?? Purchasing a van??

[meeshi]

We are considering purchasing a high top conversion van with a wheelchair lift for our 10 yo dd. She is getting big (finally gaining weight!) and growing out of her special carseat. My question is this.... Does anyone know of any kind of financial aid to help with the purchase? Or do we bite the bullet and take out a car loan? I'd appreciate any info you can give me!! Thanks.

 

[Nanajo1]

Meeshi,
I don't know the reason your DD is in a w/c but many organizations for specific diseases have funds available. I would also check with local and state agencies. I was on my town's Disability Commission and we had funds that we were able to give to townfolk who needed home adaptions and to help buy equipment. My DH has an employee whose DS needed an adapted van. The local Adaptive Van Company gave them a gret deal. I had to purchase my van but my state Rehab Commission paid to have it adapted. I know there are others on this board that will have some great ideas for you. Pixie dust coming your way.

 

[pugdog]

2 things:
first think about a minivan instead otherwise you might have troblem with alot of parking ramps.
and 2nd you can get a 10 year loan for handicapped vans if you can't find money outright from someone

 

[mamajoan]

Hi, I just purchased a Chrysler town and country van which needed hand controls and w/c lift. If you purchase a new van from a dealer ask for their rebate options that are available for retrofiting vans with necessary w/c options. I rec'd a $1000 rebate for the 2002 purchase.
I agree with Nanajo, check out Easter Seals etc as they may be able to assist you in finding financial help.
Happy Van Shopping!
Joan

 

[SueM in MN]

You might also find that a high top van is too high for your garage. Out of the 14 kids in my DD's wheelchair dance class, only one family has a large size van. Some of the rest did, but found there were too many disadvantages with the size. (Although some people need the extra size, many people find a minivan is big enough for their needs and small enough to get around easily).

We bought a lowered floor minivan with a ramp 2 years ago. We did have to purchase it ourselves, but there are some deals with the auto companies. We got a rebate for the initial conversion costs and another rebate when we purchased an automatic lock down system for her power wheelchair. All of the major auto comapnies have a program; See for Chrysler's program or for Ford's program. I know that Chevrolet and VW also have psimilar programs, but I'm having a little problem getting cut off the internet.

I know of people who have gotten some help with costs thru Kiwanas or the Lions club or thru community fund raisers.

Here's a link for Braun , one of the largest conversion companies (where our van is from) and a link for Freedom Motors another company. These companies actually deal with your local auto dealer, so you get any rebates that the auto dealers have at the time for their regular vans. We got a rebate that all other van customers got.

 

[LindaDVC]

We recently debated big van vs mini.
We found the mini van small and significantly more expensive since you have to drop the floor etc.
We opted for the full size van and it has worked out fine.

When we travel we often have our family of 3 plus my parents and the service dog. Ned (the dog) feels safer in his kennel so we really prefer to bring it along.

I suggest you look at the various options and decide what is best for your family. I also have an escort for work and carpooling. Dan takes a bus to work so those factors also make a difference in your decision.

Their are lots of van companies that sell on the internet. Some low mileage adapted vans are out there too. Some families bought a van to just transport someone to doctors and no longer need it and willing to sell.

We transferred in and out of a mustang for a lot of years before buying a van! Never again! I am older, Dan is stiffer, and the escort was lower than the mustang! That one transfer made us say-- those days are over!!! I wanted Dan to take a ride in my new car BUT he was right not a good idea!!

Linda

 

[meeshi]

Thank you all for your replies. We were set on getting a full size conversion van. But honestly, I can't remember why. Maybe for room. We are a family of 5 and thought a converted mini van would be too small? I don't know, maybe we have more research to do. We don't really like the gas mileage on a full size. So ok, I'm going to do more research and see what's out there. Thank you SueM for the links. That van from Braun is really nice.

 

[LindaDVC]

Another resource is company discounts.
We didn't know that American Express employees (Dan's employer) gets the same rate as Ford employees!

After feeling satisfied with the deal-- we found out we could save quite a few thousand more! We were very happy about that!
Happy shopping!

 

[SueM in MN]

If you are a family of 5, a converted minivan might be too small. They have sitting room for 4 plus a wheelchair, but the 2 in the farthest back seat don't get a lot of room.

Some of the van dealers get low mileage trade ins too, so like Linda said, you don't necessarily have to get a brand new van. Some people just like to trade up every few years or some have a situation that changes so they no longer need a wheelchair van.

We didn't look at full size vans because I didn't want to drive one, but I think there are full size vans that are wheelchair accessible without having a raised roof. The raised roof is the thing that makes the van too high to go in parking ramps and some garages.

 

[pugdog]

Sue are you sssssstarting to studder

 

[SueM in MN]

There, all gone but one post now.
I got the dreaded "Thread not found" message, so I kept trying to post. All those extra posts didn't show up for me, but they were lurking on cyberspace, waiting for me to get off so they could post themselves.....

