Solid welds hold the mounting bracket to a universal mounting plate, connected to either the left front or the right rear ATV rack with U-bolts. Until I saw the mounting plate, I was skeptical about the descriptive adjective, "universal." This thick steel plate has more slots than a video game arcade; I can't imagine a rack incompatible with this fixture. Each plate comes with an auxiliary angle brace for use on aftermarket "basket-style" racks.
The telescoping support leg, with its hinged flat baseplate resting on the ground and its connecting shaft inserted in the bracket, steadies the assembly. Adjusted to the proper ground level, an L-shaped threaded rod serves as a pressure screw, holding the support leg at the correct length under load. The horizontal boom is welded to a telescoping vertical shaft whose base fits in the bracket. Also welded to the vertical shaft, a ratcheting Fulton Model T 900 boat trailer-style hand winch threads its nylon rope through pulleys to a tie-off point at the boom end. A pulley block with hook connects to the load, doubling the mechanical advantage of the winch.
The boom can be raised and lowered continuously over an interval of two feet, eight inches, from seven feet to nine feet, eight inches off the ground as mounted on our test vehicle, a Kawasaki Bayou 300 4X4. An L-shaped pressure screw locks the boom at the desired height. For loading game on the ATV rack, extending the boom isn't usually necessary. The added height comes in handy for field-dressing and skinning game. Stowable horizontally in the bracket for travel, the support leg and boom can be set up into hoisting position in less than thirty seconds. The boom and support leg can be aligned with the ATV's direction of travel, or rotated ninety degrees to the side. Developer Vincent Muzzi says, "Folks ask why we didn't put the boom in the center of the ATV. A deer is transported across the rack, not in the center; lifting one end of the deer from the side permits swinging the body across the rack for easy loading.
"Hunters don't want to field-dress their harvest near their stands. An animal can be loaded on the rack, hauled away a sufficient distance, and then hoisted for convenient dressing and skinning."
After hoisting the deer, the hoist dismantles and stows securely in thirty seconds, leaving plenty of room for harvested game on the rack. The bracket takes up little room and can be left in place year round without interfering with rack bags.
Pa-Paw's ATV Game Hoist is constructed mostly of heavy-gauge steel hollow square stock. Welds appear ample. Matte' black paint covers the metal surfaces; even the lifting rope is black.
Installation of Pa-Paw's Game Hoist bracket consists only of locating the bracket (left front or right rear rack) and tightening the 7/16" Ny-Lok nuts onto the U-bolts furnished. Two "large" and two "small" U-bolts come with the kit; the large ones fit the Bayou's rack tubing; I added a couple more from the hardware store for good measure.
Setup takes less than half a minute, as mentioned, IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING! Typically ignoring the clear instructions provided, I wandered around at first for awhile like one of Jane Goodall's chimpanzees working on a twisted-nail Chinese puzzle, until I followed the maxim, "When all else fails, read the instructions!" Clear line drawings show where each component mounts, whether hoisting with the boom and support leg pointing fore-and-aft, hoisting with the boom and support leg pointing to the side of the ATV, or when stowing the support leg and boom assembly for travel. The total weight of the complete game hoist assembly is 47 pounds. A Six-Wheeler Model is also available.
Yes! Pa-Paw's ATV Game Hoist. With this device, an ATV operator can lift an animal up to 300 pounds seven feet high for easy rack loading, or for field dressing; lighter loads can be lifted beyond eight feet. A telescoping boom and support leg attach to a rack-mounted bracket in less than half a minute, permitting the hunter to hand-winch his harvest for loading or processing. ;)
While our test and evaluation sample game hoist arrived too soon for the ultimate test, deer season, we simulated loads with volunteer human cargo. Melanie Davis gamely (it IS a "game" hoist, no?) performed as a trapeze artist, demonstrating the system; I also self-hoisted my own tonnage as a test. As near as we can tell, the hoist performs as advertised, easily lifting loads up to its maximum rating (300 lbs. at seven feet, lighter loads beyond eight feet). Unless you get a hunting permit during open season in Jurassic Park, you should be able to evacuate as large a game trophy as you are lucky enough to harvest.