Can a quadriplegic driver handle braking-Class A gas/Class C

Mostly because my husband insists on driving and being super-independent 36 years post-injury (hang-gliding) which is great most of the time but adds a lot to my worries and stress--you would think I would be used to it by now! Thanks though--and my husband does not like my driving!

Ditto the above post, My DW is para 100% right and 70% left and drives a car just fine. The motor home is a larger job and I find it just a whole lot simpler if I do the driving. Out west where its many miles between lane changes she will occasionally drive the MH with toad to gather some practice useful in an emergency. We also limit the days on road time to 5 hours or less which is suitable for this retired driver

COCO2009 wrote:
We are looking at buying a Class A gas or Class C motor home,wheelchair accessible, and capable of towing a minivan.

My question is can a high-functioning quadriplegic handle braking with hand controls without a problem? My brother-in-law thinks we should add air brakes if my husband (the quad)drives with hand controls. We would have all the usual braking systems in place including on the toad (planning to tow four down).

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Would it be indelicate to inquire why your husband is doing the driving?

I have some inlaws in a similar situation, and in their case they solved a lot of logistics problems by simply having the wife drive the moho. (The van is already equipped with hand controls, so Hubby drives that when they're out-and-about)

If you can drive a E-350 Ford van with those power brakes and gas controls, the E-350/450 minimotorhome and F-53 motorhome (class A) use the same power steering, and other controls.

I think one of the modifications is to raise the power steering pressure, so it turns with less feedback, but is really easy to turn, and might even lessen the power braking effort required.

Before making the final decision on a RV, you might want to get the controls company involved that installed the hand controls on your minivan. They might say that any E-450 based motorhome will use the same controls as the E-150 and E-350 full sized vans, straight off the shelf parts. Those some controls might fit on a class A and might not. It depends. My motorhome is a 97F-53 chassis, same as the Ford van steering wheel of that model year, same chassis as the F-450 truck of that model year.

Raising the power steering pressure should be the same as the F-350 van. They do this so you can steer with one hand, and use the other hand on the brake / gas lever. (some reading this might not have driven a handcontrolled van).

Try looking on RvSearch.com for a RV with handicap access. Sometimes I see them.

I have also been typing in Handicap to the "For Sale"section of my local Craigslist.com and sometimes a motorhome will show up.

Check with Roadmasterinc.com for possible baseplates for your minivan. If the van based motorhome is short enough, it might mean taking along the minivan is redundant.

Good luck!

Fred.

By the way you don't see many quads/paras driving motor homes here in Iowa--don't know why. But my husband just retired early and we plan to travel extensively. And hopefully move to a better climate at least in the winter.

Thanks for the good info. Yes being able to move around and see out the mirrors is a concern but think we can address that. Also thanks for the info on air brakes--my brother-in-law misled me.

We have researched towing options and capacities extensively. Had our minivan weighed with both of us in it and a few other things (including the wheelchair lift)-- came out at 4500 pounds.

I like the Class C's better myself--just feels more like driving a van.

Haven't heard of the Readi-brake--will check that out.


Thanks.

Gas motorhomes have the usual power brakes, and in my 30 years of motorhome driving I have never, to my recollection, felt I required excessive force to control the brake function. Adding a proportional braking system to the towed car, expecially a heavy van would be a must. I currently have the ReadyBrake, which actually pulls the towed vehicle brake peddle using a surge device. There are many options on the market. A minivan is a rather heavy vehicle, I am guessing over 5,000lbs, maybe by a lot. This greatly exceeds the Gross Vehicle Combined Weight capacity of many if not most Class A motorhomes. Be very careful in choosing a motorhome that can handle your anticipated towing needs. I am guessing that a Class C with a with an F450 or diesel or a Super C would be a way to go. (I am not an expert in this field at all, but there are plenty of well versed people on this website).
Can you do this: Why not. I've seen wheel chair modified motorhomes with lifts replacing the front recliner. If you can drive a van you can drive a motorhome.
Often the greatest barriers are the ones we create for ourselves.
Happy Trails

Totally impossible to tell. In most cases a motorhome has no greater physical requirement than any other vehicle. The steering is as light, the brakes are similar as well. What I think is different is the need to move the head quite a lot to gain the required view out of the windows, the mirrors, and so on, to tell what is going on around the vehicle. You can't "add" air brakes, the vehicle either has them or doesn't. But they don't require a significantly different effort than any other brakes.

Brian