The
RV lifestyle really is for everyone.
(The most obvious modification to the Tessier's Sunline travel
trailer is the enlarged front door which accommodates an electric
wheelchair lift. John and Tom demonstrate its operation for
Sunline's Carl Kern (left) and Mobilife RV's Kerry Williston
(right).)
RVing
is sometimes referred to as living life on wheels. After all,
the mobility afforded by an RV allows us to travel almost anywhere,
and see far more of the country than we ever could from 30,000
feet. Perhaps no one appreciates this more than John Tessier,
of Chatham, Ontario. John lives life on wheels alright. A few
years ago he was involved in a serious car accident that left
him a quadriplegic. Yet being confined to a wheelchair doesn’t
preclude him from enjoying the RV lifestyle.
“Our family has always enjoyed the outdoors,” explains
John’s father, Tom. “After John’s accident
we just wanted to get back to a normal life and our RV has facilitated
that. We still enjoy exploring and travelling all over, which
with John’s special needs, would be extremely difficult
to do any other way.”
The Tessier’s RV is a Sunline Solaris travel trailer that’s
been modified to accommodate John’s motorized wheelchair.
The most obvious change is the extra-wide front door that opens
to reveal an electric chair lift.
“There was quite a bit of discussion back and forth between
the Tessier’s, their dealer, Mobilife, and ourselves as
we determined what modifications would have to be made to the
unit,” says Carl Kern, custom option design manager for
Sunline Coach. “The larger front door to accommodate the
chair lift took some coordination since Mr. Tessier purchased
the lift from one supplier and we built the door around the
dimensions we were provided. But it worked out well and it all
fits like a glove.”
(For more information on making your RV wheelchair-accessible,
contact the Handicapped Travel Club at 714-524-2700 or visit
www.handicappedtravelclub.com)
With the problem of getting in and out solved, the focus switched
to getting around inside the trailer. Interior passages had
to be wide enough to accommodate John’s chair and provide
enough room for him to turn around. The standard front bedroom
was replaced with a specially-made bed with an overhead lift,
and the shower was enlarged and redesigned to provide roll-in
access.
“The modifications didn’t add a lot of weight in
the end,” says Kerry Williston, general manager of Mobilife
RV, who coordinated the project. “It was more a matter
of moving things around and reconfiguring the interior layout
a bit. Sunline did a great job building the RV, we didn’t
have any real problems installing the additional hardware and
the Tessier’s love the finished product, which is what
matters most of all.” (Page
Top)
While having a trailer specially-built right from the factory
might represent a perfect scenario, it is also possible to modify
an existing RV to allow wheelchair access. That’s what
Harvey Krotz Ford RV Center in Listowel, Ontario, did recently
for one of its customers.
“We have a wheelchair-bound client who is a competitive
target shooter,” says general manager Greg Skinner. “This
gentleman purchased a 26-foot Trail Cruiser travel trailer and
we modified it so he could use it for camping with his family
and as a home base when he goes to shooting events. It took
us about a week-and-a-half to make the trailer wheelchair-accessible.”
Rather than fit a pre-manufactured chair lift, Skinner widened
the unit’s standard 26-inch door to 34 inches and custom-built
a fully articulated lift to fit, using a pair of power jacks
from a truck camper. The dinette table was trimmed back to provide
more interior clearance, and the bathroom completely rebuilt
to allow room for the gentleman’s chair. Technicians replaced
the tub/shower with a new, low profile shower pan with a bench
and grab handles, removed a vanity, repositioned the toilet
and relocated all of the associated plumbing fixtures. Some
electrical switches in the trailer, such as the one to open
and close the slideout, had to be repositioned as well.
“Otherwise, it remains a stock unit,” says Skinner.
“And what counts is that the gentleman loves it.”
With all the comforts and conveniences of home, RVs allow everyone
to travel. RVing has always been about freedom, and that includes
freedom from barriers.
For more information:
Sunline Coach, 245 S. Muddy Creek Rd., Denver, PA (717) 336-6406,
www.sunlinerv.com
Mobilife RV Centre, 4166 King St. E., Kitchener, ON (800) 563-4507,
www.mobilife.on.ca
Harvey Krotz RV, 1199 Wallace Ave. N., Listowel, ON (800) 337-9545,
www.hkrv.com
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