This is the first of three blog posts on the search for, purchase, and 7-year review of our accessible van.
In the fall of 2017, we had a Chrysler Pacifica minivan that served us pretty well. It had several miles on it, and some persistent problems made us start looking for a replacement. We also had another challenge—our daughter’s wheelchair was awkward to lift in and out of the van, and Scharleen (our 6-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy) weighed about 50 pounds.
We began to search for a new van but knew we had to do something different, as our daughter probably wouldn’t be able to walk for the foreseeable future or get into and out of a vehicle by herself.
We had three things that we needed to decide on as a family: new/used, make of conversion, and where to purchase it.
The new/used conversation was pretty complicated regarding an accessible vehicle: I had looked at a used van with over 100,000 miles that showed its wear. The ramp rattled, the van ran rough, and it needed help. Accessible vans are bought and used well. The people who purchase them need them and run the van through all its paces repeatedly. They show their wear. A used van with many miles on it was not the best choice for our family.
The second option, on the other end of the spectrum, was a brand-new van with a new conversion. The van conversion company purchases the van from its manufacturer, does the wheelchair conversion, and then sells it to the consumer. The challenge with this was cost. In 2018, new minivan prices cost about $30,000, and the wheelchair conversion cost $25,000. That means that a new van with a new conversion was well over $55,000 plus tax and license.
The third option is a used van with a new conversion. In this option, either we provide a minivan or the conversion company purchases a used van, installs the conversion, and sells it to us. This allows the end user the opportunity to save money on the van, potentially carry the van manufacturer’s warranty for some miles, and get a new conversion that works well from the beginning.
We decided the third option was the best for us.
Our next step was to figure out which brand conversion we wanted. At the time, we were aware of three different manufacturers: Braun, Vantage Mobility, and the “others.” At the time, Braun Mobility only had a fold-out wheelchair ramp. The ramp sat about 30 inches high in the van, then folded out when the ramp deployed. We saw a few challenges with this: the foremost was that we could not extract our daughter from the van in an emergency if the ramp did not deploy. Vantage Mobility had a side entrance door with a ramp sandwiched between the bottom of the van and the floor. The third is the “others.” There are various van manufacturers, but most of them have a rear entrance ramp. The challenge with these rear entrance vans is twofold: first, it’s harder to find places to use them well—in a parking lot, you’re pulling the ramp out into traffic, and on the street, there’s no good way to parallel park. Second, the ramp goes up and over the rear axle, meaning that if it’s wet, the ramp could be challenging.
Considering these factors, we decided to go with a Vantage Mobility-powered (NorthStar) conversion. This provided the most significant advantage to my family, allowing us ease of use and safety. Stay tuned for next week when we’ll talk about where we purchased it and why we made that decision.
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