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Post by wheelchair1964 on Feb 8, 2017 5:02:02 GMT -5
I was looking into getting my first van soon so I can start driving and I guess the thing i was wondering is if I could just get the lowered floor option and get myself while being in the chair into the van, when i was younger they had a van pick me up from school that required I do a little wheelie and I just hoped right in. Any of the wheelers here know if I can forgo the option of a lift and save money?
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Post by wonk on Feb 8, 2017 5:16:17 GMT -5
I thought you are a para. Buy a car. Vans are for quads. Cheap set of controls and you are good to go.
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Post by Emma on Feb 8, 2017 14:04:26 GMT -5
My husband (DAK amp) has a van, no lift, ramp and had nothing but hand controls added to it. If you are a para you should be able to get in without an issue. We like the van because it has lots of room for extra wheelchairs, sports chairs and kids!
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Post by wonk on Feb 8, 2017 14:37:34 GMT -5
Vans are for boring old married guys like legoless lol
Also for quads, snipers, and paras who are a little bit pathetic.
Only thing worse for a para is having a wheelchair lift on the roof, which is right up there with arm rests on a hospital chair.
Imagine picking up girls in a van! No not by offering them candy!!!
Buy a mustang or a camaro, maybe a gto. Be an individual. Make a statement with your wheels, and the statement should not be ' feel sorry for the cripple'
Lots of guys like a 2 door car, for the extra door width, I have always had large cars. I currently drive a commodore which is the same as pontiac G8 and have no drama getting a tilite ZRA past the steering wheel.
How have you gotten to 30 and not know any of this? Have you been locked in a basement.
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Post by matisse on Feb 8, 2017 14:55:14 GMT -5
You can custom order a lot of stuff, but I don't know if just the lowered floor is an option without the ramp. You'll have the option of transferring into a driver's seat, or having a lockdown system to drive directly from your chair (or both, I suppose).
I suggest checking out used minivans first. The converted vans are very expensive new and they depreciate a whole lot faster than a regular car. Late model ones are reasonably available because, sadly, parents get these for their disabled kids who then die a few years later.
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Post by MarineAmp on Feb 8, 2017 17:40:31 GMT -5
Thems internet fightin words Wonk...
I am a very practical person, I am primarily interested in the function of an object over the looks of an object. Long story short I ended up with a minivan. I will tell you what, I am sick of loading my chair in and out of my car. So much so, I actually leave my traveling chair in my car, and if I go someplace my house chair just sits parked in the garage waiting for me to hop into it. I do on occasion have to move the chair for my wife or exit out the back door after she has ridden with me. Exiting out the back actually isn't all that harder than assembling my chair and going out the driver's door. Which had me thinking, once I am done buckling my kids in their car seats and they are capable of doing that independently. I would love to take out the middle seats and just pull my chair in side door and hop in the front. Which is exactly what a guy on my basketball team does and he is a wheelchair user (had/has? polio).
If you feel you need to stroke your ego listen to Wonk, or you can do whatever the fuck you want to do and not give a rats ass what anyone else thinks.
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Post by wonk on Feb 8, 2017 20:09:52 GMT -5
The dynamics of a standard rear wheel drive 3 box sedan is far superior to a van or SUV. Driving should be enjoyed. A skinny young dude like you could reasonably drive a proper sports car.
A car is more than an ego stroke for most guys, it is an extension of your personality. Maybe all you want to do is get from A to B rather than enjoy the journey. If so something that handles like a bucket of custard is OK. I know I would have trouble accepting the life of a soccer mom.
Your life doesn't need to end. Live a little.
