Rental Van and Motorized Wheelchair

[sophie81]

Any experiences with using a rental car company (Hertz, Avis,etc....) and taking along an electric wheelchair(not a ECV). I have heard you can take the seats out of some mini vans....We were going to rent a ramp also to get the chair inside of the van. Any experiences or suggestions??? We will be driving from SC to FL.

 

[pugdog]

The rental compaines will NOT let you take the seats out. We have asked before.

 

[SueM in MN]

There are some models of Chrysler vans that have what are called 'Stow and Go' seats. These seats fold down into the floor to make a flat surface. I think only the longer wheelbase vans (Grand Caravan and Grand Voyager) have Stow and Go seats.
When we rented a van in March, we did get one with Stow and Go seats, but there was no guarantee that we would get one.

 

[SpectroMan71]

It seems to be available on the Town & Country and the Grand Caravan. Since I won't know until we arrive what inventory they have (since as we all know it's impossible to get local phone numbers to the rental desks - GRR) I was thinking of having 2-3 reservations at various companies all lined up within 15 minutes of eachother, so if one doesn't have the right type of van I can cancel and move onto the next. Otherwise, we'd be stuck at the airport with a power chair that came all the way from CA

 

[pugdog]

If all else fails you can use Mears to get to the hotel.

 

[boosmom96]

We used Hertz last November and when I explained why it was important to have a van with stow & go seats the reservation center transfered me (and gave me the number in case I was disconnected!) to the Orlando lot and they guaranteed me a van with fold-away seats. (They have Dodge and Toyota.) We got in pretty late and it was there. I was very impressed with both central reservations & the lot in Orlando. I'm sorry to say, I can't find the local phone number guys!

 

[Kimmie5870]

The rental compaines will NOT let you take the seats out. We have asked before.

Alamo removed the rear seat for us in March of this year.

OP,where can you rent just the ramp and is it expensive?

 

[SueM in MN]

There is a link to a company that rents portable ramps in the disABILITIES FAQs thread in the portion about renting wheelchairs/ECVs.

 

[loadsapixiedust]

Will you also have tie downs for the chair? Please consider this as an unrestrained heavy object such as a powerchair could do a lot of damage, even cause fatal injuries to others in the vehicle if you had any kind of accident or just needed to brake suddenly.
You may wish to look at a vehicle adapted to carry a passenger (or driver) seated in a powerchair which would have ramps or a lift built in.