MorganS:
...To get extra lift without a long actuator, run all the cables from a fixed point over a pulley on the actuator. Then you can make the vertical travel twice the travel of the actuator.
So instead of using an actuator in a vertical orientation, having it attach directly to the box, where I don't have the space for it when the unit is collapsed, I could run the actuator horizontally and attach the cables to it and then use the cables to move the box?
If that's what you mean, I can imagine that working. One general question about that: Is that preferable to just using a motor as a winch? And if so, is that due to simplicity or reliability?