Wednesday, Jul 21, 2010 at 08:27
Without seeing the wheelchair it is hard to comment more but here are some points to consider. Happy to comment again if you have specific questions. Would be happy to help in my workshop but you are a bit far away.
1. Consider making ramps from aluminium due to wieght. Easy to have welded up and customise.
2. Have a significant vertical edge on each side of the ramps so that the wheels cannot track off and have a nasty accident.
3. Small electric boat
winches are quite cheap but rise in price with size. As the retrieve is usually quite fast you can use a snatch block (pulley) to double the pull and keep the unit small. This will also help to reduce the load and hence current.
4. Make sure you have good tie down points to hold the chair if you are going to go bush with it in the back. Good quality ratchet straps attached to well placed anchor points are quick and easy.
5. The winch will pull a reasonable current when pulling up the start of the ramp. You will need heavy wire run, well protected, to make it work well. It can be easier to put a small second battery in the back near the winch. This means the heavy cables are short and things will work well. You will still need a decent wire run to recharge but it does not need to be as heavy. One of the modern power packs would have enough capacity to do the job and can be recharged later.
Whatever you decide to do I am sure the effort will be rewarded.
cheers
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