Handicaps Don't Stop RVers

Can people with impairment, disability or handicap be successful RVers? You bet they can! And with more custom changes RVing has become even more accessible.

Meet Ed Grabman from Alamogordo, New Mexico. Ed has been RVing since 1966 and he wasn’t about to let disability stand in his way of enjoying the RV lifestyle. As a US Air Force pilot he flew the F-100, A-1, F-104 and the T-38. Ed and Jean raised their family RVing. They started with a pop-up then went on to an Apache pop-up, a PU slide in camper, a 28’ Komfort 5th Wheel and when Ed’s disability began to make using the 5er difficult, he moved to a 35’ Safari motor home. They now have a 36’ Country Coach motor home. Ed's wife Jean is also a big help, but Ed still does the majority of the outside work.

RV Now: You switched from a 5th wheel to a motor home because of the increasing difficulty of set-up. What are the advantages of a motor home for a person with a disability or handicap?

Ed: A motor home is by far is the best for persons with disabilities. I like it because when traveling you don’t have to get out of the coach to use the bathroom facilities. I also like the fact that we carry my scooter on a lift attached to the back of the tow car. When we take a day trip in the towed vehicle I always have my scooter with me.

RV Now: What is the most difficult task for you as an RVer?

Ed: Just getting into the coach is the most difficult task. The scooter is a big help to me in managing hook-up tasks. RV Now: How can RV parks and campgrounds help RVers with disabilities?

Ed: The biggest thing is pavement or hard pack. Gravel, especially large gravel makes it very hard if not impossible to use wheel chairs and scooters. The next thing is level spaces. I try to get the stairs as close to the ground as possible so it is easier to get in and out of the coach. Uneven sites make it very difficult for me to accomplish this. Also I don’t like the handicap sites because they are right next to the bathroom and shower facilities. For the most part, people with handicaps in self contained RVs like to use their own shower and bathroom. Everything is convenient for them in their coach and I rarely ask for a handicap site because of their close proximity to the community bathroom. Another thing RV parks can do is to ensure that they have wide enough walkways to accommodate scooters, wheelchairs and people who use arm braces or canes. Another problem I’ve seen in RV parks is that the handicap showers are unsafe because they don’t have non-skid material on the floors. People who have to use arm braces or canes while they shower can have their braces easily slip out from under them. RV Now: How can RV manufacturers help RVers with disabilities?
Ed: If you buy a new motor home be sure you contact the manufacturer and get in touch with the person who is the handicap specialist. They will help you custom design a coach that is best suited to your needs. More and more RV manufacturers are doing this now. (Note: Ed loaned me a copy of Family Motor Coaching in which many motor home manufactures offer “custom handicapped-accessible models.”)

RV Now: What modifications have you made to your coach to make you more safe and comfortable?

Ed: The scatter rugs must have non-slip backing and we immediately replace them if they begin to loose their non-slip characteristics. My son made a portable step that really helps me enter and exit the coach. Other than that we haven’t done anything special to the coach.

RV Now: Ed, how long does it take you to set up and take down your RV compared to a person without disabilities?

Ed: It doesn’t take any longer than anyone else if we are dry camping in a WalMart parking lot for instance and for full hook-ups it a little longer but not much. RV Now: What is your opinion about an RV park assigning handicap parking to non-disabled overnight campers after a certain hour? If the campground is full and no one has called ahead to reserve the site and the policy is that after a certain hour they may rent out the handicap space then I don’t have a problem with it.

RV Now: Thank you Ed. For a future article would you to show me how the scooter lift works and tell me all about that.

Ed: Sure, look forward to it Jim.