[Tonyc5/6]

Does any one have or know of anyone that has or had had a full sized GMC or Chevy van where it had a fully lowered floor so you can still drive from your wheelchair?? I'm looking to buy one but my mobility guy, who is a quad that is a huge asshole with a chip on his shoulder, says that Chevy doesnt make them with dropped floors even though I have seen and ridden in them before. I'm looking for a 2nd answer due to the fact that I don't trust his word fully. Thanks!

[wheels1975]

I've had a '77 Chev and a '89 Chev Van. Both had lowered floors that I've had done for me. Note that both of those were the old body style. As I understand it is more difficult to lower the floor on a late model Chevy. In 2002 I built out a '02 Ford E-150 because there was less channeling (actually none) to the frame which translates to a lower conversion cost (but I still had to move the gas tank and brake lines) than a GM van. I've always been a GM kind of guy so going Ford was a rather large mental challenge for me. The conversion turned out pretty good though and this van drives like a Lincoln, surprisingly better than my old Chevys. Of course this was brand new and has the advantage of 13 years automotive engineering. I understand that in 2004 Ford changed the way the body sits on the frame on their E-150's so now they are more difficult to lower the floors on too, so the path of least resistance was to lower the floors on their E-250's. I hope things change by the time I need my next machine because I don't want something sprung that heavy. So as I understand it you can lower the floor on a Chevy but it just starts to get cost prohibitive and I'm pretty sure you cannot buy a lowered floor van directly from any of the manufacturers. You must lower it through a customized van shop. I also hope that this info helps you and if you'd like a referral or second opinion from another van builder let me know and I'll try and find you some phone numbers of builder guys I've worked with.

[nineteen74au]

I know that this has nothing to do with a van conversion or lowered floors..........but..... We are currently custom building a power wheelchair wth fully retractible wheels, yep, drops your bum on the ground. This chair drives onto a boom which pivots near the brake pedal and slips between your calves and under the seat of the power chair, front wheels lift to clear the rocker panels in my 1984 Elcamino, the boom supports the chair. The rear wheels of the chair push it further into the vehicle till it his a stop. The rear wheels retract and the boom is drawn into the Elcamino via actuators.

The Elcamino is a perfect vehicle to adapt, deep drivers floorpan, power steer, column auto, A/C, huge door openings and not a van... even though we are quads, why settle for a van when we can adapt chairs to suit a range of different vehicles.

Stay tuned, in a month or so I will start a dedicated thread re the chair and how it works as well as how it manouvers into the Elcamino.

Cheers,

Jeremy

[Tonyc5/6]

Thank you for the insightful info wheels. Yes if it is possible I would appreciate some info on other van builders and things if you can get them. I'm located in South Florida any in the area? North Florida is ok as is Southern Georgia and Alabama.

[Big Valley]

Tonyc5/6, on Mar 28 2007, 12:18 PM, said:

I'm looking to buy one but my mobility guy, who is a quad that is a huge asshole with a chip on his shoulder.

If you don't like this guy why give him your business? There has to be someone else even if further away. Remember you are the customer. He needs you.

[Tim13]

Tonyc5/6, on Apr 1 2007, 11:58 PM, said:

Thank you for the insightful info wheels. Yes if it is possible I would appreciate some info on other van builders and things if you can get them. I'm located in South Florida any in the area? North Florida is ok as is Southern Georgia and Alabama.

Just south of Daytona Beach here, there is a guy in the sci support group i sometimes attend who has a full size late model Chevy van that he drives. there is kind of a sling type device that just lifts him and his wheelchair (no ramp) through the side door, then he drives from his chair.

You might check out a place near me called access by skip, haven't dealt with him personally but we have talked and he sounds pretty knowledgeable.

access by skip