Anyway, I thought of some other pieces of advice:

1) If you are not ready to make the big switch to a van, there might still be special needs car seats that would work for your DD. I know that they have some in the abilitations.com catelog (although I couldn't get them to come up on search). The weight limit for some of them is up to 105 pounds. The limiting factor might be the seat size though; the sizes I could find had a maximum seat size of 14 x 14 inches . My DD is only about 85 pounds, but her wheelchair seat is 14 in wide by 18 in deep.

2) It's a good idea to bring your DD with her wheelchair along to see how the wheelchair fits in the van before you make a final decision. The wheelchair space in the van looks HUGE when it is empty, but the whole van seems to shrink once you actually have a wheelchair in it.

3) If your DD is on an MA waiver program you might see if MA would contribute to the cost of the wheelchair accessibility part of the van. (In Wisconsin, where we lived before, the program was called the Katie Beckett program. In Minnesota, it's the TEFRA program). We are not participating in the program, so I don't know if it would help out, but it's worth a shot.

 

[meeshi]

Thank you SueM for the thoughts. DD is about 60 lbs and has a special carseat we bought through Columbia Medical and I know she still has some room to grow into it weight wise. She just sits more comfortably in her wheelchair. She had been sick earlier this year and was hooked up to IV and then was on continual G-J tube feedings plus a stomach drainage bag. Having all the "stuff" made it difficult to transfer her from her wheelchair into her carseat, back into the wheelchair when we got wherever we were going. That got us thinking we needed to look for a new van. Now she is only on her normal (for her ) g-tube feedings and it makes it much easier to transport her. Plus she has gained 20 lbs this year. We just don't want to find ourselves in a position where we are desparate for a van, you know? I so appreciate everyones help. Oh, by the way, we do have funding for the lift through family driven funds. Once again, thank you all so much for your help and advice!

Sorry this was so long!

 

[Michigan]

I have 2 wheelchairs and a minivan with a side ramp and raised roof. After 6 years of trying to find parking spaces for the ramp next spring I'm buying a full size with a rear lift. I'm going to also look into buying one of those Honda Civic's they advertise for $99 a month for going back and forth to work.

 

[meeshi]

That's a good thought about the rear lift. I saw a lady wheel her son into one when my dd was in the hospital. It looked so nice and easy. She had a remote that opened the back and the lift came down and she wheeled him right in! Something else to look into!

 

[SueM in MN]

Michigan, do you have link to a picture of the type of van you are looking at? I have only seen pictures of the minivan version.
The side entry has a remote too, so we can open ours as we are wheeling up to it. BUT, finding a handicapped parking spot is sometimes hard and finding one with the space on the side is even harder. The advantage of the rear entry van is that you don't need a special spot.

 

[LindaDVC]

Some of the rear entry vans I have looked at really decrease the seating and storage capabilities! Another thing to consider if lift price is difficult is a folding ramp.

Lots of options! Having recently bought a new van-- we explored quite a few things before making our decision.

I have been very happy with our Ford Chateau fullsize van. We do not have the extended roof- Dan takes an extra second to duck as he enters but once agian that saved a few $$'s and makes it fit in some garages!

Linda

 

[Michigan]

Sue I think the lift is made by Ricon. When it closes it splits automatically in half so you still have access to the rear of the van. I talked to a conversion company about a year ago and they said they could put 2 buckets in the middle that would turn around so the girls can ride in a regular seat when on long trips and a fold down bench in the back for those occasions when I need more room for other people.

I'm going to the ability expo in Chicago to check out all the options.

 

[LindaDVC]

We purchased a van on the lot--
they had to take out the 2 middle captain chairs.
They are still sitting in my living room-
We ran an ad in the paper but haven't gotten rid of them yet!

Linda

 

[Nanajo1]

Linda,
We have two captain's seats too! I'm trying to figure out a way to make them into an avant-garde seating arrangement in the den! LOL
My Town+Country van with the lowered floor has the bench seat in the rear. It has three seat belts. I've found it uncomfortable because of the lowered floor the bench seems too high for feet to rest comfortably on the floor. We are empty nesters so we don't often need to use the bench.

 

[SueM in MN]

We have the same arrangement in our van as Joan has. That lovely "captain's chair couch" sat in our living room for over a year and really added a lot to the decor (just kidding, it was in the garage). One day when my DH was home and I was going to work, I told him I wanted it "disappeared" by the time I got home and it was. I think he took it to a salvage lot, or else he knew someone from work who had the same van with a bench seat in the middle who wanted to upgrade.

We don't often use the rear bench seat because it's usually just me and the 2 girls. My oldest DD does sit there sometimes and says it's not uncomfortable, but she has long legs.