One main disadvantage with having a power wheelchair vs. a manual one is that you can't just fold it up and throw it in the trunk and go somewhere. It requires a van or an SUV with some sort of lift because they weigh at least 300 pounds all by themselves. There are a variety of options.
My "brilliant" plan was to trade in both of our cars on a minivan that has been converted. My reasoning was that the trade-in value of the 2 vehicles + $1000 down payment - the amount that I still owe on my car would equal monthly payments on the van that were no more than $300 per month. My car cost me $17,000. It is the most expensive car I've ever owned. Conversion vans (ten years old) are at least $24K, and can easily be $50K. I don't want to buy something more expensive than we can safely afford.
The real problem is that you can't buy wheelchair vans at a car dealership. You buy them at a wheelchair lift dealer. They are all about the lift, not the condition of the van that was traded in by the family of someone who died and didn't need it any more (read: not well maintained). Many lift van dealers are internet national companies that will ship your vehicle to you from wherever. Remember the last time you bought a car? I want to see it, touch it, smell it, drive it and make sure it's been maintained. I am very uncomfortable shelling out over $24K for anything sight unseen. The local place will let you drive one that's similar, but that's not the same thing as kicking the tires of the real one. Then, I have to take it to a car dealership to have the mechanic check it over to see if it is worth the amount that the lift dealer is charging. I don't have a relationship with the car dealers in Omaha. I did in Bellevue. (There will be a separate post about the Omaha/Bellevue thing.)
The rest of "the plan" was that we would put the new van in both of our names, since I'm expected to die in a few years, so that Joe would already be half owner and that would be less of a problem. (That's my theory. I don't actually know if that's the case.) I would make payments on it, but he would drive it, and I would ride in my wheelchair. Once we get the van, I would no longer drive.
The problem stems from the fact that we are not actually sure what kind of van/ramp/lift/SUV we really want. I am still able to drive on good days in dry weather (I am no longer safe to drive in dark, rain, snow or ice.) Moreover, Joe really loves his Honda, and with good reason - it's a great vehicle. It's given him ten years and 150,000 miles of great service. It has 4-wheel drive. (Minivans have front wheel drive.) It handles great in all kinds of weather. It gets reasonable gas mileage. It has a huge cargo area. But, do we really want to have a lift attached to it that might cost more than the value of the vehicle? How many more years will this Honda continue to give good service before the maintenance repairs start to exceed the value of the truck? My Subaru wagon will not be able to handle the lift.
Other considerations: a lift on the back of an SUV calls for me getting out of the chair, getting into the passenger seat, Joe driving the chair around to the back of the truck and either using a winch to lift it into the truck, or parking it on one of those rear-mounted platforms. With a conversion van, I would drive the chair into the van and Joe would secure me with straps and go. CBD, like ALS, is progressive. Just because I can do the above scenario now, doesn't mean that I will be able to next year. We need to plan for the worst case scenario. We know what it is. I won't be able to walk, and Joe won't be able to lift me.
It looks like everything is on hold until the spring. I have been able to drive my chair to the doctor and to Target. Yesterday, I took it out in the snow. I tracks well in an inch of snow, but now my wheels are muddy, and we have light colored carpet. I didn't even get to the store because the sidewalks are tore up for sewer maintenance. I don't like to use their electric carts at Target because they are crap, and have three times died and stranded me in the middle of the store, and then I have to walk back to the front. It looks like I'll be staying in for the rest of the winter. It's not fair to Joe to have to push me in the Transport wheelchair through snow. It's hard enough to push my fat self on dry pavement. I looked online for the Moby Van information. Their application is 22 PAGES LONG! And, I have to get it signed off by the doctor certifying that I really am disabled, and that I didn't just buy this wheelchair to get cheaper door-to-door taxi service. I printed it out. I'll get to work on it this week.
So, we wait for Divine Inspiration. All things happen when they are supposed to. Apparently, it's just not time, yet. When the time is right, I will know it. I always do. *sigh*
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