Tag Archives: Winter

Rust Prevention Is A Must Before Winter!

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.

The best time to prevent rust damage to your vehicle is in Autumn: before the first snowflake falls and Spring: after the first heavy rain fall; a little vehicle maintenance will help keep the rust away.

Prevent
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, but our rust prevention processes, product, plan and application has been found to be most effective. Our rust proofing is ever evolving and has been for over the past 26 years.

Our rust proofing formula does more than just cover the metal required, we apply it as a high-pressured spray, ensuring protection to your handicap accessible vehicle’s most critical areas by penetrating, displacing existing moisture and protecting the many vulnerable crevices of your automobile.

As seen in the pictures below this van has heavy rust and metal fatigue due to a lack of maintenance.

Adaptive Mobility Van Brought to Automotive Innovations For Lack of Rust Treatment 1 We Removed the Rust, Re-Built the Underneath and rust Proofed this Vehicle.

Adaptive Mobility Van Brought to Automotive Innovations For Lack of Rust Treatment- rust removed, re built and rust prevention

Don’t let your vehicle get rusty, schedule an appointment today!

How to Stay in Shape During the Off Season

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It is hard to keep in shape during the fall and even more so in the winter season. This holds true more so for a person who is differently abled. During the time of bad weather, like rain or snow, it is almost impossible to get around or to get out and do a little running or pushing. There are always alternatives though, you could purchase or make your own weights. If you are less of a strength person and more of a stamina or cardio person, you can always take the time to go for a roll around the neighborhood or nearest public track, if there is one.

If you lack the transportation, are unable to leave the house, or bad weather bothers you such as rain, you can always invest in an indoor rolling trainer. This device assures you a cardio workout from the comfort of your own house or garage. Equipment like this can get exceptionally pricey, unfortunately. Some may think, “Why the high price for pieces of metal welded together?” if this is you, you can always construct your own.

There are stores online that sell the equipment such as these, that are needed for a person whose day to day life involves a disAbility.

If you are a handy person and like to make things there are also videos online on sites such as YouTube that have “Do It Yourself” videos on how to construct a rolling trainer. If you are looking for an alternative to working out this fall or winter season and do not know where to start, here are some simple questions to ask yourself. What is the purpose of wanting to get in shape? What do you need to work on more: strength, speed, stamina or all of the above?

You will need to figure out what exercises you are capable of. Once you have figured out your abilities and where you want to go with your workouts/exercises, the, there is no better time to start your road to health or training for a sport then as soon as possible. Make sure to be happy with your choices and be safe in your workout endeavors.

October Is Car Care Month: Is your vehicle prepared for winter driving?

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October Is Car Care Month- Is your vehicle prepared for winter driving

Is your car ready to handle freezing conditions? Frigid temps can take a toll on your car and make winter driving even more hazardous than usual.
Here are a few tips to adapt to winter roads and preparing your car for the extreme cold.

Check the car’s battery
Cold weather takes a toll on batteries and requires a full charge. A battery is 35 percent weaker at 32 degrees and 60 percent weaker at zero degrees.

A load test by a qualified technician can determine whether a car’s battery is strong enough for winter. Keep in mind that if the car started with a jump start, the problem is not fixed and the battery most likely needs replacing.

Starting
Avoid excessive cranking. If the car doesn’t start after 20 seconds of cranking, wait a couple of minutes to let the battery recover.

Tire preparation
Tires should have sufficient tread depth that can handle New England’s winter weather. All-season tires are adequate for most vehicles but to get the greatest traction for both starting and stopping, snow tires are recommended. When considering snow tires, they should be installed on all four wheels

See and be seen
Clear windows, mirrors, and lights with an ice scraper, brush, or a spray de-icer. Driving with a snow-covered windshield, windows, side-view mirrors or lights invites a crash.

Completely clean snow from the roof, hood, and trunk. Windshield wipers and defrosters should be in good working order and washer reservoirs should be filled with no-freeze windshield washer fluid.

Consider specially designed winter wiper blades that prevent snow and ice buildup and improve visibility.

Reduce speeds
Most winter crashes happen from driving too fast for the weather conditions. Remember, everything takes longer on snow-covered roads, including accelerating, stopping, and turning.

Nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement so allow time to maneuver by driving slowly.

All-wheel drive is best
All-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive will help to get a car moving, but bear in mind it does little to improve braking. Don’t become overconfident and drive too fast for winter road conditions.

