Portable ATV Lift
ET-493 Senior Design Project I
Spring 2013
Final Progress Report
By: Scott Dauzat & Rhett Falcone
Mechanical Engineering Technology
Southeastern Louisiana University
Advising Instructor:
Mitra, Rana
Submitted March 10, 2013
Abstract
The Purpose of our project is to design, and analyze an easy-to-use man-powered ATV lift.
There are two main designs for most ATV lifts that are currently on the market. One is a
hydraulic/Scissor system and the other is a drive up ramp. The ramp design does not lift the
weight off the tires and the hydraulic/Scissor design is limited in raising height. Our design
will support the ATV from under the frame allowing the user to change the tires while the ATV
is lifted. Our design will lift with four arms, two from each side lifting on the frame which
allows easy access to the underside of the ATV for maintenance. Lifting will be achieved using
a winch and pulley system allowing one person to easily crank the hand winch raising the ATV.
After analysis materials must be chosen to meet all required specifications for weight, strength
and safety. It must be sturdy, safe and easily portable so the weight must be kept to a minimum.
Senior Design Project Proposal
Manual ATV Lift
Introduction:
The lift will be designed to safely lift and support up to 1000 lbs. The
mechanical advantage required to do this will come from a winch with cables and
pulleys. Once an exact design is decided upon we will then do a stress analysis.
From the information obtained in the analysis, our materials can then be chosen
accordingly. Aluminum will be used when possible but steel will likely be used to
reinforce areas of high stress. Other than deciding on what material to use, design
obstacles will include a way to slowly lower the ATV, stabilizing the base in case
of uneven ground, ease of use and portability. We will design a safety mechanism
that in the event of a cable breaking it would stop the ATV from suddenly crashing
to the ground. Our goal is to have the lift to be relatively lightweight and
collapsible for ease of transportation.
Methodology:
The frame of the lift will be constructed of 4 x 4 x 1/8 in. square aluminum
tubing for the top and sides of the lift. Stress analysis will be performed using
COMSOL to verify that the beams and lifting arms will be able to support the
desired load. The top beam will be used for support when the ATV is being lifted
so that the outside beams will not collapse inward. The top beam will also be
detachable for transport. The base of the frame will be constructed using a 2 x 4 x
1/8 in rectangle aluminum tubing. Four 1 x 2 x 1/8 in. aluminum tubing will be
used for the braces on the lift. The lifting arms will be constructed of 2 ½ x 2 ½ x
¼ in. structural steel since they will have the highest stress of the system. A series
of pulleys with cables and a winch will be contained in the system so that the
lifting can be achieved. Calculations will be made to determine the tension in the
pulleys and research will be done to determine the desired cable width that will
support the weight of the ATV. The winch to be used must contain a winch brake
so that the load will not fall when while raising or lowering the ATV. Once the
ATV is lifted to its desired height, pins will be placed through the side beams of
the frame directly under the lifting arms in case of cable failure.
Design Advantages:
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Portable and Lightweight
No electricity required
One man operated
Access to Underside of ATV
Tires can be removed while ATV is Lifted
Support arms lift from the frame
Design Obstacles:
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Safety
Lowering of ATV must be slow and controlled
Keeping weight to a minimum
Maintain strength after many uses
Minimizing cost
Current Designs Available:
Hydraulic/Scissor Lift (Figure 1)
Figure 1: Hydraulic/Scissor Lift Courtesy of Grainger.com
Hydraulic/Scissor Lift (Figure 1) Downfalls:
 Limited lift height
 No access to underside of ATV
Ramp Lift (Figure 2):
Figure 2: Ramp Lift (discountramps.com)
Ramp Lift (Figure 2) Downfalls:
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Does not lift the weight off the tires.
May drive off the ramp
Limited working area underneath the ATV
Figure 3 is the frame from COMSOL showing pulley and winch locations.
Pulleys
Pulleys
Pulleys
Cables
Winch
Lifting Support Arms
Pulley
Figure 3: ATV Lift front view
Figure 4 is the top view of the lift from our COMSOL analysis.
Stabilizing bars
Lifting Support Arms
Winch
Top Cross Beam
Stabilizing bars
Figure 4: Overhead view of lift
Winch
Figure 5: Worm gear winch with split drum for two cables (eTrailer.com)
Worm Gear Winch (Figure 5)
• Stops turning when cranking is stopped
• No free mode
• Split drum allows cable to be pulled from opposite directions
• 1500 lb. capacity
• Safe controlled movement
The D-L worm gear winch should be used for applications requiring safe,
controlled movement of loads. The reel automatically stops turning whenever
cranking is stopped. There is no free wheel mode, no special mechanism required
to stop gear movement and they do not require a minimum load for operation. The
split drum will allow cable to pull from opposite directions. Capacity is based on
direct line pull on the first layer of line on the drum. Laminated high carbon steel
gears are heat treated for longer life. Heavy gauge embossed steel base for extra
strength. Permanently lubricated bearing on drive shaft are maintenance free.
