Selling My Truck

I'm thinking it might be time to sell my pickup truck. My body has reached the point where getting into and out of the truck solo is a non-starter. Even with help, recent changes to the seat, for safety purposes, make is impossible for me to get into the truck without a ramp and helper. So, for a certainty, there are no more solo rides in the truck.

Kate has been suggesting I get a minivan for quite some time now. She probably remembers the one her uncle had for her cousin with Rhett's Syndrome. She certainly thinks of the one her you friend had, a friend who was paraplegic, like me. These two represent the two approaches to wheelchiar vans. The first choice is where the person in the chair never drives. The second choice is where the person in the chair always drives.

With the first type of van, there are no hand controls. The focus is on wheelchair ramp along with straps and tie downs for safety. The wheelchair passenger may be facing the front, and often is. Sometimes the passenger seat is taken out so the wheelchair passenger can sit up front. Other times the rear seats are take out so the wheelchair passenger is always at the back, and the ramp is on the back too. Taxis are almost always like this.

With the second type of van, the driver's seat is removed and hand controls are put in place for the driver. The driver comes up the ramp into the van, then rolls into the driver's seat. This means only the wheelchair passenger can drive, unless you put the driver's seat back in. In my case this would definitely cut down on the long haul road trips.

There is a hybrid of these two, much like my truck. It's where a transfer seat, like my truck seat, is put in at the driver's seat. Similar to my pickup, you transfer to the lift seat. In some cases the whole front seat swings out as the lift seat. I would mind having this for my truck. You transfer to the seat and it lifts you into the truck or van. The only difference with the van is it can also be configured for the wheelchair to be either the passenger seat, which is unlikely, or for the wheelchair to go into the back seat, perfect for my roll as a back seat driver.

I love my truck. What I would ideally love is on of those swing out and drop seats. With that seat, I could transfer from my wheelchair and the sea would lift me in. I would need some sort of change to my wheelchair lift apparatus as well. This kind of seat would mean I could drive, others could drive, and I could keep my truck. I love my truck. It's a big deal.

It's also an expensive deal. I don't even know if it could happen, but I suspect the price tag would be somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000. That's the price of a used van in good shape. If I sold my truck for somewhere around $7,500, I could probably get a well used wheelchair van for an additional $10,000 to $20,000. I just have to make sure it is the right kind.

All it would take is the willingness for me to sell my truck, and a bunch of money. Hmmmm.