Wheelchair van vs. a small trailer?

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Buckhorn

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I am planning ahead here, but I was just thinking ...... My niece has a wheelchair van with a lift that she has offered to us when needed, but it is an older van and would not be reliable to travel longer distances (plus, if it breaks down, I really don't want to pay for expensive repairs). So - I was viewing small trailers at Lowe's today. They are strong enough to transport a LARGE garden tractor, & are low to the ground so a small ramp is all that would be needed to drive a power w/c onto the trailer. Of course I would make sure to take all needed measurements. We have plenty of land to store the trailer, and I am thinking if we got a trailer, a power w/c could be very well covered/tarped to prevent any damage from weather, and I could chain the w/c to the trailer to prevent theft? We have one 6 cyl vehicle and a Subaru Forestor; I think either vehicle could tow the trailer with a proper hitch without too much strain.

We have a reservation in FL for 6 weeks next Winter, and if my PALS is able, we are going! TY for your opinion / input!
 
Hard choice - an old van as you say could mean breakdowns.

The real problem with the trailer is that your hubby may not be able to transfer into the car at all, but need to be transported in his PWC. Not very practical transporting him in the chair on a trailer.

So the trailer could be a good short term solution, but not a good long term one. I hope that helps.
 
HaHa!! That is too funny Tillie - I didn't even think of that!! Might cause quite a stir if I had the hubby strapped onto the trailer in a w/c!! Here is why it didn't even enter my mind that I would be unable to transfer my hubby. My husband currently weighs #168. I am quite strong for my age and weigh in at about 158# I am accustomed to doing stand-pivot transfers with people well over 300# and using transfer equipment, sliding boards, Beasy transfer board, pivot discs, etc. Now, while I realize the people I am transferring are not fully paralyzed, many have been para's. I am assuming (not really sure how "this" particular case of ALS will progress, as it seems there is such variation in a person's progression) that I will be able to transfer him via adaptive equipment into the vehicle. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'll die trying ........ Don't worry about my back. I've spent over 30 years now transferring very large people who I am not in love with; I will somehow manage to do it for my husband until his body is totally limp. At that point we won't be going anywhere, or, he will be gone, as he does not want to be permanently ventilator dependent!

Tillie, I so appreciate your always constuctive, always helpful nature in addressing problems, concerns and questions!!
 
Glad you enjoyed the visual of driving along with a tarp draped over your hubby in the trailer :lol:

This is the thing with ALS, it all depends on what part of the body go in what order, and we just don't know at the outset what that order will be.

My Chris was not 'walking' in his last couple of months, but he was still doing some standing transfers each day until his last 5 days or so. Many transfers were by hoist, but when possible he really wanted to get up on his feet for a few minutes.

Getting him in and out of a car by then was nearly impossible as I did not have a hoist that could do this. They can be bought, I had a friend CALS here locally who got one, but her hubby took a sudden decline and she never even got to use it, let alone the new car she bought to drive on the beach with him!

If the core muscles and neck go before the legs, standing transfers can become outright dangerous as they can't control the top of the body at all.

My Chris could hold his head up kind of ok in carefully arranged sitting positions, but the moment he stood his head would drop right forward. This made the transfers increasingly difficult as it made his balance far worse and the saliva would go into maniac mode and just be pouring out of him.

Sometimes you can use equipment and get the PALS into the car, but the car seat may not be able to support them properly. This was an issue as Chris's neck weakened, as every movement in the car would cause his head to move. I was nearly to the point of suggesting I would have to try strapping his head to the head rest, but I doubt he would have agreed as his swallowing and saliva issues were so bad he would have panicked.

So many things that can be the specific challenges!

That is always one of the biggest powers of this forum to me. With all the variations in what each PALS experiences and in what order, we tend to get a lot of balance in the views, experiences and tips here because we cover such a range of the different onsets and progressions.

Maybe you can find one of these trailers second hand, and then if you had to change to a van later, you could sell one car and the trailer and get a decent second hand van. It's good to think of the short and long term planning now and see how many options you really may have.

My Chris wouldn't even use his PWC much, and we had 2 different ones, firstly joystick, then a chin control. So if I took him out it was transfer into the car, then a manual wheelchair with roho, sheepskin and several pillows for support and limb placement. He was also rapid progression, so we were simply running to keep up every week as he literally showed daily changes, and weekly leaps in loss of function.
 
Buckhorn, I'll just tell you what I experienced.

Before we got the van, we fell out of the car. We fell into the car. I lived in fear of dropping my PALS. It was very demoralizing to her, to be crumpled on the floor in a parking lot while we tried to figure out a way to lift her up.

Once we got the van, Krissy actually had fun zipping her PWC up the ramp, around in a semicircle, and zooming her chair into the automatic locking device in the front of the van. We enjoyed trips out.

Because we had the van for only a short time (months not years) we could have sold it for full price. (In reality, I sold it for half-price, hoping to benefit another PALS.)

