I need to haul... a wheelchair; wheelchair vans

[edkemper]

Spent 15 years in manual chairs. To save a lot of money and a lot of painful back time, buy them both a lightweight sport chair.

What they have are standard heavy hospital wheelchairs that don't fold down small enough and are very heavy and awkward. Can't get them close enough to the seat/door, etc. I could put two of my sport chairs in the trunk of most cars. Sport chairs weigh very little. Both wheels come off with the push of a button and the seat back folds forward onto the seat making it a small footprint.

As for wheelchair accessible vans, they are very expensive and can be expensive to repair. New, you buy the van and have them converted. Looking at over $50,000. Used, you can find them fairly cheap because of a very limited group who buy them. But they are usually kind of used up when sold due to the price to replace them. The upkeep on the hydraulics on used units can eat a hole in your pocket.

God bless both your riders.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

My father suffered a stroke and I took care of him for 8.5 years. I used a transport chair which is lighter weight chair with four smaller wheels.

For loading I have amp power steps on my truck. It was easier to load him into my truck than any car because the power folding step folds out and down literally making it like a staircase step.

From here on out every truck i get will have these power steps as they are awesome for old people and old dogs, especially on normal height trucks.

Good luck on your transportation needs.

 

[mark02tj]

Another place to check for a used vehicle would be a "senior living community", aka - assisted living facility. Most of these places have one or more of those shuttle bus/vans with a lift in the back. The more higher end places are going to trade their vans in from time to time. Might be good to contact the executive directors at any of these places to have them contact if/when they might sell one of their vans. Long shot, but may be worth it.

There's also a "used bus" place by me that has a couple of those shuttle buses on the lot.

 

[RobertN]

We found a Chevy mini-van with lowered floor and ramp in our price range. Should get it tomorrow.

 

[MjrWey]

I know the post is a year old, but thought this was pretty neat for someone that still drives, but needs a wheelchair to get around.

 

[RobertN]

I saw some ad's like that last year when we were looking. It is very nice, but has a very nice price tag too

I know the post is a year old, but thought this was pretty neat for someone that still drives, but needs a wheelchair to get around.

 

[RobertN]

As a followup, we did buy a used Chevy mini-van. It has lowered floor, and a manual ramp. The way it is set up, we could put three wheel chairs in.

It is soooooo nice compared to a car. Grandma is 102 now, in a wheelchair, and unable to help stand/sit. Getting her in and out of car was hard on our backs, and hard on her arms and shoulders. My mother-in-law is wheelchair bound too. Same as Grandma, it is hard to lift her in/out of car. Even with a gait belt.

I really wish we would have bought one three years ago.

Now if we could just Grandma to wear her hearing aids...

 

[farmboy12]

I know the post is a year old, but thought this was pretty neat for someone that still drives, but needs a wheelchair to get around.

As a firefighter, the sight of that makes me cringe as to not only what would happen to who was seated there during a collision, but the possible difficulties in extricating the patient in that seat.


Kyle

 

[edkemper]

Thankfully these exotic types of vehicles are actually prohibitively expensive for most of us.

Lately I have been looking at smaller(ish) older ParaTransit type retired vans. Many might need some engine work but might still be an option as they are very cheap and even a new engine would keep them in a moderate price. My sister is an AKC (dogs) judge and breeder. She also does tracking events. She does travel all over the country in her official capacity and has been considering one as the gas/fuel mileage isn't that bad and they have a lot of space for supplies and equipment.

I have started considering one for my ranch/farm. Perhaps a very useful part time vehicle.

On the other hand, used wheelchair modified vehicles purchased through private parties is perhaps the best option. The companies will buy them for pennies and resell them for big bucks where as a private party will be able to sell one privately and get a fairer price although still not proportional to what they had to pay. A small amount of people willing to buy them makes them worth considering through private parties.

Just a thought.

 

[texasjohn]

As a followup, we did buy a used Chevy mini-van. It has lowered floor, and a manual ramp. The way it is set up, we could put three wheel chairs in.

It is soooooo nice compared to a car. Grandma is 102 now, in a wheelchair, and unable to help stand/sit. Getting her in and out of car was hard on our backs, and hard on her arms and shoulders. My mother-in-law is wheelchair bound too. Same as Grandma, it is hard to lift her in/out of car. Even with a gait belt.

I really wish we would have bought one three years ago.

Now if we could just Grandma to wear her hearing aids...

Glad you found what works for you. YES, a minivan with a ramp which is electrically raised/lowered and lowered floor is what we got for my folks. SUCH a wonderful thing, I still have it. You buy the van, then the modifications cost almost as much as the new van... But, we were able to almost immediately get in and out of the vehicle, with or without wheelchair, we had one electric wheel chair. Saves the back and makes transport as easy as it gets. Even trips to hospital are a one step operation....get person into chair in house, wheel into car, drive to hospital, wheel into ER, done! Bless you for all the care you give to your Grandma and MIL. Agreed, purchase as soon as you see the possibility of the need...will save true pain, back, doctor bills for YOU, improves everybody's life style all the way around.