Why Are Some Minivans Lifted (In The Rear)?

All minivans are not built in the same way and tend to have a lot of differences in their structure and design especially when comparing them across multiple manufacturers. 

However, one thing that is true of all minivans is that if they are lifted (especially in the rear) this is done for one main reason, so you can haul people.

However, if you are driving around and you see a lifted minivan that is much higher than the traditional ones you might wonder why. Why are those minivans lifted so high?

Handicap minivans are lifted considerably higher than normal ones so they can hold the weight of a wheelchair with a person in it. A lifted minivan will also often have a wheelchair ramp or lift attached (or in them) to allow the handicapped person to be a passenger or even a driver of the vehicle. 

There are essentially two types of entries in a handicapped (lifted) minivan namely, the rear entry and side entry. The side entry is used for all typical minivans and people will enter them using the side doors and the rear hatch is used to put in luggage or other items being hauled around. 

The rear entry minivan is specifically designed for people to enter from the rear when they are in a wheelchair, mobility scooter, etc. 

In this post, I will go into more detail about the rear entry minivan, why it is lifted and how that helps handicapped people to use the minivan. 

What are the benefits of lifted minivans?

The following are just a few of the benefits that lifted minivans have to offer:

Power Lift

There is generally a lot of options that can be chosen for a minivan with rear entry. The people who want to buy a minivan can choose between a minivan with a power lift or a minivan with a manual lift.

The choice can be made on a lot of factors such as the type of vehicle, individual requirements as well as the budget of the vehicle purchaser. 

Ground Clearance

The models of a minivan, which have rear entry feature a rear suspension which is raised upward (lifted). This provides the minivan a better ground clearance. This further makes the minivan run easily over bumps, up hills as well as areas which face heavy snowfall without dragging the rear because of the extra weight from a wheelchair. 

Easy in and out 

Getting into a minivan with a rear entry is simple, you just need to drive the wheelchair up the ramp and use the attached system for securing the chair while you are in the van. This eliminates the maneuvering which is very important for getting into a minivan with side entry.

This way it won’t take you a lot of time to settle yourself in the minivan and you can be on the road real quick.

Can be parked easily

The minivans with rear entry don’t require additional space on both sides for exit and entry with a wheelchair which makes them able to use the benefits of local parking areas with more convenience. You can just pull into a spot and open the rear door to get out. 

You also won’t have to worry about someone parking crooked next to you and blocking you out of the vehicle either with a rear entry. 

Height Clearance

While getting in a minivan with rear entry, you will find that the extra height clearance feature lets the passengers on scooters and wheelchairs have access to the unrestricted entrance and exit into the minivan without risking hitting their heads.

Multiple vehicle accommodation

Apart from the fact that it accommodates several wheelchairs, a rear entry/lifted minivan offers you ample space for passengers who are having health problems. The majority of minivans with rear entry can easily accommodate four to six passengers (depending on the configuration and what other seats are in the minivan. 

More legroom and headspace

Minivans with rear entry and that are lifted offer a higher amount of legroom and headspace in comparison to the ones with side entry. 

Minivans with rear entry offer a great advantage which makes them stand apart from the minivans with side entry. They reduce the total vehicle cost and provide better clearance for both the ground and height, simple exit and entry, easy parking options, and a lot of space for the passengers. 

In case you have a fixed budget for buying a vehicle, or maybe specifically minivans then you should choose a minivan with rear entry. Apart from the rest of the benefits offered by a rear entry minivan, the best one is that it is the best choice for most individuals. 

What is a rear entry minivan?

A lifted minivan with a real entry includes a ramp-like structure which is located in the backside of the minivan. The ramp opens itself to offer ample height for making it easier to lift a wheelchair with a person on it into the vehicle. Within the van, the area with a low levelled floor can accommodate a lot of people and even wheelchairs with the help of a harness mechanism that attaches the wheelchairs/scooters to the minivan. 

The area of the lower floor differs in size as it is based on the model of your minivan. However, whichever minivan you buy, its height will be lower towards the front row. However, if you are driving a rear entry minivan, then you would find the requirement of transferring yourself to the front seat. 

Minivans with rear entry have very good affordability since the structural transformation that needs to be made to the van originally are a bit less. A minivan with rear entry may have various configurations for seating as well as a ramp that can be self foldable. 

Why should you buy a rear entry minivan?

A rear entry minivan can be used for a lot of purposes. They are much more simple, inexpensive, and also lower maintenance. It also offers a high-quality drive to the driver. 

They can be accommodated in any garage/parking and other advantages include: Except in case of parallel parking, no additional space is required for the ramp as well as there is no blocking of the side entry doors. 

Disadvantages of a rear entry are almost none except the fact that it requires you to use the entry and exit in an area with higher traffic but for that, you require no additional space. 

Conclusion 

I hope this article has been helpful in explaining everything you need to know about minivans that have their entry in the rear and that are lifted. 

Real entry minivans can indeed be a great choice for you because they can offer you a lot of added benefits. You can buy or rent a rear entry minivan either online or offline too. 

Several different brands will manufacture a rear entry/lifted minivan. You can choose the minivan you want out of a large number of minivans available in the market. 

Minivans with rear entry are known to be more convenient for both the driver as well as the passengers too and allows the wheelchairs to easily get in and out of the minivan. They are the go-to option if you are looking for a vehicle for road trips as you can easily enter or exit the vehicle even if there are no handicap spots or they are already full.