bay is at least 48 inches long by 40 inches tall (1,219 by 1,016 mm).
According to the Weis, one charge of the cart's 48V lithium-polymer battery should be good for about 140 lift cycles at the maximum load of 440 lb (200 kg). The Lift & Slide itself is claimed to tip the scales at about 173 lb (78.5 kg).
Assuming everything goes according to plan, a pledge of US$929 will get you a Lift & Slide Cart of your own. The planned retail price is $1,399. Unfortunately the design has already been copied, although the unlicensed clones reportedly don't sport all of the original's features.
Sources: Kickstarter, Pairon Tools