Stroke Survivor Blog

A homemade wheelchair ramp designed for our SUV saved us a lot of money and it works great.

Last year we bought a power wheelchair for Steve, but we didn’t have a way to get it into the back of our SUV–a 2002 Ford Excursion. The rear hatch on the truck doesn’t lift up high enough, so we don’t have enough height for a regular wheelchair lift. I didn’t want to buy a new van for transporting the wheelchair, so we were stuck until Steve’s brother came up with a solution.

He designed a ramp system that is very lightweight… about 15 pounds, but is strong enough to hold the heavy electric wheelchair. It’s easy enough for me to use by myself, because he installed a motorized winch with a cable that I clip to the bottom of the wheelchair.

When I get everything lined up, all I have to do is push a button and it pulls the wheelchair up into the back of the truck. I secure the chair down with some straps, put the aluminum ramps back into the truck, and we’re good to go.

The ramp legs are made of heavy-duty aluminum and were professionally bent (and polished to remove sharp edges) to form sides to keep the wheels from sliding off.

The front edge of each leg was bent flat to fit on the bed of the truck, and a long bolt acts as a peg that keeps the ramp from slipping off.

A roller bar was installed to fit between each ramp leg so the cable won’t rub directly on the back edge of the truck.

Even though the edges of the ramp are smooth, I put on a pair of garden gloves to protect my hands while handling the ramps. After a little practice, it now takes me about 7 minutes each time I load or unload the wheelchair.

The cost of this wheelchair ramp and winch, materials and labor was $500.

To help Steve get into the truck, we use a simple step made out of two pails and a couple of 2 x 4′s. It’s the same height as the running board, but it gives him a wider base to step on which is safer. It’s lightweight and easy to carry along.

It’s amazing what you can do with a little bit of ingenuity!