A Wheelchair van is a vehicle that has been modified so the person in the wheelchair can enter and exit the vehicle without getting out of the chair either through the use of a ramp system in the case of a minivan or a lift system in the case of the full size van. This article focuses on the components of a wheelchair minivan.
Whether your wheelchair van is built on the Honda Odyssey, the Chrysler Town & Country, the Dodge Grand Caravan, or the Toyota Sienna, it consists of two main components. First is the vehicle chassis built for regular use by the original equipment manufacturer, Toyota, Chrysler, Dodge or Honda, with all the options and or accessories that it came with when it was built. Wheelchair accessible vans are available with all the options and accessories that the regular van comes with aside from those that conflict with the structural modification of the van. For example, with the lowered floor in the minivans, it is not possible to maintain stow and go seating. However, the vans are available with power windows, power door locks, cruise, tilt, front and rear air conditioning, power steering, and many other options you are used to having in a non-modified vehicle.
The second component when considering this style of equipment is the wheelchair accessible modification or how the van is modified to accommodate the wheelchair. This article discusses the basic description of both the side entry wheelchair van and the rear entry wheelchair van; the two main styles of wheelchair modification
The Side Entry Van
The side entry wheelchair van has a 10-13 inch lowered floor with either a foldout or slide-out ramp system that deploys out of the second row sliding side door on the passenger side. The floor has been lowered from the firewall in front of the driver and passenger area to just in front of the third row bench seat. In most cases, both the driver and passenger seat roll out to accommodate a person in a wheelchair either sitting in the front passenger seat or under the steering wheel on the driver side. given the proper additional modifications,a person can drive from a wheelchair even though they may not be able walk. The average cost for this type of modification is between $22,000 and $24,000. When added to the cost of a new minivan makes the combined price tag for these vans between $50,000 and $70,000 depending on some slight variations and the cost of the chassis that the modification is done on. (Generally speaking, imports cost a bit more than the domestic minivans regardless of the modification)
The Rear Entry Van
The rear entry van has a lowered floor that starts in the rear of the vehicle at about a sixteen inch drop from the original floor and continues in a wide channel up to just behind the driver and passenger area of the van. Although this model of conversion is ideal for the wheelchair passenger, when it is equipped with a power ramp system, it can also be modified to accommodate a person in a wheelchair who could transfer into the driver seat and drive. With a price of $14,000 - $16,000 for a properly crash tested, compliant conversion, it has a significant advantage over the side entry in price alone.
My next article will go over the benefits and detriments to owning each.
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