Many homes in the scenic Finger Lakes region of upstate New York are built on steep hillsides overlooking beautiful lakes. For older residents and those living with physical disabilities, these inclines can be a major obstacle to enjoying a lakeside property with family and friends. That’s where Hill Hiker’s lakeside lifts come in. As an industry leader in the design, manufacture, and installation of inclined elevators, Hill Hiker takes pride in improving the lives of our clients through hillside trams that adapt to each property owner’s unique needs.
An Inclined Elevator in Time for Father’s Day
A recent Hill Hiker client, a former athlete with a neurological disorder, was having trouble accessing the waterfront of his Skaneateles, New York, lakeside home. His family, looking to prioritize time with their father, decided a hillside elevator would allow everyone to make the most of their time together at the lake. They contacted Hill Hiker and we immediately began planning the installation of a lakeside lift in time for Father’s Day 2019.
The main challenge of this installation was a substantial change in the incline angle midway down the hill. Hill Hiker collaborated with engineering firm VAA, LLC in using Revit 3D Modeling software to design the track to virtually “run” the car through the curve. This allows the hillside elevator to descend the initial 9° slope and then maintain a smooth ride when the incline angle abruptly changes to 41° for the remainder of the descent.
Hillside Lift System Details
In this installation, the hillside lift travels for 146 feet at 59 feet/minute speed and features a 51 1/8 by 67 5/8 inch open-construction cab mounted to a 3 by 5-foot chassis. The car and track are both made of 7-ga. standard steel with powder coat paint and hot-dipped galvanized finishes. The inclined elevator is powered by a winding-drum machine, which pulls the car through a series of deflection sheaves on a C-channel rail.
Safety features include limit switches at the top and bottom of the hill, emergency stop buttons at the hilltop, hill-bottom, and onboard the car, an overspeed centrifugal governor wheel, and a slack-cable/broken rope safety connected to the main hoisting cable.
The landing controls feature hardwired buttons at each landing protected by a keyless entry pad and full directional controls with wireless operation are included onboard the car. The control panel is UL-508A listed and includes a variable-frequency drive and programmable logic controller designed for seamless and safe operation.
Unpredictable lakeside weather isn’t a problem either. The solid-state, quick-disconnect style proximity deceleration limit switches provide maximum weather resistance, and all electrical enclosures, buttons, switches, and other components have a minimum of NEMA 4X weather ratings.
A Day in the Life
For over 20 years Hill Hiker has installed many high-quality, adaptable, and reliable inclined elevators like the one in Skaneateles, allowing families and friends to enjoy quality time together without worrying about the steep slopes of their lakeside homes.
To read the full story of the Skaneateles project see our article Rising to the Challenge published in Elevator World Magazine.
Have a lakeside property with a unique incline? Give us a call at (952) 476-2422 or Contact Us for a free consultation today.
