Projects Wheelchair accessible panel truck vehicle choice

There's a 48 to 51 ford railroad truck close to my shop it looks like a box van it's cool but the tornado front axle slammed and air bagged would be the only way to get it down There were a lot of custom bodied trucks built for the rail roads and phone company's

 

depending on the size of the truck it shouldn't be too hard to install a fwd clip and there is a lot more room under the hood of older trucks than newer cars.it's something that been in the back of my head for a long time.

 

wchamb, I know of a man who is a quadraplegic, he had a '53 Chev panel with an automatic rear door opener and wheelchair lift. It was his summer daily driver, he put thousands of miles on it, went on long distance rod runs, etc. The truck was fitted with hand controls and an arrangement that latched his wheelchair in the driver's position. I met him when he brought the truck into the rod shop in Toronto where I was working at the time, for some upgrades. That was seven or eight years ago now, and I don't remember much in the way of details, but if you're interested in knowing more shoot me a pm and I'll see if I can put you in touch with the owner and the people who built the truck.

 

Saw this on the Los Angeles Craigslist. .

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/pts/4339735506.html

Sent from cPRO craigslist Client for Android
https://market.android.com/details?id=craigs.pro.plus

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

I wonder if the Corvair ramp side pickup ramp would bolt right on? Seems feasible it might.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

a friend has a lift like that on his van but not as tall as the ramp part folds up to hold the chair as it lifts, when the chair is rolled into the van the extension continues to fold until it's all the way up to closed position he's installing and elevator seat for his girl friend who is also handicapped the seat extends to the out of the van the person gets on and is lifted to the p***engers position he's waiting for it as it takes 6 months to get it our tax dollars at work it's a good thing as they are mobile and not shut ins

 

I hope you find something sadsack

 

Thanks for all the ideas and encouragement. I plan to spend the next few weeks getting acquainted with the builders in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I think some of the decisions about how to proceed might depend on what the builder is comfortable attempting. I hope to go to the Good Guys show in a couple of weeks and get some ideas there.

 

What do you think of this as an option? Go to a sedan year model early enough that all the pillars are essentially vertical, and raising the roof a few inches to get more headroom.

 

It's been a while since I've been here. Got a little distracted by work. Somebody mentioned a Divco earlier. I've seen some of those that look pretty good. Are there many Divco owners here? Any comments on whether or not a Divco is a good choice?

 

Not a bad choice, I don't own one but I was just looking at one recently. The floors flat in the back, you'll probably have to remove the doors between the front and back. The fold away seats in the front will help, since the floors pretty much flat. The only problem I foresee is if I remember right, the front floor is lower than the rear floor. Not insurmountable, but a problem that will have to be addressed......maybe raise the front floor? The front doors slide back, but I don't think they are wide enough to fit a wheelchair through, so your primary access will have to be from the back. You could mount a grab handle outside the door to swing out in an emergency (wreck, fire, etc). A small block Chevy fits just fine, the original continental engine would probably be pretty anemic for current traffic. You might wanna newer rear end as well.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Just went back and read the first page, the 15" floor height is gonna be pretty tough without a full custom ch***is, because the body sits on top of the ch***is to allow the flat floor.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!