I once saw a lift that was a platform with 4 short pipes (one welded to each corner) that fit over 4 tall pipes. It had a manual drive mechanism consisting of an engine lift and a lot of gearing , manually powered by turning a large wheel (sort of a ships wheel). It was worked by a little old lady (she was maybe 4 feet tall) to get her rather robust son (who was in a wheelchair) in and out of the house. It was in the garage and took him from the ground floor up to the entrance, maybe 3.5 feet. It took very little effort to operate, but did take a while since the gearing was so low. I went to see if I could by it after the son had passed away but it was already gone.
