Buying a wheelchair van for the first time
Buying a wheelchair van for personal use is not the type of activity that many prepare for in their lives. But then, if you or someone in your family has recently been confined to a wheelchair, your life is full of new problems and worries that you probably never thought you would have to deal with.
However, transportation is important for work, doctor’s appointments, and just being part of the world. Since so many families end up using a lift-equipped van as the primary family vehicle, there are several things to consider when making your purchase.
If you’re getting ready to buy your first wheelchair van, read on to learn how to make your decision.
What do you need from an elevator?
If you’re trying to determine whether a used truck or a new purchase is better suited to your needs, you need to consider not only the immediate cost, but the long-term costs as well. Beyond that though, you need to think about your elevation needs.
Most companies that sell wheelchair accessible vans, both new and used, offer products that already have lifts installed. Because this is the case, you need to look at the size of the wheelchair you will be transporting.
Some wheelchairs, specifically electric ones and those built for people with more serious muscular problems, may be wider or taller than standard wheelchairs, and clearance should be considered in these situations to avoid injury.
If the wheelchair is a standard size, any lift will probably work just fine, but if it’s a custom-made wheelchair, you’ll want to take plenty of steps to make sure you avoid injury.
You also want to consider how the elevator is controlled. Will the person in the wheelchair be operating the elevator? If so, the controls must be accessible and reachable via a suitable door mount or remote control.
Who else will travel in the van?
Companies sell full-size wheelchair vans and wheelchair minivans because they address different sets of needs. For daily commutes involving only one or two people, a minivan may be a slightly less expensive option. However, if you’re planning on making your wheelchair van your primary means of family transportation, you’ll want to seriously consider going with a full-size wheelchair van.
You can usually comfortably fit a wheelchair in a full-size van by removing just the second row of seats, for example, leaving the rear row available to transport a larger family. This is not always the case, of course, but the smaller the wheelchair van, the more likely the lift will be installed in the rear with all the rear seats removed.
Other Wheelchair Van Considerations
As mentioned above, different vans will have the lifts installed in different locations. Some parking spaces designated for the disabled, for example, are wider to accommodate the drop of a side lift. In other places, parking may be such that a rear lift is more convenient.
Consider the places you will go most often and, if possible, survey the parking situation there. Use what you learned in your survey along with consideration of how many passengers you need to transport to determine if a full-size wheelchair van or wheelchair minivan is a better option.
By considering comfort, headroom, elevator accessibility, and number of passengers, you should be able to come up with a list of requirements that will help you make the right wheelchair van purchase.