How to Ship a Wheelchair? Comprehensive Guide
Do you want to know how to ship a wheelchair within a country or over a county? Well, then you are in the right spot because I’m going to provide you with all the details that revolve around shipping a wheelchair.
Well, there is a lot of reasons for using a wheelchair some use it due to their mobility issue or some of the users are elderly. Despite its use, a wheelchair can be required for its user all the time because they provide independence to the user.
There are a lot of everyday wheelchair users. which is why you can’t leave it in your home while you are traveling. In a situation when you leave your wheelchair behind in your home or some other place, you need to know how to ship a wheelchair.
There are a lot of things you need to keep in mind when you ship a wheelchair or something else and you will find all of those things in the down below article so let’s get to it.
How to Ship a Wheelchair:
The first thing you need to keep in mind whenever you ship something within the country or over the country is the rules about the limitation and sizing requirements of shipping services or companies. You must follow and adhere to these limitations and rules.
There are a lot of shipping services across the world that you should use that seem efficient to you but if you are in the US and using US postal service then you have to follow their guidelines.
Then you have to follow their required size of box and weight which will be according to their rules and limitations. If you don’t adhere to or follow the rules of your shipping service then the well outlined you and you have to choose another shipping service.
The problem which most people come across is the size of the box. Most of the time people use big boxes for wheelchairs and they end up crossing their regulation limits so they outline from their service.
If you come to a situation where a shipping service outlines you then you can check out other shipping services like UPS, FedEx, etc. All of the thesis’s services are effective but a little bit expensive.
Before choosing a shipping service you need to check their rules and the cost of the shipment and you can check it on their websites.
Down below we provide some information about weight limitation and box dimensions of some famous shipping companies.
- Normally most companies like DHL, UPS, and FedEx have weight limitations of 150lbs.
- The US postal service weight limitation is slightly different from others and that is 70lbs.
- The FedEx has a box size limit of 165 inches.
- The DHL box size is limited to 110 inches.
How to Pack a Wheelchair for Shipping:
Whenever you ship a wheelchair, you need to first pack it properly so that it won’t damage while shipping. You need to be careful about electric wheelchairs because they have a lot of parts and most are not that strong. There is a proper way to pack your wheelchairs before send to shipping.
How to Pack a Manual Wheelchair:
- The first thing you need to do is to fold the wheelchair which seems really obvious.
- First of all, you need to do the wheelchair shipping box.
- Then if the wheelchair has any removable parts so remove them and it will place nicely to its side in the box.
- First, you need to make sure that the wheelchair is fixed and you can do that by applying some layer of tape.
- Another important thing is that make sure that the wheelchair is in one place and doesn’t move around in the box for that, you need to bubble wrap it and put something soft on the bottom and sides of the box.
- Nest your wheelchair into a sturdy box for shipment.
- Fill the shipping box with foams and voids.
- Close that box with something strong that it won’t open easily.
How to Pack an Electric Wheelchair for Shipment:
The pack of electric wheelchairs or power wheelchairs is a little bit different from the manual wheelchair. So let’s get to that as well.
- First place a cardboard sheet on the surface of the pallet.
- Now place your electric wheelchair on top of the sheep on that pallet.
- For safety you need to wrap up the entire thing means the wheelchair in a moving blanket, corrugated, or some foam.
- To keep it in place you will need some stretch foil or straps that will attach to the pallet.
- For extra safety, you can build a strong crate around your wheelchair that keeps it safe.
How Much Does it Cost to Ship a Wheelchair?
How much does it cost to ship an electric wheelchair? well Just like the wheelchair cost, there is also the cost of wheelchair shipment.
There are a lot of things involved in the shipping of wheelchairs and the one we will cover in this section is the cost of shipment. So, let’s get to it.
First the reasons for the shipment of a wheelchair. Well, there is a lot of reason for shipping an item from one place to another or one country to another country.
If you are in the same country and want to ship a wheelchair from one part of the country to another like one state to another because you left it behind then is easy and won’t cost you a lot of money.
But if want to ship a wheelchair from one country to another then it will cost you a good amount of money because of the high amount of shipment rates.
The cost of shipment is dependent upon how far you want to send it. if you want to send it within-country then it will cost you up to 50$ or less than that but the shipment cost internationally is higher than this and that is 75 to 250$.
According to the above cost, it would be better to get a new wheelchair instead of sending it overseas but if the wheelchair is electric or powered which costs up to 1000$ itself then shipping would be better than just buying another one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Best Way to Ship a Wheelchair?
One of the best and cheapest ways to ship a wheelchair is an economical way to ship it. You need to pack it in a bag while using DHL, UPS, or any other couriers to send it in an economical way
How do you Transport a Heavy Wheelchair?
You can transport a wheelchair in a truck if you want to transport it locally. But if you want to transport it overseas then you should transport it via courier and for that, you need to disassemble it first.
You can also use Hitch Lift which is an easy way to transport heavy wheelchairs. You can also use a Chair topper for transport.
Can You Take an Electric Wheelchair to a Place?
Yes, you can take an electric wheelchair onto a plane if the wheelchair is certified by FAA which is a certification and permit for wheelchairs. Simply if your wheelchair has lithium batteries then you can get your wheelchair on the plane.
Conclusion:
One of the most important things that you need to keep in mind whenever you want to ship a wheelchair from one place to another is the guidelines and rules of the shipping service.
The shipping company has guidelines about the package size and weight so you shouldn’t exceed them. If you did exceed it then they well outlined you and you have to find another shipping service.
I hope that in this how to ship a wheelchair article we provide everything that you looking for but if you have any sort of question in mind then please ask in the comment section and I will answer as soon as possible.
In the end, I just want to say please keep your environment clean and your Planet Earth cleaner.
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About Author
John Maverick
John Maverik is an expert in Medical health and mobility devices, especially wheelchairs. He has worked in this field for the past five and a half years. He knows the wheelchair from every aspect and can guide every visitor with accurate information. He helps those with wheelchair-related problems and walks through them to get the best wheelchair.
