Breaking down an EVC? Wheelchair in rental Van?

[emailbrittny]

Hi everyone first of thank you for all the help recently. I wouldnt know ANY of this without you. Even my grandparents arent aware of what to do...lol.

So a couple more questions (I hope).

The hotel transportation is one of those tour buses with the storage area underneath. The hotel stated that if we had an ECV (we will be renting) we would have to break it down to fit in the storage area. I googled this but couldnt really find anything. Is this a difficult task? HOw exaclty do we break it down? Do we need tools? I want us to be able to take the EVC to MK!

Also I was going to rent a van to pick up the 7 (6 adults and one child in carseat) of us from MCO and drop at hotel (off property). This will include 5 large suitcases a wheelchair and stroller. Will these standard transportation vans be able to accompany all of this?

Thanks!

 

[krisnme]

I don't know how the ECV will break down without knowing what kind it is. some break down easily, others not so much. As for the van, if it is an 11 passenger you will fit easily. for our cruise out of port canavaral we rented a van to leave from POP. we had 9 adults/teens 1 carseat child, a manual w/c and a medium size ECV, and all of us had at least 1 med. suitcase. The driver did an amazing job of fitting everything nicely into the back and the trip was crowded but comfortable.

 

[tobikaye]

As pp stated, it depends on the type of ECV rented. If it is like the one I rented my sister in June, it was not too difficult to take apart, but it was in about five or six pieces taken apart. The seat, basket, battery cover, and batteries had to come off. Then the tiller (steering part) had to be lowered to make it flatter. We had driven down and had to put it in the trunk. It took me a few minutes each time once I figured it out. The main part of the EVC weighed about 25-28 lbs.

 

[pbrim]

Talk to the company you are renting from and find out what kind of scooter you are likely to get (such as Pride Go-Go or Invacare Lynx, like make and model on a car) and do some on-line searches. You will probably find an owners manual or even video on how to assemble & disassemble. The company should also be able to provide you with the copied pages from the owners manual on how to assemble & disassemble along with your scooter.

It really shouldn't be difficult. It will probably come apart in several pieces to reduce the weight of any one piece. Bear in mind, they are selling independance, so the scooters are designed so that they can be disassembled and loaded by the user themself. Also, you may not need to disassemble it all the way, depending on the available room.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information. Post #5 discusses breaking down and reassembling a "standard size" ECV for a car, reading that will give you some ideas.

Or, if you want an easier route to the FAQs, click on the link in my signature.