Retractable load lifting and moving apparatus particularly adapted for use on motor vehicles

Apparatus for transferring a load into and out of the bed or load receiving space of a pickup truck or other cargo hauling vehicle employs base structure mountable on the vehicle, horizontally reciprocable boom structure carried by the base structure, winch structure carried by the boom structure adjacent the distal extremity of the latter, and selectively actuatable mechanisms associated with the base structure and respectively coupled with the boom and winch structures for operating the latter independently to accomplish vertical lifting or lowering and horizontal movement in either direction of a load during emplacement or removal of same relative to the load receiving space along a path having limited clearance as compared with the size of the load. The nature of the apparatus provides an operationally and economically practical solution to the need for safe and reliable equipment for handling the loading and unloading of even relatively heavy loads to be hauled in trucks, vans or the like as to which considerations of clearances, available space and cost render conventional hoisting equipment impractical.