WheelchairDriver

I'm looking at used vans (full size) and wondering if there are good lifts to look for and bad ones to avoid? I like the convenience of the tri-fold ramp for passengers, but wasn't sure how durable a ramp like that could be with all those hinges.

The best lift ever made is the Braun Swing Away. Compact, simple, easy to repair and reliable. But has been discontinued in the US for about 15 years.

I have a Chevrolet Express 1500 conversion van with a raised roof. It has a Braun Vangater II lift in it.

I really like having a full size van. For my needs, I would not be happy stepping down to a minivan conversion.

I like the trifold design of the Vangator, because it allows convenient access through the side doors on the lift side.

I have 2 issues with the Vangater II lift.

1. It is rated for 600 pounds. My chair weighs 350 pounds and I weight 180 pounds. Together we are 530 pounds. The lift visible droops when the chair and I are on it. It is not enough to cause problems, but I would rather that it not droop at all.

2. The lift has 3 kinds of actions: A) unfold and fold, B) deploy and stow, and C) up and down. When it is cold out (below about freezing), the lift has a tendency to occasionally stall while performing the stow action (when the lift is being tilted up).

After a lot of research, I discovered that this is caused by a sensor reading that makes it think something is on the lift. The sensitivity of the lift to this sensor input can be adjusted with a rheostat on the main board. I turned the rheostat about 45 to 60 degrees counterclockwise. This made it much less sensitive and I typically only have the lift hang once or twice each winter (I live in the mountains where the temperatures get below freezing just about every day in the fall, winter, and spring).

When the lift stalls, the only way I have found to reactivate it is to use the override controls. It took a bit of fiddling to figure out how to do it, but once I did, it is a simple thing to do. EXCEPT, the override controls are on the lift's pedestal inside the van. The lift typically stalls when I am outside the van. That is a problem if I am by myself.

I have built an arduino-based bluetooth remote control for the lift and developed an app for my android phone so that I should be able to work all the lift functions from my phone. I have that working on my workbench and will probably get it installed sometime in the next month or so.

This is apparently a problem that occurs in some of the Vangater II lifts. I have found multiple reports of this issue in my research.

Steve

rustyjames wrote:The best lift ever made is the Braun Swing Away. Compact, simple, easy to repair and reliable. But has been discontinued in the US for about 15 years.

Is this it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi2PBP1gcRY

I don't think my chair would fit on that thing. Did it take up a lot of room inside? I need all the space I can get.

@ stalker: agree on full size. The real beauty of the Swing Away is there's no sensors or a circuit board. It's really as simple, and serviceable as a lift can be. Many of the critical components can be bought off the shelf, rather than through the "dealer."

@ Rye: that's the one. They should have included a wheelchair in the video, the loading platform has drawer slides so it extends. I use a power chair and have no problems.

Where do you live Rye?