13 replies to this topic

[bunkalar]

I am a C6/7 quadriplegic, standing up I am 6'5" tall and I have size 15 feet. I am frustrated because I think that my size makes things like bed mobility and transferring quite a bit more difficult. Also, I am having trouble finding a van to drive because of my height. Just wondering if there are any quads or paras that are around my height or taller that share my frustrations.

[n0f34r]

yah im 6'2 and still growing cuz im almost 17 years old it kinda does make some harder

[percepied]

Agree. Even as a para I still struggle with transfers and wheelchair mobility. Continuing spinal breakdown is my main health problem which I contribute to my length and my tendency to slump. 6 feet 4 inches -- if I could stand.

You might ask Mike Utley how he has dealt with mobility as a 6' 5" quad, http://www.mikeutley.org/

[RYAN68]

Ya i'm 6'4 too, I only got size 11 shoes though. But it was a pain in the butt trying to find a vehicle to drive. Before my injury I drove a big F250 truck, after my injury, i drove my brothers ford ranger, and my knees kept hitting the steering wheel no matter what, so i had to get a full size truck..so I got another big F250

it also is a pain with bed mobility and that and my w/c is pretty good size too..oh well

[icarus_melt76]

One of the shorter here at 6'2". My 'length' problems started with the dreaded Stryker Frame being too short, then hospital beds...kept breaking foot boards with spasms and most of all for me ....the wheelchairs. Without having the chair so high that getting under tables was fini, the foot rests along with leg rests continually being bent because of almost zero floor/ground clearance. For driving, I crossed my lower legs with an old throw cushion for padding. Alternative would be to remove gas 'n brake pedals. As for helping you....can only say we have a greater reach! Good luck.

p.s. always wondered what basketball types do

[Monty76]

My Fiance is 6'2. and im about 5'4, he is just my big teddy bear...i do all of his care and i dont have any problem with his height..except there have been a few times when ill be putting his pants on and he'll knee me in the lip...but i get over it... no prob with transfers, or turning him, we dont have a footboard, he wears boots at night, he wears a size 13 shoe....like i said though hes just my big teddy bear..the bigger the better!!!!

[bunkalar]

There's got to be a quadriplegic out there that's like 6 foot 10. It would be very interesting to see how he manages.

[Captain Pike]

Yeah, bunk, I can relate:
I was 6 foot two before I wound up sort of sitting down permanently. What kind of bums me out is that I can't fit easily into all those cool minivans they have now days. A Volvo makes a cool one, hell, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon these days. I guess for around 45,000, you can get a nice SUV that, with one click of your remote while heading down the ramp, will open up the doors, lower the vehicle and start lowering your ramp down, oh, not to mention start the vehicle.

I get around in a E 250 conversion van, because, according to the specs, it's the only thing that would accommodate me without my significantly ducking my head down.
Sometimes, I think the adaptive equipment people come sniffing around the hospital when someone breaks his neck -- kind of like the undertaker making nice over at the nursing home. Looking for green prospects. Looking back now, I wish I had reviewed the options a little more before spending all the money I had on a gas guzzler.

But here's an idea for you: you can be hoyered directly into the passenger seat of a nice convertible!

[sandyrun]

Captain Pike, on Feb 5 2007, 08:37 PM, said:

But here's an idea for you: you can be hoyered directly into the passenger seat of a nice convertible!

Yes, Capt. I saw that beautiful red convertible!!!! Made me think of the Beatles' song I heard tonight.....Baby You Can Drive My Car!!!

[snappy]

My partners 6 4" . every vehicle he was in he had a grand view of the ceiling. We converted a Renault Master had the windows raised and now he can actually see where he's going.

[RYAN68]

Captain Pike, on Feb 5 2007, 05:37 PM, said:

Yeah, bunk, I can relate:
I was 6 foot two before I wound up sort of sitting down permanently. What kind of bums me out is that I can't fit easily into all those cool minivans they have now days. A Volvo makes a cool one, hell, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon these days. I guess for around 45,000, you can get a nice SUV that, with one click of your remote while heading down the ramp, will open up the doors, lower the vehicle and start lowering your ramp down, oh, not to mention start the vehicle.

I get around in a E 250 conversion van, because, according to the specs, it's the only thing that would accommodate me without my significantly ducking my head down.
Sometimes, I think the adaptive equipment people come sniffing around the hospital when someone breaks his neck -- kind of like the undertaker making nice over at the nursing home. Looking for green prospects. Looking back now, I wish I had reviewed the options a little more before spending all the money I had on a gas guzzler.

But here's an idea for you: you can be hoyered directly into the passenger seat of a nice convertible!

Should of bought the diesel I almost bought a E250 that was completely modded out, it would run a 13 second 1/4 mile on diesel fuel but I bought a diesel truck instead

[Juggalette720]

Holy cow you are tall!! Well maybe it's because I'm short. I'm only 5'1" yeah I'm short I know. But my brother is 6'1" He's a big guy (not fat he's in awsome shape!!) Grrrrrrr. Well I think his shoe's are size.......11 or 12 I dont know one of them but yeah he's awsome I love him!

[ryan Kruse]

I'm only 6'1" but have the same problems. Well, not so much beds though. Anyway, I'm still in my 10 year old Quicke P300 (you know the ones with the big back wheels) because my new Quickie P6?? with the tilt sits me too high to drive. It's not the ground to knee height its the hard back that makes me sit straight up. My P300 has the sling back and "conformed" to me. I've had my new one for almost a year and it just sits there.

I have a 2004 Pontiac Montana with a 12" lowered floor where my sightline is near perfect in my P300. In my P6?? my head is only around 2" from the roof and I can see the front of my van. This is good to see but uncomfortable to drive any kind of distance.

The P6?? also puts my feet way forward so I had longer straps for my leg rest made so I can scoot them back a couple of inches. I also had taller poles made for the straps so the strap sits higher on the back of my feet allowing them to sit even farther back. The back of my shoes do rub the wheels a bit when I turn though but it allowed me to stay where I was seated while driving. Before that my foot was very close to the accelerator and I had a fear of a spasm going off causing my foot to push against the peddle. That wouldn't be good.

Since my P300 is starting to show its age I am halfway tempted to replace that hard-ass back replaced with a sling back. This would help with comfort plus sit me farther back in the chair bringing my seat to head height a little bit lower too since the seat sits lower in the back.

The problem with this though is the tilt. At least that's what the wheelchair fixer-upper tells me. She said it wouldn't support me. Huh??? I only weigh 150 wet! I'm about to buy one myself and have someone else put it on. If it brakes which I doubt and I land straight on my back it'll be my own damn fault but we have to be comfortable.

I also have the footplates as low as they can go so my knees are not in my chest. They scrape when I go up a ramp that is more then the standard grade like my ramp into my van and also they snag the tie down box. So I have to tilt back drive forward then lower again. I can tell these won’t last long. Who designs these things?

Vans for tall people? I suggest Ahnafield Corporation in Indianapolis. They do the full size vans along with the Chevy Astro with up to 18” lowered floors. Great workman ship and fantastic customer service. They did my 93’ Astro along with my Montana. The Montana only goes as low as 12”. They are tall people too so they understand our plight. They had to put steering column extenders on both my vans so I can sit more naturally without my feet touching or even close enough to cause problems.

[kiwiquad]

Personally, somedays I could easily opt for no legs & I'm only 5 /10".
Just thought Id put a cpl of pic's of my van up, which I have loads of head room.
It's a Kia Carnival NZ$34k to buy & NZ$46k to convert.
BTW...We drive on the right over here.

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