So, I’ve been messing around with this whole idea of making a Chevy SUV accessible for folks with disabilities. It’s been a real journey, let me tell you.
First off, I started digging around to see what’s out there. You know, just browsing around, checking out forums and stuff. Turns out, there are a few companies that specialize in this kind of thing. One that kept popping up was BraunAbility. They seem to be pretty big in the game. And then there’s Freedom Motors. They’ve got this whole line of SUVs that they’ve already tweaked for wheelchair access. They mentioned the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse, which got me thinking. These are some solid, strong cars.
But here’s the thing, I wanted to do this myself, you know? See if I could figure it out without having to buy a pre-made thing. So, I started looking at my own Chevy SUV, wondering, “Can this thing even be made wheelchair accessible?” Turns out, yeah, it’s possible, but it’s not exactly a walk in the park. You gotta check if the chassis, the bones of the car, can handle having its floor lowered. That’s key. It needs to have the right size and be strong enough to support the changes.
Then I learned about this “full-cut conversion.” It’s basically like, giving your car a major haircut. Sounds crazy, but I learned that it would let you get more space for a wheelchair, depending on how big your SUV and the wheelchair are. I even thought that maybe you could fit two wheelchairs in there. But this was feeling a little too intense for my first time, so I moved on. For me I was thinking that the full cut is good if you are still able to get into the seat and drive, but not perfect for someone who has to stay in their chair.
Here’s what I ended up doing:
- Figured out the entry point: I decided to go with a rear-entry setup. Seemed less complicated than messing with the side doors, to be honest.
- Got myself a ramp: Found a decent ramp that fit the back of my SUV. That was a whole other adventure, finding the right size and making sure it was sturdy. You can find these pretty easily online.
- Installed the ramp: This was the fun part. Got some buddies over, and we spent a weekend getting that ramp installed. Lots of trial and error, but we got it done.
It wasn’t easy, I’ll admit. There were moments when I thought I was in over my head. But, you know what? Seeing that ramp slide out and knowing that it could make a real difference for someone, that made it all worth it. Still gotta do some more testing and fine-tuning, but for now, I’m pretty stoked with how it turned out. I might even make some videos about it to help anyone else who wants to give this a try. It is super rewarding, I really recommend you to try it too.
