Do You Actually Need a Wheelchair Accessible Van?

A wheelchair accessible minivan cost around $40,000 three years ago. Today it is $70,000 and up. NHTSA puts a new vehicle modified with adaptive equipment at $20,000 to $80,000.

Seniors and people with disabilities are paying that premium, and they are the group least able to. So before anybody quotes you a conversion, here is the question worth asking: do you need one?

The question that decides it

Does the person stay in the wheelchair while the vehicle is moving?

If yes, you need a conversion. There is no way around it. The floor has to be lowered or a ramp fitted, and securement has to anchor the chair and restrain the occupant.

If no, and the person can transfer into a car seat, you almost certainly do not. That is where most of the money gets wasted.

What solves it instead

A transfer or turning seat. A powered seat that swings out of the vehicle and lowers, so somebody sits down at curb height and is carried back in. This solves the getting-in problem outright for a great many people, in an ordinary vehicle.

A scooter or wheelchair lift. The chair travels in the boot or on a platform at the back. The person transfers to a normal seat. Two separate problems, two separate solutions, neither of which needs a converted van.

Hand controls or a left foot accelerator. If the difficulty is operating the pedals rather than getting in, that is a different job again and a far cheaper one.

What we do instead of selling conversions

We stopped selling converted minivans. We were not willing to keep quoting a price families could not reach.

Here is what we do instead. You buy a high-roof van from a dealer at a normal price, in your own name. We install the wheelchair lift and securement ourselves. You own the vehicle, we do not mark it up, and the equipment is specified for the rider rather than for the van.

It is not the right answer for everybody. For somebody who drives from their wheelchair, a proper conversion is the answer and we will say so. But for a passenger who travels seated in a chair, this gets people on the road for a fraction of the number.

Choosing the vehicle first is a mistake

People go vehicle shopping and then ask what can be fitted. It should be the other way around. The equipment the person needs determines which vehicles can take it, and a great many popular models cannot.

NHTSA makes the same point in its adapted vehicles guidance: evaluate the need, then select the vehicle, then choose the dealer. Doing it in that order is what avoids an expensive mistake.

Who is registered to do the work

NHTSA maintains a database of mobility equipment dealers registered as vehicle modifiers, and it is worth using. Adaptive equipment is regulated, and a modification done outside that framework is a problem for your insurer as well as for you.

Will it still drive normally for everybody else?

With hand controls and left foot accelerators, yes, in almost every case. They are designed so the vehicle drives normally for other people, and most are removable. That matters in a household with one car.

A full conversion is different. A lowered floor is permanent.

Paying for it

Several manufacturers run mobility rebate programs on new vehicles. Workers compensation has paid for vehicle modification after a work injury. The VA has its own automotive adaptive equipment program. Our financing page sets out the routes we work with.

Start with the cheapest thing that works

A transfer seat, a lift, or a set of hand controls. If those solve it, the conversation is over and you have saved a great deal of money. If they do not, we will tell you that too.

Our vehicle and driving page covers the full range, and smaller items like transfer boards, swivel cushions and grab handles ship free from our online shop.

Securement, which is the part that is not optional

If somebody travels seated in their wheelchair, the chair has to be anchored to the vehicle and the occupant restrained separately. Those are two different systems doing two different jobs, and a chair strapped down without an occupant restraint is not restrained at all.

Four-point tie-downs are the common arrangement: four straps to anchor points in the floor, plus a lap and shoulder belt anchored to the vehicle rather than to the chair. Docking systems exist where a power chair has a compatible bracket, and those are faster for somebody traveling alone.

Whatever is fitted, it should be demonstrated and practiced before the first real trip, not worked out in a car park in the rain.

Rear entry or side entry

On a full conversion this is the decision people take least seriously and regret most. Side entry lets a wheelchair user sit up front and drive or ride beside the driver, and needs a wide space to deploy the ramp, which rules out most parallel parking. Rear entry needs no side clearance, parks anywhere, and puts the chair position in the middle or back.

Where the van will actually be parked most days should decide this. A side-entry van at a house with a narrow driveway is a daily problem.

Buying used

A used conversion can be sensible and needs different checks from a used car. Ask when the lift or ramp was last serviced, whether the securement hardware is complete and current, and who did the conversion. A conversion by an unregistered modifier is worth walking away from regardless of price.