15 replies to this topic

[ctom3]

My husband is T10 complete about 6 months ago. We love to camp in a tent, so is this something we will still be able to do?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm new to this, scared and nervous.

[hurbshankin]

ctom3, on Mar 9 2009, 12:02 PM, said:

My husband is T10 complete about 6 months ago. We love to camp in a tent, so is this something we will still be able to do?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm new to this, scared and nervous.

Sure, it's just gonna take a whole lot more effort/planning.

Hurb

[pikey]

I am a T4 complete, and have been under canvas lots of times. I have been to some camp sites that have very little in the way of disabled facilities apart from a toilet, I take lots of baby wipes to keep myself clean. I now tend to go to the more upmarket sites with proper disabled facilities.

Always give sites a call and ask them about their disabled access and what the shower block is like. If your partner needs help showering a separate disabled shower block is a must.

I would advice taking along a box or stool (half the hight of the wheelchair) that will help transfers from the floor, it is hard work first thing in the morning getting mobile.

Have great fun.

PM me if I can be of any more help.

[Izziwhizzi]

where are you based? I'm a C6 complete and have camped under canvas for 25+ years.

At the end of the day it depends on the care level you require and how much care you have available to you.

I need a high level of care, can't do anything for myself on a camp site, and my hubby manages me and our 2 kids - last year they were 5 and 8 and we spent 4 weeks on a beach. Bikes, roller blades, scooters, swimming, kites, sand castles - the lot. My hubby roller blades whilst pushing me - something we learn't to do years ago on the beach walks in LA and Santa Barbara. Needless to say my hair was washed with a bucket of water over my head on a beach bed, I toileted on a bed, and I didn't have a shower over the entire 4 weeks as I didn't take a shower chair with me. If I'd been able to transfer onto a toilet then I would of been OK to have a shower.

And of course you need a good bed with a good mattress. Some of those uber skinny, less than 10 stone paras, can manage with a therma rest mattress on the floor. I have a camp bed with a 4" mattress.

Camping is magic - don't give up on it!!

I xx

[ems]

oooo this is my favourite topic!!!!! k.. gonna go find all my previous postings ;)

bbiab.....

[twisted_ophelia]

Tell him to get himself a good pair of knobby/all terrain tires or wheelset for the rough terrain. Going camping with everyday tires would be a lot more of a struggle to get around than it would be with knobbies on his chair. I haven't gone camping since I was a kid! I used to go every summer back then and I loved it. One of these days I'll get around to going again.

[qman]

Absolutely, camping is fine.
Certainly easier if he has is floor to chair transfers nailed.

I have even abandoned my wheels for a couple of nights away sea kayaking and camping. Its sort of liberating and sort of a pain in the butt.

but go nuts there is nothing stopping you from camping particularly from a car.

We got a cheap folding deck chair and cut a whole in it for a make shift camping toilet seat and it works treat.

have fun.

check out our adventures at www.quentinsmith.co.nz

[AndrewB]

Keeping your hands clean for catheters is the most difficult task of camping for me, you need lots of fresh water and hand sanitizer, and you need to go to a place with a toilet, as you cant just walk out into the woods and take a shit anymore. Just plan ahead and everything should be fine.

[wheelywendy]

sure camping will be quite hard work, but also a lot of fun, i love camping, i've camped with our girlguide units several times since my injury and also a coulpe of times at dog agility shows, do check out the facilities well before going though, i took a standard cartridge chemical toilet and my carers husband (whos a scout leader) made me a framework to assist me transfer (was bit wary at first but it was very sturdy and stable) , i also took a shower seat that folds down and packs into a bag to make life a little easier, I use a camp bed http://www.completeo...minium-Camp-Bed but i also put a memory foam bed topper on top of it for extra comfort, these beds are pretty stable and dont tend to tip when you sit on the edge to transfer. beware of using sunbeds etc theyre leathal and tip or fold up when you try to transfer. take plenty of antibac hand gel with you and plenty of wet wipes for between showering ,
go for it and have a great time

[blueskydi]

i'm a newbie to this site, so i'm not sure if this is appropriate, but our group designed an accessible tent and licensed the design to Eureka (in the US).

it's called the Freedom tent, and you can check it out on our website
http://blueskydesign...freedomtent.htm

before i got into rehab engineering, i was a naturalist and took groups camping and canoeing...

