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Getting a wheelchair into a car (view report contents)

Wheelchair hoists

Wheelchair hoists - as you might expect from the name - are small cranes which lift a wheelchair or scooter into a car.

Some hoists are designed for lighter manual wheelchairs and others for powered wheelchairs and scooters.

Hoists for lighter chairs are usually two-way hoists. This means that they lift the chair up and down by power but that you push the chair by hand to swing it into the car. Four-way hoists use power to swing the wheelchair into the car as well as to lift it up and down.

Apart from this, most hoists work in a similar way and unless we say otherwise the general comments in this guide apply to both types.

Some hoists can be fitted to almost any vehicle and others are made for larger vehicles such as estates, 4x4s or MPVs (multi purpose vehicles/people carriers). The more space you have for the wheelchair, the easier it will be to get it into the vehicle. With some larger vehicles you will not have to fold the wheelchair (or dismantle a scooter) when you winch it in.

How well do they work?

The 15 hoists we tested in 1999 worked well. There were small differences in how fast they lifted. But, this does not matter much as it usually takes more time to get the wheelchair in the right place alongside the car, get out of it and fold it up than it takes to get it into the car.

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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