Devon-based business, Van Guard Accessories, has teamed up with North Dartmoor Search & Rescue Team to create an innovative way of transporting rescue stretchers using a compact version of their ladder loader system.
Historically, stretchers have been dismantled and loaded into the rear cab of response vehicles or left assembled on roof racks. This requires volunteers to climb onto the roof of a 2-metre-high vehicle during urgent callouts, adding unnecessary risk at precisely the moments when safety is critical. Like many Mountain Rescue, Lowland Rescue, and emergency response vehicles, the North Dartmoor Search & Rescue Team needed a solution that would allow stretchers to be loaded and accessed at a safe working height, and to remove the need to tie down stretchers in the wind and rain. Enter Van Guard’s ULTILoader.
Since its launch in April 2024, Van Guard’s ULTILoader has become a popular choice for organisations seeking safer roof-loading solutions. Designed to lower equipment to an accessible working height, the ladder loader enables controlled loading and unloading thanks to its ergonomic design and a unique separation piston within the damper that manages descent speed and prevents sudden movements.
Manufactured from high-strength, lightweight aluminium and aerodynamically engineered for minimal wind drag, the system has proven especially popular with fleet operators seeking to improve health and safety while keeping payloads low and fuel efficiency high.
Van Guard has introduced three new ULTILoader variants, available from November 2025: the double CAT, the extra-wide and a 2.3m compact version. It was this shorter 2.3m model, ideal for smaller vans or specialised vehicles with restricted roof space, that caught the attention of North Dartmoor Search & Rescue.
North Dartmoor Search & Rescue Team’s Chairman, James Watts, said, “The ULTILoader has revolutionised how we use our Land Rovers and stretchers. This new solution is easier to use, allowing individuals to unload a stretcher off the roof with one hand. We don’t have team members on the roof of the vehicle in cold, wet and windy conditions, often in the dark. To unload or load the stretcher previously required up to three people, but now it can be done safely by one person at ground level in thirty seconds!”
“There’s no more climbing up a tiny metal ladder and untying a stretcher from a roof rack and waiting for two or three team members below to unload the stretcher too.
The added benefit is the weight on the Land Rovers; we’ve removed a substantial amount from the roofs, which has lowered the centre of gravity, making the vehicles nicer to drive when travelling around Devon and Dartmoor’s narrow tracks.
We will be adopting the new system across all our vehicles. So, no matter the vehicle, location, or time. We can safely unload, load stretchers and transport with ease and speed.”
Speaking on behalf of Van Guard, Managing Director Emlyn Harris responded, “We know our products make a tangible difference every day, but hearing that the ULTILoader is supporting mountain rescue operations on Dartmoor is something truly special. This is an application we never anticipated, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see two Devon-based organisations working together to solve such a meaningful challenge. The ingenuity of the North Dartmoor team’s solution shows just how versatile the ULTILoader can be, even in the toughest environments.”
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