> I have often thought about having a "Tommy Gate" lift installed on
> my pickup.  these lifts can lift as much as 1500 lbs. from ground
> level to bed level.  These can be removed an installed on a
> different vehicle when you trade.  I was wondering if anyone had
> tried this option.
 
I've seen it used -- in one case it was in conjunction with a one ton
enclosed van with a rollup door.  Worked well for a large hobbyist who
kept bees in the country, but did his extracting in the middle of a large
city.  Another was on a three ton truck.
 
I think a one ton is about as small a truck as will handle one safely,
since a power tailgate is a heavy weight right that sits right on the very
tail end of the truck.  Such lifts are often hydraulic with an electric
pump to provide power.  Other models run on pumps mounted on the
transmission or fan belt.
 
If you watch your local 'Bargain Finder' paper, they are in there for
reasonable prices from time to time.  Some welding is required to mount
them.  Once again, try your friendly local auto wrecker, since they tend
to accumulate such things and will often mount them for a reasonable
price.
 
My loader page has a loader and some forklifts, but no tailgate ones.
http://www.internode.net/Honeybee/loader/loader.htm
 
Allen