A wheelchair accessible Escape Van!!

JonnyHHampshir · Jul 9, 2019

After our first severely disabled daughter was born we were told there was just a 1% chance of it happening again. By this time we'd forked out £9k for a wheelchair accessible peugeot expert tepee van. What a terrible machine this was. We hated it for four years but it was a necessary evil, it seemed. 5 years after our first child, along came our second. She is nearly three now, but she has the same debilitating condition, meaning we needed a two position wheelchair accessible vehicle (it turned out there was a 25% chance all along).

The only suitable vehicle seemed to be a LWB transporter with a low roof. Forced effectively to buy a Dub!!

So, with the pressures of home, we now have an amazing 13 reg, 38k mile vehicle which will carry our girls, be fun to drive, and hopefully, fun for my wife and I to get away in when the girls go into respite several times per year.

Our Dub is currently having a new stereo HU fitted and reversing camera to it. I'd just had delivered a piano black dash trim kit delivered, and also a set of R leather seat covers from GTE. We've left one seat in the rear in case either girl needs one-to-one care in the van. It obviously has a lift in the back, ours is electric but takes a foot of space or so away from the rear.

So, in reality, we cant fix anything in the van to convert it, but we could hypothetically use temporary fixings which would have to be very easily added and removed to make a long weekend worthwhile.

I appreciate this isnt directly a california question, but does anyone have any suggestions regarding an easy way of taking some of the basics away with us, e.g. bed, cooker, storage etc?

Thanks in anticipation - Jonny

WelshGas · Jul 9, 2019

JonnyHHampshir said:
After our first severely disabled daughter was born we were told there was just a 1% chance of it happening again. By this time we'd forked out £9k for a wheelchair accessible peugeot expert tepee van. What a terrible machine this was. We hated it for four years but it was a necessary evil, it seemed. 5 years after our first child, along came our second. She is nearly three now, but she has the same debilitating condition, meaning we needed a two position wheelchair accessible vehicle (it turned out there was a 25% chance all along).

The only suitable vehicle seemed to be a LWB transporter with a low roof. Forced effectively to buy a Dub!!

So, with the pressures of home, we now have an amazing 13 reg, 38k mile vehicle which will carry our girls, be fun to drive, and hopefully, fun for my wife and I to get away in when the girls go into respite several times per year.

Our Dub is currently having a new stereo HU fitted and reversing camera to it. I'd just had delivered a piano black dash trim kit delivered, and also a set of R leather seat covers from GTE. We've left one seat in the rear in case either girl needs one-to-one care in the van. It obviously has a lift in the back, ours is electric but takes a foot of space or so away from the rear.

So, in reality, we cant fix anything in the van to convert it, but we could hypothetically use temporary fixings which would have to be very easily added and removed to make a long weekend worthwhile.

I appreciate this isnt directly a california question, but does anyone have any suggestions regarding an easy way of taking some of the basics away with us, e.g. bed, cooker, storage etc?

Thanks in anticipation - Jonny

Welcome along. I'm sure some members will have ideas for you to mull over.
So, for these " escape weekends " it would just be the two of you?
Have you considered getting a Pop-top roof fitted, with a built in bed. They are not cheap £3-5K but gives you the capability of carrying a full sized, well almost, double bed that you access via a small ladder or climbing on the cabin seats.
I presume the wheelchairs have anchor points to secure them in transit? You could make, buy or have made a Kitchen Pod that would secure to the same system with cooker, sink + a standalone fridge. Internal table that would clip on the unit or sidewall for when the weather turns nasty and consider a wind out awning over the sliding door. Also consider Front swivelling seats so they turn to face the rear. An easy conversion.
The awning and elevating roof would be there all the time and the kitchen pod/fridge added as and when.
Along with this a Leisure battery under the front passenger seat with a 230v Mains circuit, for when on campsite hookup, and a charger for the Leisure Battery along with a Dc to DC charger to charge the Leisure Battery when driving and to keep the beers cold in the fridge when driving.
If you are not one for DIY then any Good, Reputable Converter should be able to meet your needs.

MattBW · Jul 9, 2019

There are quite a few internal pods that could be what you are looking for, some may have a built in sink and/or cooker. They will need some kind of fixings on the floor to ensure they are secure.

Really useful boxes are very handy for packing things and can be stacked or the above type solution.

A poptop may not be a bad idea as it will give a bed in the roof for you and space to stand up inside when stopped.

Are you looking for a bed inside the van or outside?

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JonnyHHampshir · Jul 9, 2019

Two replies in 30 minutes! Thank you both!
Yes, it will just be for my wife and I at this point, though we may have a little one through genetic selection IVF which has just started again...
I love the idea of a pop-top bed - are you aware of any installers we should avoid / or those that are particularly good?
Thanks for the storage suggestions - we'll look into these.
Sleeping could be either inside or out...in reality we're not too likely to use it for this purpose in the colder periods.
Kitchen pod, table and chairs, and captain chairs - we're gonna be busy!!
Thanks again!!

WelshGas · Jul 9, 2019

JonnyHHampshir said:
Two replies in 30 minutes! Thank you both!
Yes, it will just be for my wife and I at this point, though we may have a little one through genetic selection IVF which has just started again...
I love the idea of a pop-top bed - are you aware of any installers we should avoid / or those that are particularly good?
Thanks for the storage suggestions - we'll look into these.
Sleeping could be either inside or out...in reality we're not too likely to use it for this purpose in the colder periods.
Kitchen pod, table and chairs, and captain chairs - we're gonna be busy!!
Thanks again!!

The only converter that I can recommend is Dirty Weekender [ don't be put off the name, you'll see if you check the website etc: ], my son has one of their conversions, still going strong after 5 yrs of heavy use and he is very happy with it. Unfortunately they are in Worcester. But you may have to travel to get a good job done.