Interior wheelchair lifts for cars come in all shapes and sizes , each bringing something different to the table, be it affordability, speed of use or ease of use.
Starting with affordability, Hoist Lifts are very often the cheapest form of lift device available. They resemble a crane to some degree and work along similar principles; a set of cables wrap around the wheelchair and raise it up into the car. The major downside to the hoist lift though is that the wheelchair user must get out of the wheelchair during operation. This adds a lot of time onto the process of moving the wheelchair user in and out of the car, and also means that it is very hard if not impossible for the wheelchair user to get into the car alone and therefore requires the help of a friend, relative, or caretaker.
Next, lets take a look at the swing lift. This is quite similar to the platform lift but instead of rotating so it is flush against the side of the car, this type of lift lies flat on the base of the car, taking up a lot more space. On top of that, swing lifts can't carry the load required for an occupied wheelchair and therefore the user must get out of the wheelchair to be lifted into the vehicle. As we noted above, this adds time on to the whole process.
The second most expensive option tends to be the platform lift. This type of lift rotates flush against the side of the car when it isn't being used, meaning that in terms of space it takes up, it is one of the most efficient. What is more, some models can be placed on the outside of the car meaning that no space is taken up at all within the car. These exterior vehicle wheelchair lifts will attach to a hitch, so they can also be taken down quickly and easily. However, the real advantage with the platform lift against the hoist lift is that they can be used to lift occupied wheelchairs meaning that the user doesn't have to get out of the chair at all, improving comfort and speed.
The types of lifts that are used externally on a vehicles lift are probably one of the most common type of wheelchair lift. This is in large part due to the ease of installation and the fact that it doesn't take up any internal vehicle space. The hoist lifts are not quite as convinent, but the major advantage to this type of wheelchair lift is that it doesn't require as much space as a platform lift does. This allows them to be used in many cars trunks.