Hitch Mounted Wheelchair Lifts

There are a number of reasons that people use mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs. Many will rely on their mobility vehicle on a regular basis, so it is frequently necessary to find a way to make transporting these devices easier. Many people choose to install a wheelchair lift onto their automobile, with the hitch mounted wheelchair lift being one of the more popular types of wheelchair lifts on the market.

Advantages of Hitch Mounted Wheelchair Lifts

One of the main reasons that a hitch mounted wheelchair lift is such a popular option is that it is designed to be installed onto an automobile’s hitch with little or no modification to the automobile itself. They can typically be installed in only a few minutes and removed just as easily and because the wheelchair is stored externally, no inside vehicle space is lost. While these factors do make the hitch mounted wheelchair lift very popular, they will expose your mobility vehicle to the elements, because it is physically stored outside of the automobile.

Installing a Hitch Mounted Wheelchair Lift

While the hitch mounted wheelchair lift is usually installed quickly and easily, especially when compared to internal wheelchair lifts, the installation might require two people. If you intend to simply lift the wheelchair lift off of the ground and onto the hitch, you will very likely need someone to help. This is not so much because they are very heavy, but more because they can get pretty big and therefore bulky.

Simply lifting the wheelchair lift up off the ground is actually not the only way to install it though. With wheelchair lifts that have a motorized lifting platform, most of the lifting can actually be done by the wheelchair lift itself.

First, the wheelchair lift must be positioned in the rear of the vehicle. Line up the wheelchair lift as closely as possible with the vehicles hitch by sliding the wheelchair lift. The first time many people install it, they do not even take it all the way out of the box. Instead they remove the top of the shipping box and then slide the wheelchair lift behind the car.

Once the wheelchair lift is relatively lined up with the hitch and it has been plugged into its battery pack or the vehicles battery, activate the lift. You will need to push the down button, like you were unloading your mobility vehicle, and the lift will actually raise off of the ground. Keep raising the lift until the hitch mount is at an equal level with the vehicles hitch. Then it is just a matter of sliding the wheelchair lift onto the hitch.

Un-installing a Hitch Mounted Wheelchair Lift

Removing the wheelchair lift from the vehicle can also be done in a similar manner, but since the wheelchair lift is powerful enough to raise the rear end of the car, you will not be able to fully lower the wheelchair lift. This is because if you lower it enough that it begins to raise the rear end of the car, you will not be able to slide it off of the vehicle. Many people will place a piece of cardboard on the ground to make sliding the wheelchair lift easier.

Using a wheelchair lift offers a quick and easy means of transporting a wheelchair or mobility scooter, with hitch mounted wheelchair lifts usually offering the quickest and easiest solution.