Di

[ems]

I have GoLite Hex3, tent weighs in at 787 grams, it takes two people and two wheelchairs and the dog, its supposed to take three ppl without the wheelchairs!! I'm not a heavy packer when it comes to anything away from home, so this is my frist choice of tent where ever I go. The Silnylon has lasted yrs, I've not torn it atall, and even lasdt yr in devon, 12 hours of heavy rain, no leaks, no condensation, was fab, and that tent is years old!
My second tent, weighing 674 grams, is a black diamond mega light 4 person tent. Its a teepee design again, well its more of a pyramid design, as it has a square shaped base. Both pack up absolutely tiny, I never take a pole as a stck is always around, or I can hang them under a tree etc. A goretex bivvy bag would weigh the same, but I get 59 square feet!
I have another teepee, but its just a two season one. Its an 8 man Orla Keily tent, funky fabric, I only bought it for the fabric, and just to have a cheap sort of storage place and lounge if we are going away with others, can put three handbikes in it a couple of normal bikes, and food etc, and everyones stuff, so its quite usefull!

I've had loads of tents over the last 15 yrs, I did adventure racing for a while before my accident, some climbing and canoeing, and the hex3 and all my ultralight gear was collected then, and a few more bits since, it was all just marvelous for it all. My pack size then for a summer season weekend not including water was 7 kilos. My pack size now has grown slighlty but only by a kilo.

I have 2 thermarests, one long one short ultralight, so it depends where Im going and the time of year as to which I use. I have three sleeping bags, one winter RAB down bag, one winter syntetic RAB bag and a RAB topbag, all no zips etc. I have two sets of kitchens, one for myself, and a friend, or the family camping set. my set with titanium stove, spooks etc weighs 275 grams. the family camping set which includes a 2 burner unleaded fuel stove weighs in at 8 kilos with the picnic set etc.

Even being paraplegic, I can still cope with the ultralight camping/touring, doing anything differntly from normal, you have to be careful. Nothing on my gear list has actually changed that much, apart from toolkits and puncture repair kits and a solar charger etc!!

I've toured by myself with my handcycle towing my chair with my pack on top of that. It can be done, its reletively easy, I'ts not quite the same as what I used to do, I cant get to all the places I'd like to get to, but thats life, I'm happy with what I've got, and what I can do.

I prepare all my foods before I go, everything is listed on spreadsheets. Allcalorific contents, fat protein etc. I make all the foods myself and dehydrate all the meals using a dehydrator. Add water on the go for a breakfast lunch or dinner. And yes, I have a tooth brush cut in half ;)

[gbux512]

Hey. I'm a t6, and I'm 23. Before my accident I was a forest ranger so I',m very capable in the woods. I've been out of rehab for a year and I've been camping a few times since the winter has gone away. I go to a local campground. It is not one of those im going camping with the kids camp grounds, its like drive into the woods, pick a spot which is no where near anyone else, and camp fairly close to the car. There is a handicap bathroom, which is disgusting but it works. I bought a cot to sleep on, and it just happened to work out the tent i used to have works almost perfectly for me. We have a good system, I setup whatever i can in the camp, the chairs, set up my cot, i unpack ll our other stuff, i make the fire, i cook the food, i sweep up the main area. I enslave my brother for firewood and help with tents or w/e else. Ill bring baby wipes with that anti bacterial stuff in them for my hands. watch for areas with lots of pine needles cause u will have very sappy hands. Its a lot of fun getting back into the woods though.

[wheeliebear75]

I would suggest very strongly getting a good thick air mattress......can't feel those rocks & twigs till they've left their mark. Along with bringing a stool of 1/2 the height of the chair & baby wipes is a tarp......if you guys have a rain & have to seek shelter in the tent that's fine for you but if a tarp can be tossed over the chair so it doesn't get soaked......wet upholstery and/or cushion can be a recipe for getting soars. Have fun & enjoy.

[Patd]

I've been camping several times this year already and get around as a quad with little need for help. We've been catching a lot of trout, hiking and making smores. The kids love it! But without a FreeWheel, I wouldn't like it!

Pat

www.gofreewheel.com

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[shawzfun]

We just recently began camping. I love it. We have a van and the back seat folds down into a bed. I sleep in the bed and my husband sleeps on a pallet of blankets on the floor. My chair is left outside the door. We leave the door open. Its definately harder but so very worth it...
I Camping....

ShAwNa

[teaser]

We're off camping next week - pal is c5+ish incomplete-ish... have bought hugest tent i have ever seen (Coleman Matrix X6) and a blow-up sofa/bed.

we'll be on a site but no electricity and accessible toilet/shower is a wee bit away. car also will be parked well away from the tent.

grateful for any suggestions especially as floor to chair transfers haven't really been tried by us - planning on taking a stool so we can go from floor to stool to wheels. liked the suggestion about cutting out a hole in a deckchair for emergency loo (over a bucket i presume!) so will do that as have used deckchair successfully as shower chair on holidays. all other tips most welcome

cheers

Teaser