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Wright-Way, Inc. Consumer Education Series
Hitch Mounted Lift Installations
 Will My Vehicle Be Overloaded With a Rear Mounted Lift?
This is a simple question with a complex answer. Wright-Way will never sell or install a rear mounted lift on a vehicle that was never designed from the factory to accept the weight of the lift with a customer’s power wheelchair or scooter.
The fact is that although the vehicle’s body structure may be strong enough, the weight of a trailer might cause it to droop or sit lower than it should in the rear. For this reason when a new vehicle is built and it rolls off of the assembly line with a trailer hitch already installed, the factory often includes special rear suspension components, such as heavy-duty struts, springs, and shocks to support a trailer.
Every vehicle is different and not every vehicle will need to have rear suspension modifications in order to safely have a rear hitch wheelchair/scooter lift installed. A general rule is that if the rear of the vehicle is sagging before a lift is installed, it is a good bet that it will need something to allow it to ride at the factory recommended riding height after the lift is installed.
Many of the high-line luxury automobiles were built with an automatic load-leveling suspension system. With this option already installed in the vehicle and operational, additional modifications are normally not required.
Wright-Way offers rear suspension modifications, when available, for those vehicles that need it. Pricing range from $400 to several thousand dollars depending on the make of the vehicle and the extent of the modifications required.
Should you have questions on if your particular vehicle will accept a trailer hitch and if your wheelchair or scooter is too heavy to overload your rear suspension, give a Wright-Way representative a call or stop by for a free rear hitch chassis analysis today.
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