This may strike some as OT... But has anyone taken a bottle jack, and say modded it so that it could be hooked to a porta-power pump... to make an even bigger porta-power ram? What about using a power steering pump, some valves and plumbing, and a bottle jack? Any links to websites? Like, maybe some cracked cat who has made his own farm tractor or forklift? Or similar? Fabbed their own tow-truck lift, sorta-thing? I'm not interested in doing it, just curious to the if's and hows of doing it... Thanks, J
I fabbed my own tow truck lift, and put it in a bed I made out of 1/16" steel(I got for free from work). I got a old Tulsa winch from an old wrecker, and hooked a hydraulic pump from the PTO on a NP203 transfer case, this ran a hydraulic motor which runs the winch. I made the lift so it could be unbolted from the frame and bed, and then the winch cable runs up over a roller, and the winch is used to lift the bed. This is on a 64 CO1600 International, which I also put a old GM military front axle under the thing, it has a 355 SB, with Turbo 400 ******, and dual speed rear axle. Actually, as cobbled as it may sound, I have hauled alot of stuff with it, and it has ran flawlessly.
I lift houses so wanted to know how much pressure it took. I tapped a bottle jack for a gauge but there was not enough material for more than three threads and the jacks go to nearly 10,000 psi so I was afraid to do any more and I cast that one in a foundation.
You could drill another port into the bottle jack to hook it to the porta power if you needed provided you clear the valve and tank. Bottle jacks will however have theirown crude slow acting relief which is probably going to be lower than what your porta power pump will produce. Most enerpac cylinders are rated to 10,000 psi. The average jack probably sees 3000.
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