Category Archives: Wheelchair Vans

Wheelchair van and mobility needs for New England – Boston, MA

The Benefits of a Wheelchair Van for Service Dogs

Many of the innovative designs that make up a wheelchair van are also convenient for your four-legged friends. From spacious cabins to simple ramps systems, a wheelchair van just might empower a service dog nearly as much as it enables a person with a wheelchair, a caregiver or a disabled veteran. Wheelchair vans allow service dogs and their owners to:

Find comfortable and flexible seating in the roomy cabins
Remove the unnecessary and dangerous stress and strain from traditional loading and unloading options
Speed up the process of entering and exiting the vehicle
Create safer alternatives in parking spot entrance, exit and maneuverability
Transport the entire family in one trip
Prevent the wear and tear a dog may unintentionally inflict upon smaller vehicles
Integrate durable floors for wheelchairs that are scuff-resistant for dogs, too
Enter and exit from the same side door at nearly the same time

Low Speed Vehicles

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A Low Speed Vehicle (LSV) is exactly what it sounds like – a vehicle that travels at low speeds. Golf carts and off-road utility vehicles are part of the LSV category. However, a LSV goes beyond those options, branching into street-legal vehicles that resemble cars more than recreational vehicles.

What is a Low Speed Vehicle?
What qualifies an automobile as an LSV is due mainly to two criteria:

That the top speed of the vehicle stays at 25 mph or below.
That they only drive on roads with speed limits 35 mph or less.

Benefits of LSVs
So, why purchase an LSV if there are limitations? Well, for many people, an LSV would support the majority of needs for transportation, especially for those with accessible needs. Here’s why: typically an LSV will drive for approximately 30 miles on a full charge, as many are electrically powered.

These 30 miles may not sound like much, but at a constant speed of 20 mph, that allows for an hour and a half round-trip drive. With your home in the right location, this could be all you need for a day’s worth of errands. Not only do they have surprising range, but most LSVs are driver-only vehicles which allows you to enter from the back.

This means if you use a wheelchair, all you have to do is roll in and lock your seat in place. Without the need for chair lift equipment and wheelchair storage, an LSV could be the answer to quick, independent transportation for your household.

Before You Buy
Before you sign any purchase agreement, it’s important to determine if an LSV is right for your lifestyle. Can you reach areas such as the grocery store, hospital, post office and friends’ houses without highway travel? If these are the places you’d be traveling to most often in your LSV and they do not require you to drive on high-speed roads, this type of adaptive vehicle might be your ideal solution.

It’s also a good idea to consider the environment you live in. If your area is prone to snow and ice, extra research is recommended to make sure your purchase is safe in these conditions. Also, each state has its own individual laws regarding the ownership and operation of LSVs, so double-check these regulations.

The 2015 Local Heroes Contest Begins Next Week

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NEMEDA Local Hero Contest – Enter or Vote Today!

May Is National Mobility Awareness Month

Join the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA) in celebrating the 4th annual National Mobility Awareness Month. During this amazing promotion, they encourage people with disAbilities to embody the spirit of Life Moving Forward by raising awareness of the many life-changing mobility vehicle solutions available today.

NMEDA and their members are mobility advocates dedicated to changing the lives of those living with disAbilities by providing access to quality handicap accessible vehicles and adaptive equipment. Whether you are living with a disAbility or have dedicated your time to helping someone who is, they want to hear your story of perseverance and strength. Once the promotion begins, tell them what makes you, or your loved one, a Local Hero for a chance to win a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle.

This year they will be giving away 4 handicap accessible vehicles:

one to a caregiver
one to a senior (60+)
one that is battery powered (for in-town driving only)
one in the general category.

Find out more about NMEDA and the work they do within the disAbled community and stay tuned for this year’s events!

You can summit your stories on April 15, 2015.
Voting for your favorite Local Hero story will begin on May 1 and end on May 31.

Over 18 million people in North America are living with restrictive mobility issues. This is your chance to change the lives of just a few of those triumphing in the face of adversity.

BraunAbility MXV™: Wheelchair Accessible SUV

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BraunAbility MXV™

The BraunAbility MXV™ features a never-before-seen door operation, an innovative in-floor ramp and removable seating. This innovative wheelchair accessible SUV represents a brand new era in mobility and we want you to be a part of it. Availability of this vehicle begins Summer 2015.

BraunAbility MXV™ Features

Fold flat 3rd row seats for extra cargo space
Integrated Ford keyfob
Nerf bar
Sliding shifter for increased space
In-floor and lighted ramp
Innovative seat design allowing more interior space
Removable driver and passenger seats

Sporty Looks and Feel

EPA Estimated 17city / 24 hwy / 20 combined
6-Speed Automatic
Wheelbase 112.6″
Maximum Towing Capacity (estimated) – 5000 lbs.
Power Glide Door Integrated w/Factory Key Fob
28″ In-Floor Ramp Width
54 1/4″ Door Entry Height
LED Ramp Lighting System
Cantilever Seat Bases For Easy Removal

Interior View
The interior of the MXV allows for both front seats to be removed, and the middle seating is removed for wheelchair access. The 3rd row seats remain and allow for 4 passengers in the vehicle.

Spring Rust Treatment

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Owning any type of vehicle means that you have to commit to regular service and maintenance to keep it in good condition. Owning a wheelchair van and adaptive equipment is no different – you still need regular service to keep everything operating the way it should. However, it comes with some additional caveats – you can’t just go to any service center and ensure that you’re maintaining your wheelchair van or mobility equipment correctly.

Here at our Mobility Center, not only do we understand the importance of maintaining your mobility vehicle and adaptive equipment, but we take the needed steps to ensure that everything is always in top condition. No other mobility dealer offers the level of maintenance offered by us.

Rust Maintenance
Vehicles today are subject to rust and corrosion due to moisture, humidity, tons of road salt and other airborne pollutants that can cause rapid deterioration of your wheelchair van. If neglected, the damages can make your mobility investment of little value. The thousands of yearly miles, environments and exposure to the elements of larger vehicles means they are a lot more likely to suffer from the effects of corrosion. Correct rust proofing on a regular basis can ensure that your vehicle does not suffer from corrosion related vehicle downtime and keep your van from falling apart.

** We highly recommend that everyone gets their wheelchair accessible vehicles rust proofed at least twice a year. Once in Spring and again in the Fall. **

If you consider that new vehicles undergo thousands of spot welds and numerous bends and folds during assembly; this process damages the automobile coating systems, exposing these panels to corrosion. Besides body-panel damage, certain mechanical parts are also at risk – suspension mounts, hood-locking mechanisms, door hinges, brake cables – which are all susceptible to the damaging effects of rust on your wheelchair van.

To protect your vehicle against corrosion our rust proofing formula does more than just cover the metal required. A rust proofing product must be applied as a high-pressured spray, ensuring protection to your vehicle’s most critical areas by penetrating, displacing existing moisture and protecting the many vulnerable crevices of your automobile.

Benefits of rust treatment
Prevention is better than a cure. There are a number of products that can offer prevention against rust. Products are available either as oils, waxes, fluids and coatings. The range is vast. Our rust prevention processes, products, plan and application have been found to be very effective and developed over more than 25 years and still remain affordable.

We are the only mobility dealer in New England to offer this service.

Our rust proofing processes is ever evolving and has been for more than 25 years.