Wheelchair accessible vans

Three kinds of wheelchair accessible van

Most confusion in this market comes from lumping three very different vehicles under one name. Here is how we separate them.

1. Rear-entry minivan conversions

The rear of the minivan floor is cut and lowered into a channel, and a fold-out ramp deploys from the rear hatch. The wheelchair user rides in the center or rear of the vehicle. Rear-entry conversions are generally less expensive than side-entry, fit a longer or larger power chair, and can load from a normal parking space — there is no need for an empty space beside the van. The trade-off is that the wheelchair user cannot ride in the front seat or drive. Several of our vendors specialize in rear-entry conversions, including crash-tested designs on the Chrysler Voyager/Pacifica and Toyota Sienna platforms.

2. Side-entry minivan conversions

The floor is lowered across the entire cabin and the ramp deploys from the passenger-side sliding door — either folding out from inside the doorway (fold-out) or sliding out from beneath the floor (in-floor). Because the whole floor is lowered, the wheelchair user can position at the front passenger seat or, with hand controls and a driver securement, at the driver's position. Side-entry is the more common conversion type and the one with the widest model selection; it is also typically more expensive, and it needs roughly eight feet of clear space beside the van to deploy the ramp.

3. Full-size lift vans (Ford Transit, Ram ProMaster, Chevrolet Express)

These use a platform lift — side or rear — rather than a ramp, and are built for volume: two to four wheelchair positions plus ambulatory seats, with commercial-grade securement systems and often a raised roof. This is the vehicle NEMT operators, adult day programs and group homes run every day. The lift must comply with FMVSS 403 and the installation with FMVSS 404; if the vehicle will be used in ADA-covered service it must also meet the vehicle specifications in 49 CFR Part 38. We explain those requirements here.

Our conversion sources

We hold a commercial dealership agreement with BraunAbility, the largest wheelchair van and lift manufacturer in North America, and we also sell conversions from VanAbility, ADABoy and Adaptive Vans. Carrying several brands is the point of being independent: it lets us quote a rear-entry conversion against a side-entry conversion, or a new unit against a two-year-old one, and let the numbers decide.

New or pre-owned?

A pre-owned conversion van with a documented service history is often the best value in this market, because the conversion itself — the lowered floor, ramp and securements — outlasts the chassis miles that drive the price down. New makes sense when you need a specific floor plan, a warranty that covers the conversion, or a vehicle for a grant or agency purchase that specifies new. Our guide to new vs. pre-owned covers what to inspect on a used conversion.

Questions we hear every week

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