Need new vehicle Information

[SonicGuy]

We are looking for some advice and help. We are the parents of two beautiful children, DD17 and DD3. (Yeah, you read that right!) Both of them are in wheelchairs. While it works space wise in our Chevy venture van, we just found out that DW is expecting in February. Now we are kind of freaking out as to what we are going to do for a vehicle that will hold 2 wheelchairs, a stroller, 2 car seats, and us! We also need to deal with the reality that in a year or two we will probably need a lift put in for the youngest who is not able to walk at all!

Anyway - if anyone has any thoughts or ideas we would greatly appreciate any input. While we are very excited for a new little one, we are also very frightened.

Thanks in advance!

 

[dyna]

How about a passenger van? Possibly remove a seat or two from the back for more storage for the chairs an stroller.

 

[dclfun]

Sounds like you would need a full size van with a platform lift. Depending on where you live, the state might pay for the lift itself under Children's Medical Services or a waiver program if you're on one. A lowered floor minivan really wouldn't be large enough to have two in wheelchairs and space for everything. ---Kathy

 

[Juliah]

Sounds like you would need a full size van with a platform lift. Depending on where you live, the state might pay for the lift itself under Children's Medical Services or a waiver program if you're on one. A lowered floor minivan really wouldn't be large enough to have two in wheelchairs and space for everything. ---Kathy

While the minivan may not be the best solution for the OP or others, I just want to mention that we've never regretted getting a lowered-floor minivan to get our two now-21-yr-old DDs, who both have power chairs, around. We have taken several trips to WDW (700+ miles) with them and our son, who is 6'2" and sits in the back seat behind the girls in their wheelchairs. There isn't much room left inside for luggage--especially since we travel with a shower chair, too--so we usually put a soft luggage carrier on the roof. As I said, I'm not saying this is the best solution for anyone else, but it can work and does work for us, so I wanted the OP to know it is an option. There are tradeoffs with anything--we gave up some room but got better gas mileage and have an easier time finding parking places and getting into parking garages.

 

[dclfun]

Juliah- thanks for mentioning that solution as I didn't even realize two power chairs would fit with the tie-downs or EZ Locks. I guess alot of it would depend on the size of the chairs and whether or not the person in them can sit upright or needs to be tilted, etc. I am giving up space to get a Honda Element vs. another minivan since I have driving equipment that will necessitate removing the front seat. It's for the same things you mentioned, esp. better gas mileage and also for a vehicle that has a better reputation for quality. If my four children still lived at home though we'd have to get the minivan and even then it was a tight fit to travel with all my medical equipment. Some of it depends on funding. Some states will only pay for the lift and not a lowered floor ramp vehicle so in that case it's less costly to buy a full sized van, new or used, and then have the lift installed.---Kathy

 

[Juliah]

dclfun,

Our DDs' chairs are smallish for power chairs--16" seat width. The largest Quickie pediatric chairs and the smallest Quickie adult chairs both have 16" seat widths, so we went with the peds chairs because the frame was a little smaller. We can get everyone in the van even with the chairs tilted, though we have to position the chairs in just the right spot on the floor so DDs don't hit their feet/footplates on the back of the front seats. BTW, we do have to pull the front seats up while we're loading the girls in and then push the seats back when DH and I get in the front, but to me that's a small thing.

That's a good point about funding. Last year, our state quit paying for lowered-floor conversions through Medicaid waivers. They will still pay for lifts, though I think there is a dollar limit. They also changed the rule to limit any repairs on the lifts to something like $300 a year. A lot of people mention Vocational Rehabilitation as a funding source for van conversions, but that has gotten a lot more difficult to come by in our state the last couple of years, too. The heck of it is that in our state both those programs ended the fiscal year with a sizeable surplus last year, and, in the case of VR, I was told that means the state will get less federal funding for the program for the coming year. On top of that, our state got in serious trouble for changes they made to the waivers (huge cuts in funding to individuals) without getting approval from the feds first, so they have used the surplus to hire a consulting firm to undo all the changes and get them off the hotseat with the feds. It's a crazy system. (Stepping off soap box!)