Sidewinder Conversions & Mobility
1-888-266-2299

Compare access options

Side entry, rear entry,
or full size?

Three ways into an accessible van. Which one is yours comes down to who works the ramp, whether the wheelchair user is going to drive, and where the van has to park.

Ask which one fitsCheck your chair fits

We manufacture the rear-entry van. We'll still tell you when side entry is the better one.

Three ways in

Where the ramp comes out is the whole decision.

  • Side entryA ramp folds out of the passenger side onto the kerb. The floor is lowered between the front and rear wheels, so the chair rolls in level and can sit in either front position, including behind the wheel.

    Side entry

    VMI Northstar, in-floor ramp

    A ramp out of the side door onto a lowered floor. The one you can drive from your chair.

    Side entry vehicles
  • Rear entryA ramp comes out of the back of the van and the chair travels up the centre of a lowered channel. Parking needs clear space behind rather than beside, which is why it suits a driveway better than a kerb.

    Rear entry

    Sidewinder Chrysler RAV

    We build this one

    A ramp that folds down by hand at the back. No power system, and the least expensive way in.

    Rear entry vehicles
  • LiftA powered platform raises the chair into a full size van at floor height. No ramp angle at all, which is what makes it the answer for a heavy power chair or a taller vehicle.

    Full size

    High roof, powered lift

    A powered lift and room to stand up. For two chairs, a heavy power chair, or a van that works all day.

    Full size vehicles

Side by side

The whole comparison, on one screen.

No prices, because we will not publish a number we cannot stand behind. Cost is shown relative to the other two, which is the honest version.

See what is in stock
Side entry, rear entry and full size wheelchair accessible van conversions compared across eleven points, including who can drive, who works the ramp, the parking each one needs, wheelchair positions, seating and relative cost.
Decision pointSide entryVMI Northstar, in-floor rampSide entry vehiclesRear entrySidewinder Chrysler RAVWe build this oneRear entry vehiclesFull sizeHigh roof, powered liftFull size vehicles
Where the chair sitsUp front. Passenger position, or the driver position with the seat out.Centre rear, on the lowered floor.Wherever the floor plan puts it, decided with you before anything is cut.
Can the chair user drive?Yes. The only one of the three that can.No. The chair sits centre rear.Only if the build is laid out for it at the design stage.
Ramp or liftRamp out of the floor. Powered on most builds, manual on others.Manual ramp. Somebody folds it out by hand, both ends of the trip.Powered lift, platform down to the ground.
Space you need to loadBeside the van, the full width of the ramp.Behind the van. Nothing comes out sideways.At the door, plus height overhead.
Parking it suitsA curb. The van kneels first, so the ramp angle stays shallow.A single garage, a narrow driveway, a packed lot.Measure first. A high roof will not fit every parkade.
Wheelchair positionsOneOneConfigurable for up to two
Seats for everyone else3 to 4 on the vans we stock.4 on the Sidewinder RAV.Built to order.
SecurementManual tiedowns, or a docking system the chair locks itself into.Sure-Lok tiedowns for the chair, Q'Straint occupant restraint for the person.Specified with the layout, and for more than one driver if it is a fleet.
Relative costThe more expensive way into a converted minivan.The more affordable way in.Above both minivan conversions.
Who built the conversionVMI built it. We are an authorized dealer, and we fit and service it here.We did. Engineered, built and warrantied in our Chilliwack shop.We do, on the same shop floor.
In one sentenceFor the person who drives from their chair, or wants to ride up front.For the passenger, the tight parking spot and the smaller budget.For two chairs, a large power chair, or a vehicle that works all day.

Swipe the table sideways for the other two.

Seating, ramp type and wheelchair positions come from the vans we actually have on the lot, and they vary from one to the next. Check a specific vehicle.

Recognise yourself

Find the list that sounds like your week.

Situations, not features. If two of three lines in one of these is your actual week, that is probably your configuration.

Check your chair fits

Choose side entry if

  • You are the wheelchair user and you plan to keep driving.
  • You want to ride up front, beside the driver, not behind them.
  • There is room on the passenger side everywhere you park in a week.
Side entry vehicles

Choose rear entry if

  • The wheelchair user is travelling as a passenger, not driving.
  • You park in a single garage, a narrow driveway, or a lot that fills by nine.
  • Budget is genuinely part of this, and four other people still need a seat.
Rear entry vehicles

Choose full size if

  • Two people in the household or the group use wheelchairs.
  • The chair is heavy enough that getting it up a slope is the problem.
  • It is a work vehicle: accessible taxi, care fleet, community transport.
Full size vehicles

Where we lose

When our own van is the wrong answer.

Rear entry is the conversion we build and the one we sell most of. It is also the wrong van for a fair number of the people who phone us about it.

  • You drive from your chair.

    Our rear-entry van cannot do it. The chair sits centre rear and nothing moves it to the driver seat. We fit and service side entry too, so this is not us being noble.

    Look at side entry

  • Nobody is there to fold the ramp out.

    The RAV ramp is manual on purpose: no power system to fail on a wet Tuesday. The price of that is a person has to fold it down. If you are often out alone, buy powered.

    Look at side entry

  • A minivan is just not big enough.

    One chair and four passengers is a minivan job. Two chairs, a large power chair, or standing height inside is not.

    Look at full size
A member of the Sidewinder team at the Chilliwack shop

If none of the three is right, we'll tell you that too. We'd rather you kept your money than lived with the wrong van for ten years.

  • We fit and service all three configurations
  • Bring your chair. Measuring beats guessing
  • No appointment needed in business hours

No appointment needed

Bring the chair. We'll measure it against a real van.

Twenty minutes at 44658 Yale Road West settles what a table cannot: whether your chair, with you in it, clears the opening and the interior height. Mon – Fri, 8:30am – 4:30pm, and you're welcome to decide nothing while you're here.

Tell us when you're coming1-888-266-2299

Contact

Talk to someone who knows these vans.

Come by the shop and bring your chair, or just start with a phone call. Either way you'll be talking to someone who can answer the question instead of taking a message.

A person here reads every one of these. We reply within one business day, Monday to Friday.