Inventor Converts Pickup Truck into a Forklift

Michael Bristow of Bristow Bed, Keytesville, Missouri, has come up with a way to convert an ordinary pickup truck into a forklift.

Including hydraulics and forks, the device is embedded into the bed of the pickup with controls in the cab to turn on the hydraulics and a remote that, when pressed, causes the forklift apparatus to rise from the bed and set into position to lift objects.

The position of the forks can be adjusted to accommodate a load. Once the job is done, an operator pushes a button on the remote and the lift returns into the bed of the pickup. The apparatus is designed in such a way that the pickup truck is able to perform like any other pickup.

Bristow is looking for a manufacturer to commercialize the innovation and introduce it into the market. He noted that he has been talking to a few manufacturers, but negotiations are still in the early stages.

Bristow claims that any company that uses pickup trucks on a daily basis and need to move bulk material could benefit in using the device, which is dubbed the Bristow Bed.

The bed could prove to be cost effective for a number of companies including landscaping, delivery services, lumberyards, mechanical contractors, and general contractors.

Bristow suspects that once the invention has been commercialized and released into the market its price could run around $14,000 to $20,000 plus the cost of the vehicle, hydraulic pump option and installation.