Abstract: A lifting apparatus arranged on the side of a vehicle frame for vehicles such as various model size forklifts ensures exact vertical movement of the load. The lifting apparatus includes a rocker having inner and outer rockers connected to each other by a common lower rocker bearing and bearing bolt to resist torsion. The outer rocker is directly and operatively connected to a lifting cylinder supported in the vehicle frame. The outer rocker is also operatively connected through a multi-sectional kinematic drive to a rack-and-pinion or drive shaft drive arranged near and operatively connected to the lifting cylinder. An inclination cylinder is operatively connected to pressure bars and is arranged near the lower rocker bearing. The inner and outer rockers are also supported on the front side of a box girder which connects two side portions of the vehicle frame to resist twisting. Visual range is improved and the total mass reduced due to favorable positioning of the center of gravity.