water catchment rampump

So I wish I could use a ram pump but I live on the top of a hill. The stream near me is slow moving and flat. But then I thought what about for a water tower catchment system. So my idea is that you have a large catchment system on your gutter that is elevated to just below gutter level. Then you pipe from the bottom of that water container to the top of another that is ground level (local garden water ect....). But in this piped section you put a rampump that is valved (for control reasons). You have the ram pump run water up to a much taller tower then the home. The rampump does the work to get water elevated. Where normal rampumps spit water all over you can catch this excess and just add it to lowest tank (no waste). Now you can have water high up with no work or power and have lots of pressure for in the home.

There are a number of rain barrel, cistern, and other roof water designs that let you collect the roof water closer to the roof.
This allows for water to travel farther or for the catchment to be higher.
If you combined something like this with a large horse trough that can hold several hundred gallons, than you may have a source to run a ram pump when the trough is full.

You would have a lower catchment with ram pump and ram pump water would be collected to fill it. You would pump a smaller amount uphill with the ram pump.
Of course you also have a rain water catchment that you can run water from.
The question I have is would it not be easier to just run a series of small solar panels and pumps from the rain catchment?