Vehicles

[Katie Griffith]

We haven’t reached this point quite yet. Hopefully others who have can pass along some good info!

[Christina Cordaro]

Same, I havent gotten here yet. But hopefully those who have been through this, can share their experience!

[Tina-D]

I’ve stopped looking. They are too expensive, too big, too loud (road noise) and would not increase my independence.

[Clester]

We have one and wouldn’t know what to do without it.

It’s a full size conversion . Although they stopped making regular full size vans so it would need to be an altered new cargo van or a used one.

We have to have full size because we use it to pull our small camper. …Which I made to be wheelchair accessible…..we have traveled with the van and camper all up and down the east coast UP Michigan to South Florida. We have camped in some very difficult to access and remote places…..but extremely beautiful sights we have seen.

Side note…if you go used for a lift van….make sure you know someone who is extremely knowledgeable on how to fix things. I’ve had to fix many electrical problems and even had to take apart the electric motor that powers the lift in order to clean and replace the brushes. Also the cam arms that operate the flap that bridges the gap between the lift and the floor of the van, broke and had for a while to figure out how to operate the lift safely without the cams .

This is the 2nd full size van we gave had and both have required much attention.

Not trying to scare anyone ….just giving a heads up that if you have to pay for repairs , it could get expensive unless you have a very handy person to fix the problems.

If you don’t need or plan to need to pull something you might want to go with a mini van ….they have as much head room as full size vans and in most cases can use a ramp instead of a powered lift.

They do make trucks with wheelchair lifts but they are Incredibly astronomically expensive.

We are going to need to replace ours soon and will go with a lightly used cargo van and I’ll install a lift myself.

[n6te088]

Your insight is incredibly valuable, especially pointing out how hands-on maintenance can be. It’s a tough trade-off, cost and complexity versus the freedom it offers. The camper setup sounds amazing and clearly opened doors for some unforgettable travel. I hadn’t even considered the difference in repair needs between lifts and ramps or how important it is to have someone handy around. For someone just starting out and not needing towing, a minivan with a ramp sounds like a more manageable entry point. Thanks for the thoughtful breakdown.