The Pilot Lift is designed for all-weather operation. It can be mounted on an individual machine or on a pickup truck or trailer bed to allow access to various pieces of equipment. The device consists of three parts—a mounting bracket to support the lift, a vertical mast with lifting mechanism to raise/lower the user, and the lift's operator station on which the user sits or stands. The mounting bracket is the most variable part, because it must be custom-built for each machine that the lift is mounted on to ensure safe and convenient transfer to the machine's operator station. The bracket has three parts—(a) a receiver to which the vertical mast is pinned; (b) a plate with an appropriate hole pattern drilled so it can be bolted directly to the equipment frame; and (c) an arm welded between the plate and receiver to support the mast in a position close to the machine's operator station, but not interfering with the operator's view or the cab door (if present). The vertical mast on the Pilot Lift, which pins to the receiver on the mounting bracket, is a slotted, square tube with a slide inside it that is raised up and down by a roller chain. The slide has an arm extending out the mast's slot to support the lift's operator station; and it also has roller bearings facing the four mast walls to transmit all twisting forces from the operator station to the mast. The roller chain inside the mast bolts to the slide and loops over an electric-motor-driven sprocket at the top and a free-spinning sprocket at the bottom. As the motor turns the sprocket, the chain moves the slide up and down the mast. Two operator station options are available for the Pilot Lift—one being a platform for those who can stand , the other a swing arm with seat for those who cannot. With the platform option, the mast must be mounted so the platform starts at ground level and stops at the level of the equipment's operator station floor. A guide tube is welded vertically to the platform and fastens to the lift slide such that the platform reaches to the ground directly below the mast. With the swing-arm option, the arm pivots horizontally at two points (using electric motors) and is bolted to the lift slide to allow an unlimited number of seat placement adjustments. This is especially important for tractor and combine cabs where doors and narrow openings can present challenges to entry and transfer. The swing-arm motors have internal slip clutches to minimize the chance of injury to the user or damage to the lift in the event of lift binding. The Pilot Lift runs off the machine's 12-volt electrical system and has two sets of controls—one mounted to the lift's operator station, the other in the machine's operator station. Having a 275-pound maximum lifting capacity and a 24-inch minimum ground clearance, the device is available in standard heights of 4, 6, and 8 feet, but can be special ordered in heights up to 15 feet. In addition, the Pilot Lift can be adapted into other styles of lifts, such as a Hybrid Lift for cabless tractors. A standard swing arm with seat is raised by a parallel linkage system (powered by a 12-volt linear actuator) and attached to the tractor's rollover protective structure. The lift seat then "docks" into the tractor's operator station, thus eliminating the need for the user to transfer from one seat to another.