power wheelchair woes

Hi metal, are you considering a rear tow bar that can lift the chair? Offhand that seem like a lot of tongue load, but maybe it has been done successfully with Prius.

Suggest you study this warranty cancellation issue more before concluding what the Prius can't do.

If you post more info aboiut the device you use to carry the chair now, maybe we can be of some help. I hope so, anyway.

 

I'd be reluctant to load that much weight on a Prius-mounted trailer hitch. I got a class I hitch and was not even comfortable with the amount of metal flex that we got with a 4-bike rack.

If it were up to me, I'd disobey the manual where it says no towing and do with the motorcycle/ATV people do -- get the tiniest tilt trailer available. I've been shopping small utility trailers and there are a lot of options out there. But I have no idea how that would or would not work for your situation, in terms of getting the chair onto and off of the trailer, because the tilt trailers are essentially ramps. Some of the hitch-mount wheelchair carriers I see on line have ramps, most have a lift.

I know nothing about this industry (though I have studied the wheelchair manufacture industry). I'll just note in passing that there appear to be several options for trailers specifically made for, well, scooters at least, but presumably power chairs as well. Looks to me like it would be a challenge to get the chair onto the trailer, but ... it's an option. As with all things medical, a regular tilt trailer this size is a few hundred dollars, but a "medical" tilt trailer will set you back $1600.

Wheelchair & Scooter Trailers at Discount-Trailers.Com


Wheelchair and Scooter Trailers

Ah, nuts, this guy says it can beat up your chair. Sounds right, given the crude suspensions on most trailers. Hadn't thought of that -- on most trailers you'll be talking about a pretty rough ride. So you'd have to avoid cheap trailers, at least.

Wheelchair and Scooter Trailers


Aha, here's one with all the options -- has a gas shock lift build into the trailer, so no ramps. Presumably, at that price, you'd hope they put a decent suspension on it as well.

Scoota Trailer – Scooter Trailer, Wheelchair Trailer

So, I know jack about this. All I know is that with hitch install, even a modest loading got us a lot of metal flex, and I'd be really reluctant to load much weight on it. But with a loaded trailer you'd be talking about a tongue weight of maybe 50 lbs (200 lb trailer plus 300 lb chair / 10), which isn't going to do anything to the Prius suspension. Beyond that, the only issue is the additional drag from two more wheels plus aerodynamics. I can't really see where, if you drove within reason, that would overload the vehicle. In fact, I'm sure several posters here actually use trailers with their Prii, including at least darelldd.

 

And I bet that would still come under the rules for Toyota Mobility assistance also, bringing down the cost considerably.

 

I am in a similar situation. My wife uses a power chair too, and I've been working on a system to haul her chair in the trunk (sounds impossible...I know). But what I'm doing is designing a quick release system for the seat so i can drive the base into the trunk using a small ramp. There is 26" of height available if the back seat is folded down, so with her chair (invacare tdx series) there is plenty of room, and no modifications to the car, and it's within the payload limits.

We are definitely trading conveinence for economy in this setup vs. a van, but she travels a lot for work (attorney) so it's worth it for us.

if you're interested I can send you pictures when I have it finished (just ordered the prius 2 weeks ago, so it's going to be a while)

 

I would be interested to see if anyone can find a solution to this. my uncle is a quadriplegic so he can't really ever be separated from his chair. He currently gets toted around in a Ford Van with air ride suspension that gets roughly 16mpg

I know that the sienna gets better gas mileage and Toyota uses them to haul around people and parts.. so i assume it's safe for a heavy wheelchair. It's not an MPG champ like the prius.. but it is better than what you're currently riding in... then again.. a dropped floor, lifts and a wheelchair drop MPG's like a lead balloon.

 

The perfect solution would be a hybrid mini-van, but until then, it looks like sacrifice is the order of the day. We use a Chrysler town and country now and it gets about 25 mpg, but sadly that's not really good enough anymore.

 

Indeed there are Prius towing small trailers, with descriptions posted here at PriusChat. There is also a small Yahoo! group called priustrailers. I hadn't thought to suggest that someone there might have experience with powered chairs.

 

i'm thinkg about ordering an auto lift from these guys. says alot of them are self installable...anybody out there ever done a self install? if so howd it go?

 

I read somewhere that tongue weight is about 10% of total trailer load. So Prius should be able to handle 500-1000lb load without any problem. As long as there is a helper to load and unload the wheelchair. Of course, you could ride in the trailer..

 

Here is something I did when my mom visited us.
(I can't insert links yet so go to YouTube and search on "Scooter Ramp & Insert".)

You might be able to do something like this for your Prius although the Prius might sit higher than the Odyssey so you might have to add a couple of boards at the bottom of the ramps so the chair won't "high center" on the dip. You may also have to take the chair off the scooter if it is too high for the Prius.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4kE-aYTO-c]YouTube - Scooter Ramp & Insert[/ame]

 

Wheelchair accesible vehicles are usually vans because they have the headspace. I imagine the person might hurt their neck trying to roll into the Prius. There are only a few cars with enough headspace that I've seen the wheelchair ramp, such as a PT Cruiser.

 

cured that problem. My wife had a wheel chair (278 lbs), though I had to remove the seat in order to close the hatch. I attached an electric lift (used $250.00)that works on 12 volt battery. It is an inside/outside lift and though the Prius floor board would not accommadate the bolt down I installed a Curt hitch (U Haul) $161.00 and adapted the lift out side on hitch. Works great though wheelchair has since quit working. If need pics I'll get granddaughter to take them and email, [email protected] Weight is under factory suggestion

 

See reply to Metal chair above. Email me and I can walk you through the process. Must have some welding knowledge. [email protected]