With a wheelchair loading system with sliding door you always have to consider how long the wheelchair is, otherwise it doesn’t fit into the car lifted upright (see older blogpost).

My wheelchair is rather short, and there is maximum 1 cm space left at the upper door edge when pulling the wheelchair in, otherwise the Astra would have been out of question as vehicle.

Therefore many wheelchair users have a minivan, like for example a VW Caddy.

An alternative is a wheelchair loading system on the roof, this looks a bit like a ski box.

A friend has such a box on his car, have a look yourself:

I have the yellow PLEASE-KEEP-DISTANCE-SIGN at the driver’s door as well!!!

A Jeep Commander is quite unusual on a disabled parking place, but with the wheelchair loading system it hypnotizes each pedestrian in passing.

You should see him jumping back into the car, he would easily win “Germany’s Got Talent”, wheelchair high jump unfortunately is not a Paralympics discipline

Translator BL

At some time somebody told me something about his

car wheelchair

I have to admit that I haven’t understood at that time why you need a special wheelchair for driving a car.
Actually it is very simple, it is all about the

Wheelchair Loading System (see older blogpost)

In the meantime, I have such a system. The wheelchair is folded, docked to the loading system, tilted by 90° upwards and then pulled behind the driver’s door.
In order to make this possible, the wheelchair should not be too long, because otherwise

it would not fit through the car door any more.

I was lucky, my wheelchair is quite short with its roundabout 85 cm length. It just fits into my

dove-shit-grey-metallic-coloured car from Rüsselsheim.

(translator’s note: In Rüsselsheim is the German head office of Opel)

At

Rehabilitation fairs

the loading of wheelchairs looks always so simple at the exhibitors and operates error-free.
The demonstration car is never standing at a hillside, a curb, a busy street or on cobble stone.
Have a closer look at this picture:

The footrests

were removed so that the wheelchair would fit into the car.

Have fun when you are levitating out of the car and remove and attach the footrests all the time. Where to put these things?

I doubt that even the employer’s liability insurance sponsors in addition to in- and outdoor, sport, standing and beach wheelchairs, a car wheelchair as well.

Translator BL

I transfer from wheelchair to car with a permanently mounted slide board to the driver’s seat,

fold up my wheelchair*,

the rear door opens and the loading system comes out like magic.

The wheelchair is clamped with the handles into the loading system and pulled inside the car.

Now quickly close the door and put on estimated 5 kg safety belt, then the journey into the green can start.

Maybe I will manage it some time on my own..

* The folding of the wheelchair requires the genetics of a contorsionist

Translator BL