Anticipate stopping distance
In temperatures at or just above 32 degrees, a thin layer of water can cover the ice and cause slippery conditions, especially at intersections where snow and ice tend to melt first. The distance needed to stop on ice at 32 degrees is twice as long as at zero degrees.

Keep the engine cool
Mix certain cooling system antifreeze with an equal portion of water for maximum protection.

Prepare Your Mobility Equipment For the Colder Weather

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Cold temperatures not only slow wheelchair users down, but can also slow down their vans and accessible equipment. For example, if you use a hydraulic wheelchair lift, you may have noticed that the colder the weather, the slower the lift reacts. The cold thickens the fluid, making it move slower through hoses, valves and cylinders.

There’s not much you can do about that, but preparing other equipment for cold weather is important to help avoid accidents and breakdowns.

If you live in the New England area · call our Mobility Center today (508) 697-8324 · We’ll rust proof your wheelchair accessible vehicle, give you an oil change, tune-up, and/or semi-annual ramp/lift service and have any other accessible equipment checked before the temperature dips. If you ask we can also check your battery, antifreeze level, heater, brakes, defroster and thermostat.

Do It Yourself:

Purchase winter wiper blades that cut through snow and ice.
Keep the gas tank at least half full. It reduces condensation and makes your vehicle easier to start on cold mornings.
Buy tires that have MS, M+S, M/S or M&S on them, meaning they meet the Rubber Manufacturers Association guidelines and can bite through mud and snow.
For better traction and control, rotate tires so the best ones are in the front.
Get an electric engine block heater. It warms the engine so the motor can start. It connects to normal AC power overnight or before driving. In extremely cold climates, electrical outlets are sometimes found in public or private parking lots.
Cold weather is tough on accessible van batteries. Buy one with greater starting power, higher cold cranking amps and reserve capacity for energy when the engine isn’t running.
Use synthetic oil to make starting a cold engine easier.

Before you drive:

Keep rock salt on hand to melt ice off walkways for a safer wheelchair ride.
Clean the snow off the roof and hood so it doesn’t “avalanche” onto the windshield and block your vision.
Clear the head and tail lights for best visibility.
Scrape the ice off mirrors and windows.

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Here at VMi New England Mobility Center and Automotive Innovations we’ll service and repair your wheelchair accessible vehicle and/or equipment even if you didn’t buy it from us! So bring us your mobility van no matter the year (old or new), chassis (Honda, Dodge, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, excreta..), or conversion (Side Entry, Rear Entry, VMI, Braun, Ricon, Rampvan, Elorado, Amerivan, excreta..)!!

Rust Proof Your Wheelchair Van Before It’s Too Late

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Winter is Coming
Rust Proof Your Wheelchair Van Before the Road Salt Hits the Streets!

We can’t live without salt. It’s a necessary nutrient, it’s used to seed rain clouds, soften household tap water, make chemicals and is used to make ice cream!

In parts of the country with freezing winter temperatures, drivers know that warming the cars up in the morning isn’t the only inconvenience. Icy roads are, too. The same chemical reaction between ice and salt that creates creamy, delicious ice cream also keeps our roads and sidewalks free of dangerous ice during the cold winter months.

A salt and sand mixture is frequently spread over roads before or after a snow or ice storm. Salt lowers water’s freezing point, causing any ice already formed to melt even though the air temperature remains well below freezing. The sand helps keep the salt in place, plus it adds a bit of traction to wet and often slushy roads.

While road salting helps people travel safely, it has drawbacks. It can cause major body and undercarriage damage to your Wheelchair accessible vehicle unless you take extra care and precaution.

If you’re one of the many who must travel the saline streets in the land of the ice and snow, we have some great tips to help protect your mobility vehicle from the ravages of road salt.

Plan Ahead
The best time to prevent salt damage to your conversion van is in Autumn,before the first snowflake falls; a little car maintenance will help keep the rust away.

Our rust proofing formula does more than just cover the metal required, we apply it as a high-pressured spray, ensuring protection to your handicap accessible vehicle’s most critical areas by penetrating, displacing existing moisture and protecting the many vulnerable crevices of your automobile.

As seen in the picture below this van has heavy rust and metal fatigue due to a lack of maintenance.

Once the rust is this bad there’s not much we can do other than replace the van.
So call us or come in today to rust proof your van before it’s too late.