What features help you keep RVing?

[mama_sylvia]

I'm hoping this will give others ideas that may enable them to continue to RV in spite of physical limitations.

My health problems include morbid obesity, history of 2 episodes of pulmonary emboli so I am on daily warfarin, and a left hip replacement. I sold my old Bounder years ago because I couldn't get up the stairs into it any more. Recently, I've been working out at the YMCA, and thought it would be worth seeing if I could find a MH that I could use.

The 4 problems I foresaw:

- Getting in and out. I needed steps that weren't unbearably steep and had a railing to help me pull myself up.

- A driver's seat that I could get into and out of without help. Initially, I was looking at both class Cs and class As, but I could never manage to get up from a class C seat, I always had to slide out the driver's door so I stopped looking at them. At least 75% of the motor homes I considered had such massive doghouses I could see there was no point in even making the effort to climb in. Many others I tried but couldn't manage.

- Enough room around the toilet that an overweight person could, ahem, make use of it. 😉 (You know what I mean, you've seen the floor plans with the toilet tucked into such a narrow space I wonder how even a model-slim person would fit!)

- A bed that two older, overweight people could sleep in without anyone having to crawl around. When we were younger and less round, we did fine in the over-cab queen in a class C. That was a long time ago. lol This wasn't a major problem but it did rule out the floorplans with a double bed tucked into one side of the rear and the bathroom taking up the other side.

The class A I eventually bought met all the requirements except the steps, which were steeper than I would have liked and had no inside hand rail but were manageable with effort. I had to install electric steps (no way would either of us have put away manual steps and then jumped up into the MH) and I'm still working on getting the step positioned right. I'm thinking about adding a couple pieces of 2x4 on one side of each other 2 inside steps, to give me that couple of inches boost to the next step, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

I hope others will share how they keep RVing!

[mama_sylvia]

Great ideas!

[bsinmich]

I added a macerator pump to my drain system on the Roadtrek. I could not get down to work the valves and hose to dump. Now I can sit on my walker seat and pull the valves in the compartment and the pump switch. I also have a Travel Scoot scooter that folds and slides under the bed in the RT.We put a few thousand miles on this past summer.

[Chiefcpo]

Will be the last o post most likely buy MY answer and thought is simple!!!!! FRIENDS at the campground, be they 1st time to meet or long time friends. Campers will ask to help when they see it is needed. Last trip with a cane in hand They (new friend at the park) Cam and did the job almost pushing me outa the way. YES FRINDS are the most!!!!

[mama_sylvia]

No offense taken - as I said, I understand people were trying to be helpful.

[Lwiddis]

Disagreeing with a poster’s opinion isn’t offensive. It’s sharing different views. I can’t backpack any longer. I’m sad about it but I accept it and moved on. Not being able to climb MH or TT steps would also make me sad but I’d accept it and move on.

[petrel]

I apologize for misunderstanding your initial post. I certainly did not wish to offend you. I thought you were dissatisfied with your motorhome and were looking for suggestions on one that might be more accomodationg.

[mama_sylvia]

I'm not easily offended, especially when someone is taking the time to make a suggestion they think will help me. Kindness counts for a lot in my book. However, the purchase has been made and I am happy with it. Of course there are still some tweaks to be made, but DH would shoot me if I wanted to buy a different RV at this point. 😉

[Lwiddis]

Many RV lifts are maxed out at 300 pounds.

[Chainwright]

AZdry stole the word out of my mouth. I would look into the Newmar Canyon star 3911.
Also, Pls don't take offence: Look at the Newmar Canyon Star TOYHAULER 3921. you could always enter and exit through the back because it has a very nice RAMP. Once you go up the ramp and you're in the storage area you have a door that leads to the main cabin. That door has 1 step. If that is a problem, have someone make you a Ramp to go from the Storage area to the main cabin. Or if possible a ramp for the main door, you'd have to figure out a mechanism to retract it once you're in the cabin. Hope this helps

[petrel]

Please consider a Renegade Truck conversion with a Cascadia Chassis, or a custom conversion on the same chassis. I too am heavy and just had my left hip replaced. I find our motorhome to be extremely comfortable and accomodating. I drove it when I was just 3 weeks post op! It could only be better, from a comfort standpoint, if it was on a Cascadia chassis.

I can get in and out of the tractor more easily than I can our ford excursion or F350. You can move the seat and the steering wheel to such a point that you can just sit right in, no sliding. Furthermore, when you want to move to the back, you can simply pivot in the seat and stand to walk back. If you are having trouble standing, you can air the seat fully up for a little help.

The seats are air adjustable and very comfortable. If you don't like the ones you have, you have hundreds of options. The steering column tilts, extends and retracts. Combined with the great seats, you can always get comfortable, and open it up for easy in and out.

We have the 3200 DM floorplan. It has the space you want in the places you want, although you may want to consider other floorplans. It also has auto leveling and carries plenty of water, so set up is easy. You only need full hookups occasionally.

It is tall, but there are three nice steps up into the cab, with ample hand holds, and 5 with a railing for entering the main compartment.

Lastly, since truck conversions are built on commercial chassis, there are good values to be had in older units. The interiors may be a little dated, but the trucks are built to go a million miles.

[mama_sylvia]

Thank you, toedtoes - I know the first few posters meant to be helpful but I was starting to wonder if I was writing in English. I lived in a travel trailer for over a year, and it was a good choice for the point I was at then, but I love motorhome travelling. And I have yet to see a truck I would be willing to climb in and out of on a regular basis. I can't even manage to get into our GMC Suburban.

You can put a wheelchair lift in most RVs and I haven't ruled it out. But it's so expensive I'm hoping other options will work out.

[azdryheat]

Newmar Canyon Star model 3911 has a wheel chair lift, ADA accessible shower, and other ADA features. Worth looking at.

[toedtoes]

If you read the OP, you will:

1. Realize he is a she (mama.sylvia);
2. understand she couldn't easily get in and out of the driver seat in a class C;
3. see she ended up buying a class A.

I think this is a good topic to share. A trailer is a good option for step issues, but the hitching could be problematic, some comments on how to simplify that would be helpful.

Having to work around health issues AND multiple occupants can also make things more difficult to work out. With a single occupant, the corner bed is much less of an issue.

For me, I have not reached the point of limited abilities, but I chose my class C with the future in mind. For now, I happily enjoy my cabover bunk. When I can no longer safely climp in and out of it, I can move to my foldover couch and use the cabover to store the bedding during the day.

My bathroom is small, but fits my size fairly comfortably and I could do some minor work to open it up a bit more if needed.

One thing that I found important was the ability to get to and from the bathroom quickly and easily. Having to maneuver around the other person, the bed, etc., can be disastrous.

[rjf7g]

We just looked at this one yesterday and while you probably won't be able to go from the cab to the house without walking outside, I think you might be able to make use of this camper - http://www.timberlakerv.com/pre_owned_detail.asp?veh=4947101&nv=y