Wheelchair tie-down track: L-track, flush floor pockets, and adding track to a van

What the track does

The track is the half of the securement system bolted to the van. Each of the four tie-down straps, and usually the rider’s lap belt, ends in a fitting that locks into an anchorage on the floor or wall. If the anchorage pulls out, the best strap in the world does nothing.

The track is tested as part of a system, not alone. RESNA’s voluntary WC18 standard, which grew out of SAE J2249, crash tests the tie-downs and occupant belts in a 30 mph, 20 g frontal sled test. Under J2249, the load on the tie-downs came from a 187-pound surrogate wheelchair. Q’Straint’s OMNI anchorages, for example, are tested to WC18, ISO 10542 and the ADA vehicle rules when used with a complete Q’Straint or Sure-Lok system. That is why the makers care which brand’s fittings go into which brand’s track.

RESNA calls the four-point strap tie-down the most universal way to secure a wheelchair, because it adapts to so many chair models. A four-point system needs four anchor points per position, two in front of the chair and two behind it. The WTORS entry explains the parts, and the securement standards guide covers WC18 and WC19 in full.

Types of floor anchorage

Floor anchorages come in three families: long rails, single fixed pockets, and fixed anchorages that rotate. Q’Straint’s current line shows the options side by side.

A regular L-track profile works for either flush or surface mounting. All three of Q’Straint’s L-track profiles come in 100-inch lengths of 6061-T6 aluminum, pre-drilled with 82-degree countersunk holes every 4 inches for 5/16-inch bolts, and the track can run on walls as well as floors. Q’Straint also sells OMNI Floor, an interlocking aluminum floor with the track built in, for community transport vans.

Commercial minivans from VMI and BraunAbility come with track installed. VMI’s Toyota Commercial ADA ships with four strap tie-downs that lock into its L-track. BraunAbility’s Commercial Side-Entry Foldout has a removable front passenger seat with floor tracks underneath, which gives it wheelchair positions in the front and the midrow.

What the rules say about anchorage strength

The ADA sets the floor for every accessible vehicle. Under 49 CFR 38.23(d), securement systems on vehicles up to 30,000 pounds GVWR, and their attachments to the vehicle, must restrain up to 2,500 pounds per securement leg and at least 5,000 pounds per mobility aid in the forward direction. The words “and their attachments” put the track and its bolts inside that requirement.

The same section sets the space. Each securement location needs a clear floor area of 30 by 48 inches, placed as near the accessible entrance as practicable. Up to 6 inches of that length may sit under another seat for footrests if there is at least 9 inches of clearance, and fold-down seats may share the space when no wheelchair is there. A vehicle 22 feet long or less needs at least one securement location, and it may face forward or rearward with a padded barrier.

No federal safety standard covers aftermarket tie-down systems except in school buses, RESNA notes. That school bus standard, FMVSS 222, gives a useful benchmark anyway. It requires at least four securement anchorages at each wheelchair location, two in front and two in the rear, each able to withstand 13,344 newtons, about 3,000 pounds, pulled at 30 to 60 degrees from the floor. When two straps share one anchorage, the required strength doubles. The rider’s lap and shoulder belt floor anchorages must meet the same 13,344-newton figure.

State rules add their own lines. As one example, New York’s vehicle regulations require ambulettes to carry positive fastening devices made for wheelchair securement, attached to the floor, walls or both so they hold the chair and do not become a tripping hazard, with each wheelchair position at least 26 by 42 inches or the size the securement maker recommends. New York’s rules for school buses carrying wheelchair users go further: the track, floor plates and pockets must come from the same maker as the securement or be certified compatible, and the floor and wall structure underneath must be at least as strong as the system’s load requirements.

Laying out track for each wheelchair position

The securement maker’s layout drawing is the starting point. Two current examples:

• Q’Straint (QER electric retractor instructions). Rear anchorages 13 to 15 inches apart, front anchorages 26 to 34 inches apart, and 42 to 60 inches between front and rear, all center to center. It applies the same layout to full-length track.
• VMI (Toyota Commercial ADA manual). Rear 13 to 15 inches, front 28 to 30 inches, and front to rear 44 to 54 inches.

Both makers add the same caveat: the distances are based on common wheelchair sizes, and exceptionally large or small chairs may need different spacing. Use the tie-down angles to place the anchors. The University of Michigan’s Ride Safe guidance says rear floor anchor points work best directly behind the chair’s rear securement points, and front anchor points should be spaced wider than the chair for stability. Q’Straint’s electric retractor instructions also call for at least 8 inches between the front of the wheelchair and the front retractors, so they can be released.