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Post by newjess on Feb 8, 2017 23:52:47 GMT -5
wonk how do you feel about the fact that I drive a Kia Soul? It's so boxy and practical  sexy eh? It is a manual, if that helps restore any street cred. Lol before I got the Soul I NEVER thought I would get a car like that. But then I rented one while I was in CO and was actually amazed how much interior space it had for a compact and also it was a beast in the snow (I mean, for what it is). Long story short I've opted for practical at this stage in my life and it's actually not the worst thing ever  . I've had some fun cars though. I've also had a grandma car or two at some point (Mercury Sable... Oh yeah)
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Post by Justagirl on Feb 9, 2017 0:04:58 GMT -5
I think the point is more that he doesn't HAVE to get a van if he doesn't want one. Everyone is obviously entitled to have whatever car they want, but wheelchair1964 shouldn't feel like that's his only option. Considering he's young and never driven before, he may not know how much more fun it'd be to have a "cool" car, or that a car is even an option. Therefore perhaps he should indeed consider all his options. Always time to get a van later. BTW, I'm not going to get offended at the soccer mom reference wonk , but I will say that there are cool soccer moms out there that drive cool cars! So don't judge! **and for the record, where did soccer mom start? Soccer stuff doesn't take up that much room, you can totally fit it into a GTO... if you're a baseball mom or hockey mom then needing a minivan would make much more sense.  |
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Post by wonk on Feb 9, 2017 0:38:57 GMT -5
The soccer mom quip, was me teasing legoless. You absolutely got my point though. A van is an option, but certainly not his only option. At 30, I was living in Charlotte, and driving a mustang convertable. It was the worlds most exciting car, but it was the easiest ever to put my chair in, when the roof was down.
NewJess, Oh Dear God! Maybe I should fly over and help stage an intervention lol
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Post by vo on Feb 9, 2017 4:55:28 GMT -5
Mini van is better to me because you don't have to tear down your chair everytime you go get gas just slide open back door behind you and pull the whole chair in plus mazda has some sporty looking vans with some zoom zoom! Lol
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Post by matisse on Feb 9, 2017 11:26:35 GMT -5
BTW, I'm not going to get offended at the soccer mom reference wonk , but I will say that there are cool soccer moms out there that drive cool cars! So don't judge! My wife refused to get a minivan. We started with a Suburban for serious people moving, then a couple of years ago she got a Jeep and specifically wanted a stick shift. The Jeep can still fit all the kids, just not me. I'm the one with the minivan LOL. During the summer she'll sometimes wear a cowboy hat while driving this, along with jean shorts. Pretty much the functional equivalent of lingere for me......   |
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Post by Justagirl on Feb 9, 2017 16:55:05 GMT -5
I **and for the record, where did soccer mom start? Soccer stuff doesn't take up that much room, you can totally fit it into a GTO... if you're a baseball mom or hockey mom then needing a minivan would make much more sense. I always assumed the soccer mom reference with a minivan was for carpooling extra soccer kids? Thus the need for the extra room. I had to ride my bike to soccer! And this is why I'll always have a car with a third row- |
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Post by mutt59 on Apr 25, 2017 14:32:37 GMT -5
I would say get what you can afford and what works best for your abilities.
Ask yourself a few questions.
Can you get in and out of car easily?
Do want to breakdown your wheelchair?
Where would you get the van handicapped equipment serviced at?
My first car was a 2 door Buick Reviva. At first I was using an old E&J heavy ass folding wheelchair. Pull out cushion, pull off armrests, fold the chair and pull it behind the passenger side seat. I would get into the car from the passenger side. When I got a rigid frame chair broke it down put wheels in the back and frame next to me on front seat. Put all on the backseat if someone was riding with me. Don't know if I could all that stuff now.
I currently have a minivan with a lift. Dodge Grand Caravan, it is sitting in the driveway not going anywhere right now. It came with a Crow River Mini Vangater lift installed. Just over a year ago the lift fold down fucntion crapped out. There is only one company in my area that services accessible vehicles, and the part my lift needs is no longer available for that model of lift. So I am screwed and not in the good way. All the electical motors to the lift work, the problem is with the control board. I had to correct some of "repairs" done by service manager at the shop.
Watch some of the videos on YouTube of people getting in and out of different types of vehicles. I have seen quads get into full size pickup trucks and load their wheelchairs. I couldn't do that. Also look at some of the videos of the problems people are having with their minivans not working right. Imagine being stuck somewhere in the van alone and not being able to get out.
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. I've had some fun cars though. I've also had a grandma car or two at some point (Mercury Sable... Oh yeah)
