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Buy The Right Ramp For You
Our two most popular wheelchair ramps are both lightweight, folding, portable wheelchair ramps as seen below.
  1. The Metro - A low cost budget ramp for domestic use.
  2. The Xtra - A premier grade ramp for copmmercial or domestic use.

1. Low Cost Budget Wheelchair Ramp for Domestic Use

The Metro is new low cost portable folding wheelchair ramp for domestic use manufactured in Great Britain
Available in lengths from 2ft to 8ft (0.6m - 2.4m) and starting at an amazing £125.00

The Metro wheelchair ramp is the ideal budget solution for domestic use where a cheap put down and pick up again solution is all that is required

Buy Direct from a Trusted British Manufacturer - Click Here to See Prices & Options
Cheap Wheelchair Ramp for domestic use

2. High Quality Wheelchair Ramps for Commercial or Domestic Use

Aerolight is a premier grade wheelchair ramp with an incredible weight to capacity ratio that makes it the number 1 choice for service providers, employers, retailers, etc. where safety is paramount.

Available in lengths from 2ft to 8ft (0.6m - 2.4m) and starting at £287.00

Buy Direct from a Trusted British Manufacturer - Click Here to See Prices & Options
Aerolight portable wheelchair Ramps


Official Guidelines on Portable Wheelchair Ramps

You will have to excuse this post as it is a bit of a rant

I have been selling wheelchair ramps for over 20 years now

In all that time I have never seen Official Guidelines on Portable Wheelchair Ramps.

I have seen numerous recommendations for gradients of wheelchair ramps, but nothing official.

I have seen the numerous changes to building regulations regarding ramps over the years, but no official guidance on when they are, or are not, applicable.

The big problem with there being no official guidelines is that it can be used as an excuse to do nothing.

The closest official guidelines regarding temporary disabled access ramps I have seen are in BS8300 and the inclusive mobility pdf on the .gov.uk website which has this extract;

“Steeper gradients than these can be managed by some wheelchair users, but only over very short distances (1000mm or less), for example on a ramp between a bus entrance and the pavement. Even over these short distances the maximum gradient used should be no more than 10 per cent (1 in 10). As a general rule, however, 8 per cent (1 in 12) should be used as the absolute maximum. Not only is the physical effort of getting up a steeper gradient beyond many wheelchair users, but there is also a risk of the wheelchair toppling over.”

Now what this means is whenever anyone asks for advice on which ramp to use on their low 150mm step, I have to tell them it should be no shorter than 1.8m even though they could probably easily cope with a far shorter ramp.

The document also states;

“If portable or temporary ramps have to be used to give access to an existing building where space is limited, they should be positioned and their presence identified so that they do not constitute a hazard to passers-by. These ramps should have a surface width of at least 800mm, a drainable, slip-resistant surface and upstands to prevent wheelchair tyres veering off the edge.”

So there we have it, a portable or temporary ramp must be no steeper than a 1:12 gradient and no narrower than 800mm

The big flaw with this is that standard door opening are traditionally 760mm wide and almost everyone I talk to seems to think that they could cope on a ramp far steeper than 1:12.

This is fine if it is an individual buying the ramp for their own personal use, but when it is an OT, a council worker, public servant, etc. they don’t want to take the responsibility of purchasing a ramp that does not comply 100% to the guidelines which can result in the person requiring the ramp not receiving one.

The main problem is, the guidelines tend to be produced to be used at the design stage of new buildings where obviously it is a good thing to make buildings 100% accessible.

Unfortunately though, as it is very hard to find any official guidelines on portable wheelchair ramps that are provided for assisted use, these same guidelines are used for existing buildings where complying fully to the guidelines is not possible.

For more information see our Guidance on Ramps page.

Wheelchair Ramp Calculator

To create a 1:8 gradient
Select height of step:
To create a 1:12 gradient
Select height of step:

Have your say below

Should shopkeepers be encouraged to provide small portable wheelchair ramps at a 1:6 gradient or should they provide 1:12 gradient ramps or nothing?

Join the conversation

  1. Thanks for the rant. I am designing a vehicle with a tilting floor, rather than fit a ramp, so I don’t have to comply with the nonexistent regulations. This gives me a 10 degree slope over 37″.
    I will see how it works in use, but I may need a purpose built ramp at some stage. If so I will come to you.
    This is what I do. https://youtu.be/O4FSsvBzWAc

  2. I’m trying to get a wheelchair user into a pub ! We have a 12” step but only 6’to7’ length to realistically achieve this ! Is it better to do this and assist or do nothing?
    This would need a portable ramp ! He goes up a steeper ramp into his vehicle!

    1. This is the problem Michael, no one will give you a definitive answer, because if they say a 6ft ramp is fine, if anything goes wrong they have put their neck on the line.

      Although the customer uses steeper ramps and some footpaths are steeper than 1:12 if you put a ramp in that is steeper you are taking a risk.

      This is often used as an excuse to do nothing.

  3. In this case I would suggest to use the official guidelines and present this to the adult wheelchair user(in this case) and complete risk assessment if considering anything beyond what is recommended ie with pub owner, wheelchair user, carer (if relevant) etc. As long as hazards are recognized and considered (no one can consider all possible situations, but most of them!) and as long as everyone is happy, this should cover most concerns.

  4. Hello, I have used a couple of portable ramps to access the rear garden and front entrance. I am amazed that these ramps are not covered by any regulatory standards. The claim for the ramps that I used are that they are capable of carrying 300kg. I would love to see the supplier prove this! They appear to have been made in China but there is no indication of the manufacturer. Are these be made by a business using quality standards such as ISO9000 or are they produced by back street workshops?

    1. Hi,

      this is just one of the reasons I very rarely sell ramps anymore.

      I’ve been selling ramps for 20 years but only top quality ones, about 10 years ago everyone jumped on the bandwagon and the market was flooded with cheap imports.

      The problem is people see a ramp for £100 and a ramp for £300, don’t appreciate the difference and just buy the £100 one.

      I personally wouldn’t even consider selling the cheap ones unless the person buying it physically saw it and gave it a real good inspection which you can’t do Online.

      As there is very little mark-up on a cheap ramp it means providing a good service is impossible which results in people just having to take a risk when buying a ramp.

      I used to offer advice, but what tended to happen is I would advise people, help them, even offer demos and they would then go and buy from somewhere cheaper who doesn’t provide this service.

      Frustrating old business when people just buy on price alone 🙁

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New Product - Manufactured in Great Britain

Low Cost Budget Wheelchair Ramp

The Metro is new low cost portable folding wheelchair ramp for domestic use manufactured in Great Britain

Available in lengths from 2ft to 8ft (0.6m - 2.4m) and starting at an amazing £125.00

The Metro wheelchair ramp is the ideal budget solution for domestic use where a cheap put down and pick up again solution is all that is required

Buy Direct from a Trusted British Manufacturer - Click Here to See Prices & Options
Cheap Wheelchair Ramp for domestic use

Buyers Guide For Wheelchair Ramps : Guide on Buying a Wheelchair Ramp for Personal Use

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