How to Make a Mobility Ramp for Scooters & Wheelchairs — Easy Build Under £100

🛠️ This foldable DIY ramp costs under £100 and makes boot loading safer, cheaper, and tailored to fit your scooter or wheelchair — provided your vehicle has a central boot hook to secure the ramp. It folds flat using ratchet strap hinges, stores easily, and suits most car boots with a gentle loading angle from pavement height — even on uneven ground, thanks to its flexible hinge design.

We needed a ramp to load a small mobility scooter safely into the boot of our car — but commercial ramps were either too expensive or poorly suited to scooters. Most are designed for wheelchairs and have raised side lips that catch on the low chassis of smaller scooters.

So I built my own ramp for *under £100**, using plywood, timber, and ratchet straps — inspired by a clever American design originally made for a wheelchair. I adapted it for **scooter clearance**, **boot hook access**, and **flush alignment with the boot floor* — all essential for smaller wheels and low ground clearance.

➡️ This ramp works just as well for wheelchairs — with or without the scooter-specific tweaks shown in this video.

This video shows the full build process, including measurements, materials, and test fit — so you can replicate it yourself.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:20 Making the ramp from plywood
03:33 Making the ramp supports from timber
04:31 Initial test fit and making tweaks
07:35 Final test and demo

🔧 Key Design Improvements
• *Boot hook cut-out**: Added a 100mm x 100mm square at the top centre of the ramp to access the boot hook (ours sits *below floor level in an MPV — unlike the SUV in the original video).
• **Wider hinge straps**: Upgraded to 50mm ratchet straps for added strength and stability.
• **Zig-zag screw pattern**: Screwed straps down along both edges in a zig-zag pattern — every 3 inches — to prevent lifting and reduce screw count.
• **Heavy-duty anti-slip tape**: Applied to all ramp sections — a major safety upgrade missing from the original design.
• **Rebate cut in support beams**: Lowered ramp height to sit flush with boot floor — essential for scooters with small wheels.
⚠️ No universal measurement — test fit and adjust to suit your vehicle.

🧰 Step-by-Step Highlights
• Ramp width: 27.5" / 70cm — fits scooter wheel span with clearance
• Plywood: Cut into 3 folding sections
• Strap hinges: Made from ratchet straps, zig-zagged for strength
• Anti-slip tape: Applied to all board sections
• Support beams: Hinged 2x4s with rebate cut for flush fit
• Final test: Ramp folds into boot and straps upright after loading

📦 Materials Used (Shopping-Ready — Includes Key Specs for Replication)
• *1 x 12mm plywood* – 8ft x 4ft sheet
Cut into three 32" / 81cm sections
• *1 x Ratchet strap* – 50mm wide, 6m long (for hinge straps)
Cut into two 8ft 4in / 255cm strips
• *1 x Ratchet strap* – 25mm wide (for hook strap)
• *2 x Marine strap hinges* – 152mm x 30mm, 3-hole stainless steel
• *1 x Flat adjustable bungee cord* – 150cm with hooks
• *100+ M5 x 12mm self-tapping wood screws* – pan head with built-in washer
✅ Essential for gripping nylon strap without pulling through
✅ Self-tapping avoids pre-drilling through strap material
• *1 x Heavy-duty anti-slip tape* – 100–150mm wide, minimum 5m length
Cut into six equal strips with rounded corners
• *2 x Timber beams* – 50mm x 100mm (2"x4"), minimum 2.5m length
Cut to 7ft 6in / 229cm, then halved for folding
Rebate cut: 18mm deep for flush boot fit

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