I decided pretty early on that a minivan conversion would not work for us. I started focusing on full size vans and wound up with a used Chevy Express conversion van with an Explorer SE conversion. It has a raised roof.
It is a 1500 (1 ton) with rear side doors on both the driver's and passenger's sides. The side doors are normal height. It was outfitted by the previous owner with a Braun Vangater II lift that folds out of the way when stowed so that the passenger side rear doors can be used to enter and exit the van.
When the previous owners had the lift installed, they had the rear bench seat removed and moved the original middle row captain's chairs to the rear row. That limits capacity to 4 people plus the wheelchair. But, it allows us to remove the driver's side rear captain's chair and haul and extra wheelchair in that space. This has been invaluable. I am spoiled by being able to carry around 2 wheelchairs and would not consider a vehicle that would only accommodate 1 wheelchair.
Our van has an EZLock for the wheelchair and a seatbelt system for me. I rarely ride in the wheelchair, as I can transfer to one of the front seats (I can still drive).
We purchased our 2004 van in February 2015. It had 82,000 miles on it and had a few deferred maintenance issues that needed to be resolved. It had been reasonably well maintained, but the exterior was a bit rough. We paid $11,000 for the van and put another $1,000 into it initially to address deferred maintenance items.
The van now has 172,000 miles on it and we have put an additional $1500 into additional maintenance items (not including all the oil changes, tires, etc.).
Here is what I like:
1. The van has been very reliable and low maintenance.
2. We can put a lot of cargo into it, which would not be possible with a minivan
3. The captain's chairs included with the Explorer SE conversion are very comfortable and supportive for me. I have trouble sitting in most chairs, but find those captain's chairs to work very well even on long trips.
4. Parts are readily available and quite reasonably priced.
5. The EZ lock secures the chair nicely
6. The seatbelt system allows me to ride in the wheelchair when necessary
7. It does everything essential to solve our current mobility needs.
8. The lift on the passenger side works well in the handicap parking places where we live.
9. The van does surprisingly well in snow (we get a LOT of snow here). We have good all season tires on it (M+S rated) and those work great.
10. The modifications to make the van wheelchair accessible are pretty limited. The floor is not lowered, for example. I prefer fewer modifications, because I believe it is impractical to engineer those modifications as well as the original vehicle was engineered.
Here is what I don't like:
1. The doors for the lift are not power doors. I must manually open them and close them. Opening them when I am inside the van is becoming almost impossible for me. Closing them from inside the van is pretty easy. Opening and closing them from outside the van is still within my ability. When we replace the van, I believe it will be because of mileage and the lack of power doors.
2. The doors are not tall enough for me to fit through unless the wheelchair is reclined and tilted. This is an inconvenience, but would not cause me to look for another van.
3. The lift uses electric motors, which draw a lot of power. We go through a battery about once every year. The van does not have remote start, but if it did, we could run the engine while operating lift. Our batteries would last much longer that way.
4. A half ton van (1500) is insufficient to carry the weight of the Explorer SE conversion, wheelchair lift conversion, my wheelchair, passengers, and substantial cargo. With the wheelchair, my wife, me, and a modest amount of cargo, the van weighs about 70 pounds less than the allowable Gross Vehicle Weight Restriction (GVWR), as determined by measuring it on a truck scale. Our van always sags in the rear.
5. There is a safety interlock that prevents me from unlocking the EZLock so I can undock the wheelchair while the engine is running. That means it is impractical to leave the engine running while I use the lift to unload me and the chair. Perhaps the interlock would be useful for someone cognitively impaired, but it is unnecessary for me (at least I like to think so
).
6. The quality of the Explorer SE conversion package is stunningly poor. It appears this is typical in the conversion van industry. The wiring for that conversion is pretty unbelievable. Most of the trim pieces are cheap and easily detached. Many of the interior panels are backed by something a bit more substantial than cardboard. It all looks good when new, but under the facade it is just junk.
7. Our van has plastic skirting (part of the Explorer SE package). That skirting interferes with placing a jack under the car when a tire is flat. When I had a flat rear tire, it took 3 different service folks showing up before a young kid (who's mother was in a wheelchair) figured out that he could use the van's jack under the hitch receiver to lift up the van just enough to slide his jack under the vehicle to the appropriate jack point.
8. When sitting in the wheelchair, my view of the outside is pretty limited. When I am no longer able to transfer to a regular seat, we will replace the van.
Steve
