Wheelchair Won’t Fit Through Door

I’ve recently seen many people asking how to transport a wheelchair that doesn’t fit in their car. One common problem is that the wheelchair won’t fit through the car door. While this may seem like an unsolvable problem, there are a couple of ways we can deal with a wheelchair that won’t fit through the door.

Wheelchairs can usually be disassembled to some degree, which allows us to transport them easily. If the wheelchair doesn’t fit through the door when disassembled, we must consider alternative means of transporting it. Consider a stowage system, rack, or trailer if it doesn’t fit through the door.

Because a wheelchair is such an expensive and necessary aid, I have considered various ways of transporting it when it won’t fit through a door. And today, I’ll share with you the best ways to deal with a wheelchair when it doesn’t fit through your car or house door.

When looking at a wheelchair, it seems impossible that it will fit through a car door. Fortunately, most wheelchair companies know that we’ll need to transport the wheelchair at some stage, and they’ve gone to great lengths to ensure we can.

You can disassemble most wheelchairs to some degree, making it possible to fit them through most car doors. I recommend placing the wheelchair behind the passenger door of the car, as this gives the driver more legroom.

Although you can disassemble many wheelchairs to fit them through a car door, this isn’t always the case. For example, some electrically powered wheelchairs are too big to fit through a car door and often cannot disassemble as easily as a manual wheelchair.

But fear not, I’ll help you transport a wheelchair that doesn’t fit through your car door in the following section. How can you disassemble a wheelchair to fit through a car door?

I’d suggest consulting your wheelchair’s manual to see where you can easily remove parts of the wheelchair (like the feet rests) to make it smaller. In my experience, most manual wheelchairs can fold up, making them a lot smaller and able to fit through most car doors.

I find it best to place my hand below the wheelchair’s seat and push up. This usually causes the wheelchair to fold inwards. I can then slide it into the car behind the passenger seat. This way, the wheelchair is secure. It won’t harm any passengers or get damaged (or damage the car).

When I arrive at my destination, I simply slide the wheelchair out of the car and push down on the backrest to expand it again. Then, I attach the feet rests, and other removable parts before the wheelchair is ready for use.

By consulting the wheelchair’s user manual, you will often get a clear indication of how to make the wheelchair smaller and help it fit through a car door. Of course, if you drive a compact car, the car might not have enough room to fit a wheelchair. So, what can I do if the wheelchair doesn’t fit in the car?

It is possible that your wheelchair simply won’t fold up small enough to fit through or car door, or the car is just too small to accommodate the wheelchair. This has happened to me before, and I toiled for hours over how I would transport the wheelchair if it would not fit through the door.

Lucky for me, I am not the only person who has encountered this problem. There are several ways to transport wheelchairs that don’t fit through your car door. Here are five examples.

One of the best solutions for a wheelchair that doesn’t fit through the car’s door is a wheelchair stowage system. The wheelchair stowage system allows me to store the wheelchair on the car’s roof while traveling.

The electronic system also allows wheelchair users to store their wheelchairs without assistance. The contraption takes up some space, and you must have it properly secured to your car.

A more affordable option for storing a wheelchair that won’t fit through the car door is a wheelchair rack. I find that wheelchair racks work really well for transportation service providers who don’t have wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

Once helping the wheelchair user into the car, I place the wheelchair on the rack (on the roof or behind the car), and I am ready to depart.

Another option I find works well for powered wheelchairs is a wheelchair trailer. In this case, I hook the trailer to the car’s towbar and load the wheelchair onto it. This is an excellent option if your wheelchair cannot be disassembled or folded and placed in the car.

If you are lucky enough to have a vehicle with a large trunk, you might not need to add special stowage systems or racks. When driving a car with ample trunk space, I simply fold the wheelchair and load it into the trunk.

I will often purchase a sleeve for the wheelchair, which makes it possible to slide it into the car without damage. Of course, your wheelchair still needs to be disassembled to some extent to fit into the trunk.

Finally, some wheelchairs cannot fit through a car door because they cannot be disassembled. Some wheelchair users cannot transfer from their wheelchairs into a car seat while traveling. If this is the case, your only option is to use a wheelchair-accessible vehicle.

If the wheelchair user must remain in their wheelchair while traveling, I always ensure they have a WC19 wheelchair. The vehicle must also have all the necessary equipment (wheelchair tiedown and occupant restraint system) to secure the passenger and ensure everyone’s safety.

With a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, you don’t have to disassemble the wheelchair at all. Instead, you can use ramps to guide the wheelchair into the car before securing it to the floor using the appropriate 4-point restraints.  

Another concern many people have is whether their wheelchairs will fit through their house doors. I find that most wheelchairs fit through house doors, although some are a tight squeeze. For example, most wheelchairs require a clearing of 30 inches to fit through a door.

And most doors in a house have a clearing of 32 inches or more. I haven’t found this to be a problem in many cases since most wheelchair manufacturers account for the size of a standard door when making their wheelchairs.

If for some reason, a wheelchair does not fit through a door, I follow the same steps for disassembling it as I do when putting it into a car.

You can also consider adjusting the door. For example, put the door on extended hinges that allow it to swing open entirely. This will give you more space in the door frame and may help the wheelchair pass through the door easily.

Different wheelchairs have different ways of disassembling. This has led me to devise creative ways to ensure the wheelchair can fit through a car door. I can mostly fit a wheelchair through a car door by disassembling it somewhat. However, if the wheelchair is still too big, you might consider using a wheelchair stowage system, rack, or trailer to transport it.

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