Wheelchair Vans Allow Access To Wheelchairs, After Suitable Modifications

By A. M. Kelly

Wheelchair vans span a wide range of vehicles that have had modifications done to them in order to allow access to individuals who are borne on wheelchairs. Most often, modifications require lowering of floors and adding a ramp to enable the wheelchair to be rolled into the van or a power lift can be used to pick the chair up from ground level to the level of the van.

Needs Extreme Changes Performed By Experts

To modify the van into becoming a wheelchair van, one may need to make it undergo an extreme process which requires great care and, if unsuccessful, would render the van undriveable. Also, these steps would vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and, may necessitate removing the floor, modifying the front seat to allow access from the wheelchair, adding a means of external access, stiffening the suspension to allow for the extra weight of power chairs, modifying the gas tank or replacing them with custom models and, finally, testing the vehicle to ensure full operation.

The cost of owning a wheelchair van is dependent on two factors – the cost of the vehicle as well as cost of conversion. Most often, it is vans such as the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and County that is most used for wheelchair vans though, others such as the Ford Windstar, Chevy Uplander and Toyota Sienna are also getting to be more popular.

Before choosing the wheelchair van, one must consider the dealer who should have various certifications and ascertain whether the design is crash tested and, if so, how often. One should also check the warranty and serviceability in case of the conversion getting interrupted. It may be prudent to buy a used van with new conversion and, one can get a mobility dealer to ensure the van is properly fitted as well as knowing that there is a local service center available, in case of repairs.

There are several types of conversions available including AMS van conversion, Entervan conversion as well as Vantage Mobility conversion. Getting a wheelchair van conversion may require lowering the floor to the front firewall in order to get added head room and natural line of sight for users of wheelchairs. Also the van “kneels” to the ground to allow a slight angle of entry as also having a power passenger sliding door and ramp integrated with the vehicle remote, to obtain easy access from outside the vehicle. And, finally, there may be easy out seats in the front to let the wheelchair be positioned in the front of the wheelchair van.

Author Details:
A. M. Kelly writes for various web sites including The A-Z of Wheelchairs and other information portals such as information junkie and the A-Z of.com

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