This thing has been around for a while, but I’d never seen it, so I have to assume some of you missed it, too. It’s kind of a mechanic’s creeper, but it’s power adjustable and, honestly pretty brilliant.

For those of us who typically do our wrenching laying on the ground, a creeper and a flat enough surface to use it on is a nice treat. Before I saw this thing I’d have said a lift is the ultimate in wrenching comfort. But with the Human Hoist, you’d barely have to support yourself at all. Sliding under your jack-stand supported car would be so much more pleasant. Some real

The Human Hoist was developed in Michigan, and it’s being manufactured and sold by Personal Positioning Technologies of Bay City today. It looks like the device shown above has been through some iterations since the video was posted back in 2018. Judging by the many videos on the website, the electromechanical creeper looks really well-made—definitely more industrial tool than consumer product. It does get its power from one or two consumer-grade power tool batteries and the whole thing is driven by an electric motor mounted under the seat.

The cost is just under $20k. That puts it comfortably out of reach for all but the wealthiest home-gamers and really, most mom and pop mechanics. But in the right shop setting or in a manufacturing operation, something like this could make a lot of sense. According to the company’s website, most of their customers are in the heavy manufacturing business, with the notable exception of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Preventing injuries that take people off the floor is a big priority there, and I’d imagine this thing would be very helpful in that respect, especially with older workers. Ford has been offering to reduce fatigue and strain for a few years now.

As most of us are we’d definitely be willing to try one out.