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Getting a wheelchair into a car (view report contents)

Travelling with a hoist

Always secure the wheelchair when the car is moving. It could cause severe injuries if you have to brake suddenly. Most manufacturers sell some kind of securing device for the wheelchair, although prices vary widely – from £25 to over £100. You can buy them separately from the hoist.

The hoist also needs to be secured when carrying a wheelchair. This is usually done by leaving it attached to the wheelchair. With some hoists you have to take the arm off and secure it separately – see hoist product summaries.

Make sure the hoist is secured when travelling without the chair. Some two-way hoists have a locking pin you push into place. With others you unhook the arm and tie it down or hook it to an anchoring point in the car. You need dexterity and reach to do this. Four-way hoists are easier – when you stop the motor they lock
in place.

Some hoists have high lifting arms. This lifts the chair higher, but means that with some vehicles (mainly saloon cars) you will have to take off the arm before closing the boot or hatch – see hoist product summaries. Check that this will not be too awkward.

Space in the car

Unless you have a very large vehicle or a small folding chair there will not be much space left in the boot or hatch when you are carrying a wheelchair.

When you are not carrying a wheelchair the space left for luggage depends on the size and position of the hoist, and whether you can remove parts of it if it is large. Check that any fixed parts such as the motor or base do not take up too much boot space.


a rear mounted hoist


Hoists for manual wheelchairs

The arms of most of these can be lifted out of their mountings and laid on the car floor. They are all fairly small so would not get in the way of luggage when you are not carrying a wheelchair.

Some cannot be taken out of the car because the lifting cords are permanently threaded through them. The hoists designed for use with manual wheelchairs have lifting capacities of 23kg to 36kg.

Hoists for powered wheelchairs

The arms of some hoists can be removed. With most no tools are needed for this. The removable parts weigh from 1kg to 17kg, so they can be heavy. See summaries for details of which hoists have removable parts. It’s important to get a hoist which can cope with the weight of your wheelchair – including the batteries – check the summaries.

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Report Contents

Introduction
Which type?
Wheelchair hoists

Wheelchair hoist summaries

Rooftop Hoists

Rooftop hoist summaries


Other ways of carrying a wheelchair
Racks and containers
Buying guide

Specialist trailers

Ramps
Finance
Helpful organisations
Mobility Centres
Suppliers