Heavy duty variable speed drill 1/2" shaft, using 5/8" socket, may speed up
operation.
Model
Winch Description
Rated
Capacity (1)
DL10952
Split Reel Handle
Drive
1,500 lb.
Worm Gear Specifications
Drum Hub
Gear
Handle
Diameter
Ratio
Length
1-1/2"
30:1
7"
Max. Mechanical
Advantage
240
Max. Drum Capacity
- Cable (2)
1/4" x 43' (21-1/2'
per side)
Wall/Ceiling Mount Pulley
Wall/Ceiling Mount Pulley Figure 6: (Grainger.com)
 Flat Mount Type
 Max. Cable Size (In.) 3/16
 Safe Working Load (Lb.) 600
 Sheave Outside Dia. (In.) 1-1/2
 All-steel Sheave Material
 Zinc Finish
 Weather Resistant
 Eye Hook Inside Dia. (In.) 0.188
 Mounting Hole Dia. (In.) 3/8
Fork Stress Analysis
Maximum
Fork
Stress
Figure 7: Fork Stress Analysis
Total Displacement
0.035 in
Maximum Stress at Fork
700 N/m^2 or 101.526 psi at each of the four lifting forks
Structural Steel Supports
Figure 8: Structural Steel Supports highlighted in blue
Aluminum 6063-T83 Frame
Figure 9: Aluminum 6063-T83 Frame highlighted in blue
Pulley Stress Analysis
Figure 10: Pulley Stress Analysis
Total Displacement
2.489e-7 in
Maximum Stress On Pulleys
500 N/m^2 or 72.519 psi
Pulley Bolt Selection
The mounting hole diameter on the pulleys being used are 3/18 in. Since the hole
was already present, we chose the largest diameter bolt that would work for the
mounting of the pulley. We chose to use a class 8.8 M5 x .8 x 40. Once the bolt
was chosen the maximum allowable load was calculated by using the shear, tensile
and bearing failure equations. Once these calculations were made, the smallest
value of the three determines the maximum allowable load that the bolts can
handle before they fail. Equations and calculation follow on the next page.
Main Lifting Support Arm Stress
One of the highest stresses occurs in the lifting support arms which are highlighted
light blue in figure 8. The maximum load the lift is designed for is 1000 pounds.
The stress calculations on the following page assume that each of the four lifting
arms bears a 250 pound load. The beam pictured is a singel lifting arm. The arms
can be considered a cantilever stlye beam for the analysis. The arms would be
constructed of 2.5 in square structural steel tubing with a .25 in wall thickness.
With the given dimensions the moment of inertia represented by “I” was calculated
and used to determine the deflection or displacement of the beam. The section
modulus shown as “S” was calculated using the same dimensions. The maximum
moment will occur on the far left end of the support pictured on the following
page. The maximum stress was then calculated using the maximum moment and
the section modulus. The design stress, using a safety factor, denoted as “N” of
eight was almost four times the maximum stress therefore our design should
support lifting ATV’s safely and reliably. All other stress calculations were done in
COMSOL.
Cable Selection
Brand
Sanlo
Breaking Strength
1,700 lbs.
Coated or Uncoated
Coated
Coated Outside Diameter
3/16 inch
Coating Color
Red
Coating Material
Vinyl
Measurement System
Inch
Strand
7x7
Wire Diameter
1/8 inch
Wire Material
Galvanized Steel
Figure 11: 3/16 in coated cable (Grainger.com)
Tension and Mechanical Advantage
Tension for left side:
Load / number of pulleys
500lbs / 3 pulleys = 166.67 lbs.
Tension for right side:
Load / number of pulleys
500lbs / 4 pulleys = 125 lbs.
Mechanical Advantage = Load / Effort
500 lbs. / 5 = 100
Contribution:
Scott Dauzat:

Helped with the design of the lifting support arms.
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Designed the pulley configuration
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Created the frame using COMSOL
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Calculated the tension in the cables and the mechanical advantage of system
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Calculated maximum allowable load for pulley bolts
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Determined the maximum stress on the pulleys using COMSOL and the total
deflection
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Determined the size of pulleys and cable to be used
Rhett Falcone:

Helped with the design of the lifting arms
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Designed the frame of the lift
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Performed stress analysis of lifting support arms
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Calculated deflection and maximum stress of lifting support arms
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Created the lifting support arms and determined the total deflection using
COMSOL
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Created Gantt Chart
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Helped with the design of the frame in COMSOL
Progress Gantt Chart
Sources:
Discount Ramps. 2013. ATV Stand. 5 Apr. 2013. www.discountramps.com.
eTrailer. 2012. Dutton-Lainson Winch. 7 Apr. 2013. www. etrailer.com.
Grainger. 2013. Motorcycle Jack, ATV, 1500 lbs. 5 Apr. 2013.
www.grainger.com.