When I was coming out of the store a few days ago I saw a car with what looked like one of those Thule roof carriers. I saw that it was open and it looked like something was falling out of it. As I watched for a moment, I noticed that a folding wheelchair was coming out of it and was being lowered for the driver to get into. I didn’t talk to the person, but it was kind of interesting to watch.
A tiny bit of searching shows it’s called a Chair Topper, and it looks like it’s been around for quite some time already.
I know we get questions now and then about people wanting to transport a relative’s wheelchair, and thought I’d let you guys know about this, so we can direct them to their site should the question come up again(sticky maybe?).
I’d never seen or heard of this thing before, but it seems like a great solution for those who are bound by a wheelchair but want freedom to go places by themselves. http://www.braunability.com/abilityvoice/index.php/2008/10/chair-topper-a-car-top-carrier-for-standard-folding-wheelchairs/
Well thats interesting. Never seen that before. When the wife broke her leg, I just put the wheelchair in the trunk. Still there if anyone needs one. Problem is that theres no room for anything else.
yeah, a guy who s son I coached had one and he ran around everywhere, it seemed relatively easy for him. he drove and the chair would come down beside him and off he d go
I’ve never heard of this before. It’s fantastic. I imagine it would also allow the owner to invest once in the system and not have to pay big money for a van every so many years and more big money to have modified. This system looks like it could open their vehicle options up and significantly reduce all but the initial conversion cost… and perhaps even that.
I love it, and I think you sincerely for spreading the word.
I’ve only seen it once but there was a later model chevy 1/2 ton 4x4 with a wheelchair lift on the passenger side, from what i remember the side doors slid out as part of the lift and the the wheelchair could be lowered to the ground Mostly see converted minivans so it was quite a sight.
Here’s the company’s website with a Youtube video on the homepage http://www.mobilitysvm.com/
@bscar2, thanks for sharing this. What a creative solution! I’m not going to sticky it, but I did bookmark it in case the issue comes up again. If there are other things you think are worth keeping, let me know.
We have often had to tackle solutions for those who found themselves in this situation of wheelchair accessibility. It’s great to have other options then " buy a minivan" as a real expensive choice. Good post @bscar2 .
I recently saw a four door Chevrolet pickup that had the front and rear driver’s side doors welded together and attached to rails with a wheel chair lift incorporated so that the driver was sitting in his wheel chair and moved the chair lift and the entire side of the truck out far enough that the chair was lowered to the ground. At first it appeared to me that the doors were opening ‘gull wing’ style.
I knew if I didn’t post about it now, I’d probably forget about it when the question comes up again.
You have to fill out some personal info before they can give you a quote for a unit, but I imagine it’d be a lot cheaper than buying an already modified vehicle.
Cheaper? Maybe. But not as convenient as the Topper.
From the way I read it, if the person kept the chair, but needed a new vehicle, all they’d have to do is have the company come out, measure the new car and make a new bracket for it. THAT would be a lot cheaper than having to buy a new vehicle and modify it or buy an already modified vehicle