Trunk Lift - Outside Trunk Lift One of the Two Original Lifts for Scooters

When I first started selling Rascals in 1998 there were only two lifts available, and the Trunk Lift was one. The other was the Rack & Roll which I'll talk about later. At that time the Outside Trunk Lift was not available yet.

The Outside version came about in the early 2000's and was invented by one of us sales rep's, not by the company. It consists of an L shaped bar.  One end, the small L extention that would slide into either a class II or class III hitch,  the bar itself is about thirty inches or so, runs  parallel to the passenger side of the bumper, and on the end is a socket that the Standard Trunk Lift upright fits into. The bar is what makes a Standard Trunk Lift an Outside Trunk Lift. The Trunk Lift itself  consists three parts, an L shaped bracket with a socket for the upright in the middle, it bolts to the floor of the car trunk, van, or pickup bed. The upright is round pipe about 30 inches or so, and the socket of the lift boom slides down onto it at the top. The lift boom is adjustable for length, and the electric motor is attached to it. A strap that has a hook on the end runs from the pully along the boom through a slot down to where it attaches by the hook to either the seatpost of the scooter or powerchair after removing the seat, or the Seat On Lift Bracket, which allows picking up the scooter or powerchair without removing the seat. This lift picks the scooter or powerchair up electrically, but requires the user to push it in and pull it out manually, as well as manuvering the unit in the air to clear anything that may be in the way, or turn it for clearance, so it does require some strength and co-ordination to use it.  It requires the most work by the user, but it is also the least expensive, and that's the trade off. It works very well for a person with the required strength and dexterity. There is also a fold-down model, which allows laying the lift down without taking it apart, I try to avoid selling that one because the Standard Trunk Lift comes apart easily and is stronger, and less likely to collapse under load. Our Standard Trunk Lift has a weight capacity of 250 pounds, the Fold Down and Outside Trunk Lifts have a weight capacity of either 200 or 250 pounds, and we also have a Heavy Duty Unit that has a weight capacity of 400 pounds for heavier or barriatric units. 

Now the downside, or upside if you have a van or pickup, is what vehicles will they work in.  If you have a car, unless it's a large one, ie older Lincoln Town Car,  Mercury or Ford with the same body/chassis, or a similar size older Chevy, Olds, Buick, etc. (for instance I had a 1983 Olds 98 that I could literally carry two scooters in the trunk), or a station wagon, forget it, it won't work. The newer cars either have too small a trunk, or too small an opening into the trunk, or both. An exception to this is if you can put a Class II or III hitch on your car, AND the trunk opening is large enough, AND the lift over height is not too high,  you can use an Outside Trunk Lift.
If you have a pickup, or van (either mini, or full sized), the Trunk Lift will work fine. SUV's are somewhere in the middle, sometimes it works, sometimes not, again you're better off with an Outside Trunk Lift, but measure first or email me and if you're not too far away I can do it, if you are I can possibly get a local rep to do it for you.  As I tell everybody my job is to make your life easier.

Lee Murray

Lifts - How You Take Your Scooter or Powerchair With You - Intro

A question that comes up all the time and is easy to answer. Of course it depends on what you drive, whether it's a small car or big one, a van or pickup, maybe even a motorhome or converted bus.
Believe it or not I have worked with the VA to get scooters to Vets who were driving those, two motorhomes, and one bus that the vet had done himself. He said he had about $300k in it, and I'd have to say if not a palace on wheels, it was close. As good or better than that of any rock/country stars or Amway upline no matter how many Diamonds they have...you people in Amway will understand. For those not in Amway, uplines, Direct Distributors and above, put another way the ones making money, love those huge converted buses to travel around in, to conventions and visiting their downlines...just like Country and Rock music stars.  Looking at the other side, when still selling in home, I had an appointment with a guy in Rome, I think. He had three young kids, bought a scooter a Rascal 245 three wheeler as I remember. What was his car? A Ford Festiva. It's the smallest car I ever got a scooter in. Is there a smaller car out there, if there is not by much. But I did get it in. The front, and rear sections in the trunk, the seat, batteries, handlebar and front basket in the back seat. He and the wife had to decide if they were taking the scooter or their kids.  Too small for a Rack and Roll lift, the trunk already full, so lifts were out of the picture. So, what did he do?  He went to Cole Muffler and got a class I hitch installed, then bought a small trailer with a lid, like you'd use with a lawn tractor or snowmobile, and would just drive the scooter in, drop the lid, keeping it clean, and take everybody and the scooter. In addition it worked great if he was staying home because the wife could leave the trailer and there was nothing hanging off the car.
Anyway, lets get to lifts. There are several different types. Inside lifts are the Trunk Lift, the Equalizer 2 & 3, and Tailgater Lifts, and the Tracker Lift. Outside lifts are the Outside Trunk Lift, and the Rack and Roll Lift class II and III. I'm going to do each lift as a post to keep this from going on forever.

Lee Murray