Your choice, of course, but we preferred the van.
 
My late sister was tiny and her husband is strong but as Tillie said neck and torso weakness became such an issue she could not possibly have traveled in a normal car seat. Even if you reclined the seat she would not have been able to be positioned to support everything properly
It is of course possible you may not see that stage but in my sister it lasted well over a year
 
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Buckhorn, let me share my experience. Last year we made a trip from NC to Colorado in our pickup truck towing an enclosed trailer. Hubby loves to hunt, so we took two chairs, the shower chair, the lift, a cart full of his supplies and equipment, and the electric chair lift to put onto the back of the truck once we unhooked the trailer--you get the picture. He was just able to stand for a few seconds to pivot and get into the truck. It took five days to get there and five days back, plus 10 days for the visit.

I would never do it again. I'm glad that I did it for him, but I was beat. Loading, unloading...I don't know how I did it. He could not get into the truck nor could he sit in the seat this year, but he wants to go again, so his brother will drive the truck and pull the trailer and we will use the van.

His plan later this year is to trade the van in on one that can pull the trailer (the minivans have the floors cut out and towing is not recommended).

Seriously, I threatened more than once to put him in the back of that trailer in his chair.

Oh, hubby and his brother did put the PWC on the garden trailer once to go pick up a piece of furniture. It was strapped in and covered, but still came back minus one of the calf pads. Grrrrr.

Just know that if you go with the trailer it's a short term solution, and you are going to need a van eventually.

Becky
 
Thank you for your input. I can now see the positive aspects of a van. I will tell my niece to hold onto the one they have (I will need to go over to her house and actually see what it can do, etc. - I am wondering if is an "official" w/c van, with a lift and lock-down apparatus). It was used for her husband who was a morbidly obese, amputee with limited use of his legs, but he had trunk and arm control/strength. Like I mentioned, I am thinking of the idea of a trailer only if my husband maintains some function, as I would not be willing to risk his body and morale by attempting to flop him into a vehicle.
 
Since you have the option of getting a van this might not help, but I have been looking at the hitch lifts. There are some that can hold up to 500 lbs. I've been told my powerchair(that will arrive this week) weighs 400lbs. I'm not in a place where I can afford a van so I've been looking at other options. If you could pull a trailer the hitch lift may work for you. They seem to be reasonably priced around $3-600 depending on certain features.
 
Grace, the hitch lift has the same limitation of the PALS needing to be able to transfer into the vehicle.

We started with a hitch lift on our truck, and it worked while hubby could stand and pivot and pull himself into the truck. It was supposedly matched to the truck and chair, but the weight destroyed both back struts. We've replaced them and had custom springs put on the back to handle the weight, but I don't see us using it much if at all anymore.

Nothing is easy...
 
Before I was diagnosed, I was using a scooter with a lift on the back of my car. However, I was no longer able to walk to the back of my car to unload the scooter. Just switched to a van and if makes life do much easier!
 
I can't even imagine how much a wheelchair van with a ramp or lift and "lock-in" mechanism may cost ....? We are comfortable, but not rich. Like I said, I would not risk doing the "clean and jerk" with my husband, and I do understand that at sometime he will lose trunk and neck control - but, isn't it quite likely that by that stage my husband will be pretty much confined to our home? Maybe I flatter myself that I can/could be quite inventive in adaptive equipment use to support him in a car front seat in a reclined position. Wouldn't the same issues (lack of neck control/support) also be present in a w/c? I mean, I have seen literally dozens of types of w/c's in my occupation, lots of "add on" equipment as disabilities progress, & many adaptice devices used for high level quadriplegics. I have seen videos of advanced stage ALS patients who require their heads to be essentially secured to a headrest. I am not trying to be argumentative here, but just realistically thinking that a w/c van would be a HUGE expense that may only be used for a short period of time. I am not talking from experience like a lot of you who have responded, so I am not ruling out anything that you have said. (Grace, I have seen hitch lifts, and they are an interesting option too, albeit with the same limitations as a trailer as Nuts has said. I'm also not sure how heavy of a vehicle is required to safely utilize a hitch lift).
 
Check out mobility dealers with used vans. It sounds like that will be the safest longterm option for you. The visual I got from your description was granny in her rocking chair from the Beverly Hillbillies. Made me laugh to think of eye goggles, hats, layers of clothes etc.
 
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In her wheel chair with headrest , recline function and leg support my sister was able to get out until the very end. Reclining just the back in a car seat is completely different than a wheelchair with recline/ tilt that maintains the seated angle in my opinion and observation. Add to that transfers are not just hard on the caregiver they are tiring to PALS too. Check with ALSA and the MDA my sister got a lead on a van from her ALSA chapter. A widow of a PALS was selling her van at a reasonable price. If you can't afford a van you can't but really explore it before deciding. My brother in law did not believe my sister would ever not be transferring to a car seat at the beginning either but it happened.
 
I sold our van for a reasonable price. They had a buyer 2 days larer.
 
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