My seventy-five year old cousin and her
husband have a rather nice RV. They have and hope to continue taking a number
of mini-vacations each summer. They love attending Engine Shows, reunions,
and shopping/touristy attractions around the state. The outings are pleasant and the campground camaraderie
is always good. They are perfectly happy
with their present camper, but like everyone else they can’t resist going to RV
shows every year. The last RV show was fun
to attend but they didn’t see anything that they couldn’t live without. One thing they did notice, and commented on,
was that none of the new and improved RVs had assist bars to make entering and
exiting the vehicles safer for older campers.
They mentioned this to the sales representative and he said that he
heard that a lot.
If they hear that a lot, why
is it that the manufacturers are not responding to the question? Perhaps
they are. It could be that the people in my crowd have just missed hearing
about it. I would love to hear comments
and news about universally designed
but affordable RVs. Retired people make
up a sizable percentage of the RV customer base. I am sure that many older people and/or
handicapped individuals would like to upgrade their rigs, and would do so if
the means were readily available.
Older people like to travel and many would do more of it if
they didn’t have to deal with finding motels and restaurants equipped to meet
their needs. Wouldn’t it be nice if you
had your own universally designed quarters with you? Major modifications are possible but the cost
is often $10-20,000 more than the original price. Surely some mini-modifications should or could become standard for people of
all ages? At the very least an assist
bar attached to the outside of the vehicle would be nice, and would wider doors
and center aisles, lift rails, easy access shower facilities and a accessible
galley be asking too much?
An article by Tom Spisak in Trailer Life magazine (Jul 2003) about modifications
to make recreational vehicles more accessible is a good place to start. This
magazine is still in publication (www.trailerlife.com)
and good reading for anyone loving the RV way of life.
Leave a Reply