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804 Posts
Hi,
I've been meaning to post these photos ever since I built the ramp, but it wasn't till it came up in another discussion on here that I was motivated to get around to it. I don't know if it will help anyone, but if you have questions feel free to ask. Its for those of us who don't want to spring for the VMI conversion
. I also have a trivia question to all the engineers. The history behind it is that I am often transporting a handicapped induvidual who walks with crutches. Rather recently the crutches were reduced to a motorized wheelchair. I am the only one in her social circle that has a car capable of carrying it. The biggest problem is that the chair weighs about 300 hundred pounds empty. At first when I was told this I didn't believe it, but I quickly changed my mind. I experimented with it a lot and found that you can disengage the motor, but its so heavy it can barely be pushed on the slightest of inclines. So I set out to build a ramp out of some scrap shelving. It didn't seem all that hard to do until I started testing it. It had to be a certain length or the chair couldn't get up it. In fact the angle in the pictures is too steep for the chair to get up completly under its own power. I also had a few requirements that were hard to adhere to:
1) Have zero impact on the car (ie no drilling or damaging)
2) Have the whole system, components and all, loadable into the car.
3) Avoid disrupting the cars atmosphere. (remove and stow as few seats as possible)
The ramp I ended up with has a lot of flex, which is supposed to compensate for uneven terrain. Its basically as lightweight as possible while being as sturdy as it needs to be. The chair really only goes on long distances due to the fact that it is so time consuming to get it in and out.
Now I do have one question for those with creative minds. I built the ramp so when loading the chair, the stress pushes the ramp up against the car on a board underneath. The only problem is that I have no way of securing the ramp to the car. Bolting it into the sill is not an option. I have thought of all kinds of things from securing it to the seat anchors, the alloy wheels, even under the car to the other door. Any thoughts?
Enjoy....
I've been meaning to post these photos ever since I built the ramp, but it wasn't till it came up in another discussion on here that I was motivated to get around to it. I don't know if it will help anyone, but if you have questions feel free to ask. Its for those of us who don't want to spring for the VMI conversion
1) Have zero impact on the car (ie no drilling or damaging)
2) Have the whole system, components and all, loadable into the car.
3) Avoid disrupting the cars atmosphere. (remove and stow as few seats as possible)
The ramp I ended up with has a lot of flex, which is supposed to compensate for uneven terrain. Its basically as lightweight as possible while being as sturdy as it needs to be. The chair really only goes on long distances due to the fact that it is so time consuming to get it in and out.
Now I do have one question for those with creative minds. I built the ramp so when loading the chair, the stress pushes the ramp up against the car on a board underneath. The only problem is that I have no way of securing the ramp to the car. Bolting it into the sill is not an option. I have thought of all kinds of things from securing it to the seat anchors, the alloy wheels, even under the car to the other door. Any thoughts?
Enjoy....




