Take a Virtual Tour of a Handicap Accessible RV
How do folks with disabilities go RVing? The answer is the same as everybody else with a few modifications to make life easier. Skip Johnson lost the use of his legs many years ago but that didn’t stop him from becoming a full time RVer. 
Skip and his wife Barbara decided to become full time RVers so they could see this great country up close and personal. The Johnson’s purchased this Allegro Bus used from another person with disabilities so it was ready to go. Many RV manufacturers already have plans for handicapped modified RV’s and they can also custom make features that will accommodate you. Getting in and out of the RV is important and there are several ways to accomplish this. There are complete hydraulic lifts that tuck neatly away under the coach. Another popular type is the exterior mounted transfer seat that uses a worm drive to move the seat up and down a pole then swings the person into the RV. 
Skip uses the “Strong Arm Lift” that attaches inside the coach next to the door. 
This lift uses a hydraulic arm that drops down allowing the person to attach chains to the center pivot point of the chair and then lifts the chair up into the coach.
Skip uses a hand-held control to operate this lift. 
Using this type of lift requires the door to be wider to allow the chair to easily pass into the RV. It also requires that the entry/exit steps be modified at the top to hold up the wheels of the chair.
In order for the chair to be lifted into the coach the electric steps must be retracted and he rigged up a special handle to operate the toggle switch to extend the steps once he is back inside.
This is important because Barbara might try to step out of the coach and forget that the steps were retracted - ouch! Once inside the coach you need to be able to maneuver your scooter or powered chair freely around the RV. This may require moving some walls and making the entry doors to the bedroom wider. Powered scooters and chairs have a tendency to scratch the furniture and that’s why Barbara likes the lighter colored oak because it doesn’t show scratches as bad as darker woods and a little scratch cover fixes it right up. 
The table is a wall mount so it’s easy to get the chair up to the table. The bed was moved six inches over to one side so Skip can get in and out of bed easier.
A trapeze is useful for turning over in bed. 
The bathroom has been modified to include a floor drain shower. 
Skip gets in his shower chair and rolls onto the stainless steel shower pan, pulls the shower curtain around him and and sings his favorite tune. 
The toilet is angled at 45 degrees into the open bathroom for ease of access. The lavatory sink is a cutaway so Skip can get his chair under the sink. In the kitchen the microwave is lowered and the drawers all have 100% roll out arms. Skip is quite comfortable in this coach and tells me that set-up and take-down is easy enough to accomplish using his power chair. How about driving? 
Skip does all the driving and they tow a handicap modified van that has a hydraulic chair lift installed.
So how does Skip operate this 40 foot motorhome using only his hands? The cockpit is equipped with hand controls. 
The brakes are applied by pushing down on the lever below the steering wheel. You pull this same control toward the knees for acceleration and since this is equipped with a push-button automatic transmission driving is a breeze. Watch this video for a virtual tour of this coach.
Opening new doors to the amazing and completely accessible world of RVing - Jim Twamley Professor of RVing.
Skip and his wife Barbara decided to become full time RVers so they could see this great country up close and personal. The Johnson’s purchased this Allegro Bus used from another person with disabilities so it was ready to go. Many RV manufacturers already have plans for handicapped modified RV’s and they can also custom make features that will accommodate you. Getting in and out of the RV is important and there are several ways to accomplish this. There are complete hydraulic lifts that tuck neatly away under the coach. Another popular type is the exterior mounted transfer seat that uses a worm drive to move the seat up and down a pole then swings the person into the RV. 
Skip uses the “Strong Arm Lift” that attaches inside the coach next to the door. 
This lift uses a hydraulic arm that drops down allowing the person to attach chains to the center pivot point of the chair and then lifts the chair up into the coach.
Skip uses a hand-held control to operate this lift. 
Using this type of lift requires the door to be wider to allow the chair to easily pass into the RV. It also requires that the entry/exit steps be modified at the top to hold up the wheels of the chair.
In order for the chair to be lifted into the coach the electric steps must be retracted and he rigged up a special handle to operate the toggle switch to extend the steps once he is back inside.
This is important because Barbara might try to step out of the coach and forget that the steps were retracted - ouch! Once inside the coach you need to be able to maneuver your scooter or powered chair freely around the RV. This may require moving some walls and making the entry doors to the bedroom wider. Powered scooters and chairs have a tendency to scratch the furniture and that’s why Barbara likes the lighter colored oak because it doesn’t show scratches as bad as darker woods and a little scratch cover fixes it right up. 
The table is a wall mount so it’s easy to get the chair up to the table. The bed was moved six inches over to one side so Skip can get in and out of bed easier.
A trapeze is useful for turning over in bed. 
The bathroom has been modified to include a floor drain shower. 
Skip gets in his shower chair and rolls onto the stainless steel shower pan, pulls the shower curtain around him and and sings his favorite tune. 
The toilet is angled at 45 degrees into the open bathroom for ease of access. The lavatory sink is a cutaway so Skip can get his chair under the sink. In the kitchen the microwave is lowered and the drawers all have 100% roll out arms. Skip is quite comfortable in this coach and tells me that set-up and take-down is easy enough to accomplish using his power chair. How about driving? 
Skip does all the driving and they tow a handicap modified van that has a hydraulic chair lift installed.
So how does Skip operate this 40 foot motorhome using only his hands? The cockpit is equipped with hand controls. 
The brakes are applied by pushing down on the lever below the steering wheel. You pull this same control toward the knees for acceleration and since this is equipped with a push-button automatic transmission driving is a breeze. Watch this video for a virtual tour of this coach. Opening new doors to the amazing and completely accessible world of RVing - Jim Twamley Professor of RVing.
Labels: Disability Tools, Handicap RVs
posted by Jim Twamley at
8/19/2007 01:36:00 PM
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