Mobility Scooter Lifts - Bring Your Personal Mobility Scooter With You

Find out about the wide variety of mobility scooter lifts and mobility scooter carriers that are available.

Personal mobility scooters are a wonderful way to remain active and mobile. But if you want to enjoy your scooter outside of your own home or your immediate neighborhood, then you need a way to bring it along with you. Mobility scooter lifts are manufactured so you can do just that. 

Of course, some people have a smaller portable scooter for use when traveling or for local trips. With a smaller scooter that folds, all you need is some room in the trunk to transport it.

But this option is not for everyone. For instance, if you require a heavy duty scooter to transport medical equipment, a smaller mobility scooter may not work.

In that case, you need to look at ways of transporting your existing scooter with you, no matter where you’re going. Let’s take a look at three of the most popular types of mobility scooter lifts currently available.

Ramp Based Mobility Scooter Carriers

The ramp based mobility scooter carriers are the most basic carriers. There are two main designs.
  
The simplest has a fixed platform that is attached to the vehicle’s hitch. This platform is fixed at a certain height and so it cannot be moved, or adjusted up or down. It comes with an attached ramp that can be lowered and raised. To load, lower the ramp and drive the scooter up the ramp onto the platform.

To avoid having too steep a slope to drive up, try to park where the ramp can be lowered onto a curb.

With the tilt-a-rack carrier, the need for a separate ramp is eliminated. The platform itself serves as both a platform and a ramp. It can be moved and rotated in order to get it in position to load the scooter.

Since it serves double duty as both platform and ramp, it is lighter than a regular ramp based carrier, making it easier to handle.

Another feature of the tilt-a-rack is that it can be folded up against the rear of the vehicle when not in use.

The advantage to electric scooter lifts like these is that their cost makes them an affordable choice for those looking for a way to transport their mobility scooter. The disadvantage is that using these lifts requires some manual maneuvering and strength.

Swing-In Scooter Lift

The second type of lift is the swing-in scooter lift. It attaches to the hitch on a vehicle and operates like a crane with a line that connects to the scooter.  As the name suggests, the swing-in lift is designed to lift the scooter from ground to vehicle, and then swing it around until the scooter can be lowered and placed inside the vehicle.

It can be used to load a scooter into the trunk of a car, into the interior of a van, or onto the bed of a pick-up.

The advantage of this lift is that it is relatively inexpensive compared to other kinds of lifts. The disadvantage is that it does require some physical strength to manually swing the lift into the vehicle, before offloading the scooter.

The Mobility Scooter Platform Carrier Lift

The mobility scooter platform carrier lift also attaches to the hitch on your vehicle. It’s easy to use and doesn’t require any physical strength since the platform is motor operated.

To use it, simply lower the lift platform to the ground and then drive or push the scooter onto the platform. (Please note that the user does not stay on the lift.) Once the electric mobility scooter has been secured, the platform can be raised.

The scooter is transported on the outside of the vehicle, then the process is repeated once you reach your destination. You may want to purchase a cover for your electric scooter since it will be subject to the elements outside your vehicle.

A slightly modified version of this type of lift goes right inside your vehicle. In this case the interior of your vehicle, usually a van, will need some modifications so the lift and mobility scooter fit. It can be adapted for either rear or side access.

Loading and unloading is essentially the same as for a hitch mounted lift with one important difference. With interior platform lifts, the user can stay on the scooter, at least until it is inside the vehicle.

The advantage of using a lift of this kind is its flexibility and ease of use. The disadvantage is the cost. As you might expect, these lifts are more expensive because of the platform and motorized function.

If you need to bring your electric mobility scooter along with you, mobility scooter lifts are the best way to do it. Don’t be limited just because you use a scooter to get around.