Taking the L-E-Vator

As you know this old shaman does not make very many product recommendations. When I do, you can bet I’m not being compensated for it. Mind you, I’d love to be a complete advertising whore and throw my legs up for compensation, but no one ever offers. This is one of those times that I feel moved to mention the L-E-Vator by Viking Solutions.

I have been experimenting with the S10 as a deer recovery vehicle for the past few seasons. It does work well, but getting the deer into the bed has been problematic. My latest attempt has been in place for a while: 2X6 ramps, and a block and tackle. This has worked fine with the doe, and I really had no complaints with it taking in a big buck last year. However, this season, our three larger-than-average bucks had us stymied. The Harbor Freight block and tackle arrangement was overwhelmed trying to get 230 LB-plus deer up the ramps.

Luckily SuperCore had brought along a new contraption. It looks ridiculous with all this tube steel and heavy cables. Truth is, the L-E-Vator is just extremely well built. There is a base, a riser with a boat winch attached and a sliding fork onto which one flops a deer. Crank the handle and the deer goes up. When the fork is above the level of the truck bed, the deer slides off. SuperCore bought his L-E-Vator to get a deer onto the back of his ATV.

The only deficiency that we have found that the L-E-Vator is that you need a somewhat level surface. If we tried to work it on an incline, it had a tendancy to tip. However, we’re talking about only a few square feet of leval ground required, and having a couple of 2X4’s along for props would probably overcome the problem. Some folks might fault the weight of the L-E-Vater. We carry it in the back of the S10. To us it’s nothing. On the back of an ATV, it’s fine. You’re not going to want to carry this long distances by hand, but you should not need to do so.

Is this a one-man or two-man device? It is much easier to work with one guy steadying the rig while the other guy cranks. I would not hesitate to try it as a one-man recovery. Two’s better.

How easy is it to get a deer onto the device in the first place. Again, two guys made it easy. I was using the winch to drag the deer to a level spot. When I got the buck to level ground, I had Supercore put the L-E-Vater in the buck’s path and I dragged him on. In another instance, we rolled the deer onto the fork.

Isn’t this a lot of hoo-haw over nothing? A gutted 120 lb liveweight doe is still within the range of something I can lift by myself. I’m 58. I grew up in construction. SuperCore is a retired data processor in his seventies with recent quadruple bypass surgery. The reason he bought is ATV, was because he was having trouble making it out to his blind. He needed help. For him, it was $120 well spent.

I’m glad to have the L-E-Vator around camp as well. As you know we go against the flow at our camp. I like to pull the whole deer out and do the gutting at camp. We have lights, we have the gear. We have the vehicle, and normally we can be on our way to the processor in an hour after shooting the deer. Gutting in the woods adds time to the process. We try and save that for deer that decide to run into a ravine before expiring. The vast majority of deer we shoot drop in the middle of the field or right at the edge. Our camp has had to deal with 170 lb doe and 270lb bucks. There are 300-pounders in these woods. Let me tell you, being stuck alone in the moonlight with a large buck and nothing but a full-size pickup for transportation is a daunting thought. That lift onto the bed is tough. There’s always the idea of quartering the beast. The L-E-Vator gives you another option.

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