Home Automation - Newb has a question about a way to lift a bookcase

Hi! I just found and joined this site yesterday. It looks really fascinating!

I am putting a bookcase in the very rear of it. The case will be 50" wide by 18" deep by 18" tall. I need to be able to raise it 18" when I need something from it - it is positioned directly behind the last seat and there is no way to access it when it is on the floor. How can I do this? The case will weigh about 100 pounds when it is fully loaded.

My first idea was to use an electric car jack but they only raise about 10". I know that a linear actuator would be the ideal thing to get by they are about $120 each, not including the hardware to make them go. I thought about an air shock but I don't know how far they will extend.

Any ideas?

Very rear of what? Why does it need to be raised?

You are not providing enough details so that folks can give you some crazy ideas to try.

I'm guessing a van of some kind and he wants an 18" tall bookcase to raise up 18" to get above the seat back. Apparently can't be turned around to access from the rear? :confused:

I would be thinking about hydraulic actuators, which are available in many sizes or a screw jack style lift such as a highly-modified garage door opener of the screw variety, but that may be a bit of a space hog. :coffee:

Mr the_tow_guy,

Your imagination and creativity fascinate me! It shows how
much people are expecting from the experts in the DIY forums -- not only to provide answers to questions, but also to DEFINE questions..

I'm wondering what this bookshelf's application is. It would be interesting to find out what the "it" is.

Thanks! Sorry for the ambiguity but the problem has been on my mind so long that it seemed clear to me :)

I have a Chevy Astro with 3 rows of seats in it, front middle and back. I often take it camping or live in it while traveling - I do a lot of that for my work and the cost of hotels these days makes it hard to made ends meet. When I have my van in the camping mode I fold the middle and rear seats down and put an air mattress on top of it - makes a nice comfy bed and costs me the same as the air that is filling it :)

When I have the rear seat in the van, however, I only have about 20" of space between the seat and in front of the door - my "trunk" if you will.

I want to put a small cabinet in this space to put a small microwave, store the mattress and pump, hold a propane stove, etc. The shelf cannot be taller than 20" or would create a problem when I fold down the seats and put up my mattress. THE TOP OF THE SEATS IS 20" TALL WHEN THEY ARE FOLDED DOWN AND IF THE SHELF IS 20" TALL IT MAKES A NICE FLAT platform for the air mattress. However...if it is 20" tall, I can only access things by going outside of the van, opening the rear door and taking things out. (The shelf is going to need to take up almost all of the space in the rear to accommodate the microwave and stove. This does not work well when it is raining outside - often in the northwest - or when I am parked in a questionable neighborhood or want to hide the fact that I am parking overnight.

I want to be able to life the cabinet above the height of the rear seat when it is folded down so that I can access the things from inside the van. So, first I fold the rear seat down, raise the cabinet up 20" and then can access everything I need. Slick???!!!

Possibly one of those "air jacks"..but the bookcase would need some sort of track on the sides so that it lifted evenly.

Just search "air jacks"..I lost the links.

Thanks! For guides I was thinking of using drawer guides.

The air jacks look a bit pricey - I have even greater fears because no websites listed prices.

Someone suggested using a threaded rod mounted perpendicular to the floor and running up to the top of the cabinet, putting nuts in the cabinet and mounting a motor at the bottom to turn the rod and "screw" the cabinet up. Any thoughts about this?

Any other ideas?

Great minds think alike; before I scrolled down to your latest post I answered Gunguy's "track" question the same - drawer slides. The screw idea would be a more compact form of my door opener idea.

A screw-type 20-inch or 24-inch scissor jack can also do the job. Motor kits are available but pricey. You may be able to rig a second-hand windshield wiper motor to take the place of the crank handle.