Finding Hugo: Our Wheelchair Accessible Van

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Eighteen weeks without a vehicle parked in our garage was a constant reminder of our quest for independent transportation. Robert’s struggle to get into a sedan, SUV, and wagon made it clear that our next vehicle would be a Wheelchair Accessible Van (WAV)—one he could enter riding his scooter up a ramp.

Our seven trips to three different WAV dealers took us from 20 miles to 125 miles from home. We considered the Chevrolet Traverse, Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Odyssey, and settled on a 2020 Toyota Sienna. In addition to sales spiels, we paid attention to consumer reports and conferred with little people in the “LP Adaptations” Facebook group. And we prayed for God’s direction.

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Given the technology needed to customize a WAV to our driver and passenger needs, one dealer would only sell to us if a Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist (CDRS) gave a thumbs up on the primary safety questions:

Pedal extensions or hand controls?
Seat cushions, power adjustable height driver seat, or both?
Remove and replace the existing steering wheel or add an extension?

But after waiting three weeks for this driver evaluation, the CDRS erected a major road block.

Although I had driven with pedal extensions for 50 years and most little people I consulted use extensions on their WAV, the CDRS recommended hand controls. She rejected a seat back cushion and proposed modifying the driver’s seat depth. Her idea of replacing the steering wheel with a smaller wheel meant relocating the controls on the original wheel. She gave no cost estimate for any of these “safety” changes. But clearly such customizations would add insane expense to an already costly purchase. And when we rejected the CDRS evaluation, the dealer discontinued any effort to sell us a WAV.

As with any road block, God showed us the detour that got us back on the road to WAV ownership. My online query to a dealer in Fort Myers, Florida was answered the same day and was quickly followed with an offer to send a driver to transport us free of charge from Stuart to their location. And in a surprising twist, the dealer representative wore two hats: sales and DRS credentials. Her knowledge of mobility technology squelched any safety concerns about driving with pedal extensions or a back rest seat cushion strapped in place. She retained the existing steering wheel and attached an extension in the front. Thus no modifications to the seat depth or steering wheel controls were needed. Both CDRSs recommended an adjustable height transfer seat, but only one found a vehicle that fit two scooters.

In a perfect world Hugo would not have cost more than the starter home we bought 35 years ago! Plus we would never have bought a vehicle with a fuel cap above my head. But God gave us a miracle when He steered us to Auto Express South in Fort Myers, https://www.autoexpresssouth.com. Thanks to team Yasmin, Tom, Cris and Eddie. You all are the best!

14 replies on “Finding Hugo: Our Wheelchair Accessible Van”

I am so very glad you found Hugo ! It is truly an answer to months of prayer. God is good. And now you have your mobility back, “Hooray”
Blessings to you. K

So glad you found someone who understood and took the time to truly work with your needs! The price of cars is outrageous right now, can only imagine what your adaptations added to that. What a blessing to be independent again!

So happy for you and Robert to finally have transportation again!

Thank goodness you are both extremely determined people! It’s great to know about the resources you used in your car search as I sometimes get asked questions that are totally out of my area of experience just because I’m a doctor.

So glad all your efforts paid off, Angela. It must be a big relief to be mobile again. Incidentally, where is the petrol cap on Hugo?

The petrol (gas) cap is above my head! It was out of reach on all the WAVs we looked at. So I’ll either need to bring a friend with me to the gas station, ask a stranger, or go to a full service station (I’m not aware of any where we live). Some stations have a button you can press for help, but whenever I’ve used the button in the past it’s very rare to get an answer. Typically stations are not sufficiently staffed to send someone outside.