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Custom Mobility System Helps Contractor Keep Working
For many equipment operators, mobility challenges can signal the end of time spent in the field. For Darwin Keiper, however, they became the inspiration for an innovative solution that enabled him to continue operating heavy equipment and to maintain his independence.
When Keiper was about 70 years old, he began
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Custom Mobility System Helps Contractor Keep Working
For many equipment operators, mobility challenges can signal the end of time spent in the field. For Darwin Keiper, however, they became the inspiration for an innovative solution that enabled him to continue operating heavy equipment and to maintain his independence.
When Keiper was about 70 years old, he began struggling to climb into the excavators he used for his excavating contractor business. Determined to keep working, he designed and built a customized access system using a 10-ton tag-along trailer. The setup centers on an electric tailgate lift mounted at the front of the trailer, powered by a reservoir and a hydraulic piston.
The system allows Keiper to drive his Jazzy electric wheelchair up a rear ramp, onto the trailer, and then onto the front lift. The lift raises him to the height needed to enter whichever machine he plans to operate. Fold-out ramps bridge the gap between the trailer and the equipment, enabling him to move into position and transfer safely into the cab.
“I designed and built it myself because, at my age and in my condition, I really needed it,” Keiper says.
Now 79 and unable to walk, Keiper still uses the system by positioning the trailer alongside the machine he plans to run. Once the day’s job is complete, he simply reverses the process and returns to his van.
Resourcefulness played a major role in the project’s development. The rear ramp was repurposed from a snowmobile trailer, and the ramp surface was sourced from a shaker screen.
“I did buy the winch that lifts the trailer, but otherwise I had everything else I needed, so it didn’t cost me anything,” Keiper says. “Because of this system, I’m not dependent on anyone. If I want to work early or late, I can.”
Keiper’s invention is a testament to how creativity and determination can overcome physical limitations and extend a lifetime of productivity.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Darwin Keiper, Pocono Lake, Penn. 18347 (ph 570-646-2614; dkeiper@epix.net).
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