This is where track beats pockets. A pocket fixes the anchor point, so it suits a position that always carries similar chairs. Track lets the driver slide each fitting to match a narrow manual chair one trip and a wide power chair the next. Heavy chairs need more length: Pride Mobility recommends two additional rear straps for its power chairs over 275 pounds, so a position meant for them needs room for six anchor points. The bariatric wheelchair van guide covers the rest of that build.

Adding or moving track

Adding track means drilling through the floor of a vehicle that has fuel, brake and electrical lines under it. BraunAbility’s manual for its Simple Stow minivan says that when installing aftermarket equipment, installers must find and avoid obstructions below the floor, including wiring, the fuel system, brake lines and exhaust, and includes a diagram of where they run. Get that drawing from your converter before anyone picks up a drill.

The floor also has to hold. Q’Straint’s instructions say anchorages should not go into unsound materials such as corroded metal, wood, plastic or fiberglass panels without suitable reinforcement, that an experienced technician should perform installation, inspection and maintenance, and that the installer is responsible for meeting all applicable regulations and standards. On a lowered-floor minivan, that means a dealer who knows the conversion’s floor structure.

Federal law draws a line for shops. Under 49 U.S.C. 30122(b), a dealer or repair business may not knowingly make inoperative any device or design element installed to meet a federal safety standard. A narrow exemption in 49 CFR 595.7 covers listed standards when a vehicle is modified so a person with a disability can ride, and the shop using it must attach a permanent label and give the owner a document listing the affected standards and any load capacity reduction over 220 pounds. The shop keeps that document for at least five years.

Keep a file for each change:

1. The installer’s invoice listing each track section or pocket, its part number, and where it went.
2. The securement maker’s installation instructions and layout drawing for that system.
3. Any label or notice the installer provides under 49 CFR 595.7.
4. Warranty registration for the new anchorages. Q’Straint’s L-track, pockets and Slide ‘N Click each carry a 1-year limited warranty.

Tell your broker before the van goes back out. Louisiana’s Medicaid manual, for example, makes the broker responsible for ADA compliance of wheelchair vehicles, tie-downs included, and requires providers to report newly added vehicles so the broker can inspect them. Ask yours whether a changed layout needs a new inspection.

Matching fittings to the track

A tie-down only works with the anchorage it was made for. Q’Straint sells its QRT-360 retractors with either L-track fittings or Slide ‘N Click fittings, so order the fitting that matches the anchorage in the van. Its OMNI anchorages accept both Q’Straint and Sure-Lok retractors, but Q’Straint says all four retractors in a 4-point securement must be one brand, and that non-approved systems should never be used with OMNI anchorages. For track outside the OMNI line, its brochure notes the long-standing recommendation to match tie-downs to the brand of the floor anchorage.

Seat each fitting fully every time. VMI’s manual describes pushing the floor fitting into the track with even pressure and sliding it in one direction until the spring-loaded latch drops into place, then pulling on the strap to confirm it holds. A fitting that sits half in the slot looks connected and is not.

When straps wear out, the tie-down replacement guide covers when the track and anchorages have to go too.

Cleaning and wear

Grit in the track keeps fittings from latching. The Ride Safe brochure says to keep the anchorage track free of debris, and BraunAbility’s manuals say that track which is dirty, worn or bent enough to stop a strap from attaching properly has to come out of use and be replaced.

The anchorage design changes how much cleaning it takes:

• Covered pockets. Q’Straint’s recessed pocket has a hinged, magnet-held cover so the slot stays clear when not in use.
• Flush pockets. Q’Straint’s flush pocket has sweeping guides on each side so debris clears out easily.
• Surface track. End caps reduce tripping and give wheelchairs a gradual rise over the track ends.
• Bolts. Q’Straint’s track bolts have a sealant under the head to seal between track and bolt, and its instructions say to clean bolt threads and re-apply permanent thread locker whenever bolts are adjusted.

Vacuum the track during the van’s regular cleaning, run a fitting through each slot position the drivers use, and check for loose bolts and bent rails. The wheelchair securement checklist turns this into a daily routine.

Keeping the board in step with the floor

A change on the floor should show up on the schedule the same day. In HealthRide, each vehicle carries its real capabilities, including wheelchair accessibility and seat count, and dispatch reads them on every assignment. Update the van’s wheelchair spaces when you add or remove a position, so wheelchair trips only go to vans that can secure them. See the fleet page.