Wheel Chair Lifts

All,

I am looking at purchasing a nice clean used 2007 Standard Roof 144" WB Sprinter for Wheel Chair Application for an adult son. What makes and models of Side Mount Wheel Chair Lifts are people using and happy with. Throughout the years I've owned the traditonal domestic full size vans with raised roofs and doorways. So, does anyone have the floor to door opening height and the floor to inside roof height, keeping in mind this van has rear air venting and I'm not sure the 65" that I hear is taking that venting into acount.

Thanks in advance,

Erwin
 

BFargin1

New member
All,

What makes and models of Side Mount Wheel Chair Lifts are people using and happy with. ............

Interior head room?

Erwin
Erwin,
Greetings from TN. I have a 2011 Sprinter with a low roof and rear AC.

I installed a braun wheelchair lift (tri-fold) and it works well. The nice thing is that usually I don't need to fold the lift because the door opening is so wide that even with the lift blocking the doorway, there is room for most people to climb in the van.

Unless your son uses a huge power chair and/or is very tall he will have plenty of head room in a standard roof van even with the rear AC. I'm 6'4" tall and have no issues with head room in my van. I use a manual chair and I've seen how some power chairs really raise people up substantially so it could be an issue if he is tall and uses a large power chair. I just went out and measured my van and the door entry height is 59" and the head room in the van right under the rear AC venting is 60".

I hope this info helps.
Cheers,
brian
 
Hi Brian,

Thanks for the conformation from a user. I made an accepted offer on a 2008 144" Mercedes Sprinter in Texas. I wanted the standard top, not raised. It's pretty much loaded and has the not-needed extra air conditioner and heat, but all the basics are there and I was after the 28,000 southern miles. So, at 5,000 per year usage, this should work good for 10 years. Since it has not seen a winter, I'll get it undercoated and rustproofed as soon as I get it here. The dimentions you gave me match what the dealer measured also. As compaired to our 1998 Dodge Conversion Van with the raised roof and door, I pick up an extra 2 3/4" clearance on the door height and inside height from what I have now. This should be good. The lift information is priceless. We have had 3 equiped vans over the 27 years and the minivan had a Braun, the GMC full size van had a Crow River and the latest, the 1998 Dodge has a Ricon. I like the improvements on the platforms folding up in 3 sections. The Crow River we had folded in on 2 sections and was a rattle trap.

Thanks again for the feedback,

Erwin
 

slsbl77

New member
The Sprinter does not need additional undercoating and rustproofing, there is a really good system already in place. Save the time and money.
Bob
 

220629

Well-known member
The Sprinter does not need additional undercoating and rustproofing, there is a really good system already in place. Save the time and money.
Bob
I agree. The undersides do seem to be OK. The money would be better spent on some good paint sealant/protectant. Especially important if it is Arctic White. FWIW. vic
 

sheaa

New member
I have a 2011 144wb low roof with a Braun Under Vehicle Lift (UVL) fitted. Very nice lift as all the components are pretty much outside the vehicle, so there's nothing blocking any doorway or rear access.
 

wildimaginations

Wild Imaginations
Does the wheelchair lift ever get bottomed out like going over a driveway bump or maybe a sharp decline down a hill? How much clearance is there to the ground?
 

sheaa

New member
So far I have not run into any problems with speed bumps and inclines. My house is on an incline and it cleared it fine. My is at the dealer at the moment so I can't do any measurements. Will send an update when I get the van back.
 

OwenDog

New member
We have a 2020 RWD 2500 Passenger Van (170WB) on order (arrives June 2020) and plan to put a Braun UVL under it. We are very concerned about bottoming out / scraping the UVL on high spots, especially given the longer WB. We were thinking about having it lifted something like 3" to be similar to a 4x4 height (though it's RWD). Has anyone done this? Any suggestions or ideas? TIA.
 

Kajtek1

2015 3500 X long limo RV
Those vans sit pretty high and mine has rear step who drops about 3 " and was issue only when I drove on desert roads in the mountains. Still think it was exhaust pipe who scraped 1st
So don't rush with modification till you experience need for it.
Don't know if air helper bags are available for Sprinters, but you can always add timbrens or on my Ford Truck I used hockey pucks to give overload springs extra tension.
 

wcsprinter

Roadtrippin'
I have a 2016 170 wb 4x4 with a Braun UVL. With the added clearance I've never had a problem with it. Although, I'm in the minority of folks I know that have the same setup. Most have a RWD without any lift and have not had any problems.

For our needs and requirements the UVL was the perfect solution. We didn't want the lift banging around inside and taking up space.
 

ptheland

2013 144" low top Passgr
We have a 2020 RWD 2500 Passenger Van (170WB) on order (arrives June 2020) and plan to put a Braun UVL under it. We are very concerned about bottoming out / scraping the UVL on high spots, especially given the longer WB. We were thinking about having it lifted something like 3" to be similar to a 4x4 height (though it's RWD). Has anyone done this? Any suggestions or ideas? TIA.
Go back a few years. Those UVLs were very popular under Ford Econolines. And to have enough roof height, they'd drop the Econoline floor a couple of inches. Econolines haven't been scraping on high spots, so you won't have a problem either.

My previous wheelchair van was a Chrysler T&C with a VMI Northstar ramp under the floor. That had about 6 inches between the ramp box and the ground. That never scraped the ground.

Put the UVL in and enjoy it. I would have preferred to use a UVL, but I don't trust the wheelchair drivers in my family to stay on the lift without any side protection. So a standard lift with it's hand rails on the sides was necessary for my situation.
 

QuadAngler

New member
The manufacturer of the UVL does not have an application for the 144 Sprinter nor do they approve install in a 144. If you have a reputable installer they will not do it. However, it is approved for the 170 wb. I've also seen a couple 144's with it installed, not sure where they had it done.
 

tjwebb

New member
Yea I see them all the time too -- how can so many people be that unreputable?

Also would like the name of who installed this, at least to talk with them. This seems like the best option by far for my situation.
 

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