Jeep mods for handicapped driver

This was posted on the facebook page. If anyone has experience or knows anyone please respond. If you don't have facebook post here and I will move it over.

"I am wanting to build a project jeep and set it up so it is handicapped accessable for me Any one have any ideas"

Ideas for a Jeep Project
"Hey
guys I am in need of a few ideas I am building a Jeep for recreational
use and as a daily driver and it will be built for me to drive with
hand controls as you probably dont know I have Cerebral Palsey and I
want to use it for just about every tr...ail imaginable too so any inout will be greatly appretiated thank u for your help Joshua Donica"

Joshua's facebook page

He is a fellow Texas jeeper. Lets see if we can help him. Geo, ever done this?

no i haven't but he REALLY should get in touch with blownjk over on jko....

dude lost his leg in a accident and used the $$$$ from the setlement to build the ultimate wheelchair
http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3642

I'm no builder and I don't know how far advanced his Celrebral Palsey is, but here are some thoughts based soley a friend that has since pasted from the same.

The biggest problem with the Jeep is the compact interior. At some point (sad to say) he will lose more mobility. So the biggest Jeep possible is in order...the unlimited, auto of course.

Hand controls...I know there is a company in the Beaumont area (I'm sure there are more) that specialize in this. My friend had her full size van fitted with them (I could probably get the company name if needed).

sway bars...get the Rubi (for push button) or Anti-Rocks (for nothing else to do).

"Normal mods" won't be the problem...the main prob again will be getting in the driver's seat. I have no idea, but will assume the worst and lets just say Joshua is unable to walk on his own now and has to use a motorized cart (such as my friend). So here's my thoughts:

Gut the interior.

And now there are 2 possibilities: 1. Joshua has a cart that was small enough to fit in the driver's seat area 2. Joshua will have to transfer from the cart to the driver's seat.

Now to get Joshua inside the vehicle with the cart (cuz he is going to want to be self dependant as possible). The cargo and rear seat area would have to have a solid floor (those carts are heavy). Entrance into the Jeep would be from the back (tailgate). There will need to be a ramp/lift built for Joshua to enter with the cart. With that being said...the top and cage will have to be custom built...invision something like the Land Rovers (?)/or Exterra with the rear top being taller than the front. Now Joshua and his cart are in the rear of the Jeep.

Option 1 (the cart can fit in the driver's seat area)...the cart would be driven down into where the driver's seat was and then the cart would be locked in with some type of device. If he could do that...then all is good and nothing else would have to be done.

Option 2 (transfer from cart to the driver's seat)...this is where the compactness of the Jeep is really going to be the problem. The console will have to be removed. A new front seat is in order that swivels about 180 degrees. Joshua would then transfer from the cart to the seat. The cart will also need to be secured to the floor. Now Joshua is going to swivel in the driver's seat...which is where the limited use of his legs comes into play with the console. The area where the console was (I've never taken one out) will need to be a flat and low as possible. The auto gear shift would need to somehow be shortened...or if there was a way to make it a colum shift thats even better.

The unlimited 5 seater Jeep, would turn into a 2 seater...maybe 3 (if pushed)

OK...thats enough for now...ya get the ideas I believe.

there's more up there in my head for this and other projects...my prob is I don't have the ability to do them...lol

redneckhouston wrote:

no i haven't but he REALLY should get in touch with blownjk over on jko....

dude lost his leg in a accident and used the $$$$ from the setlement to build the ultimate wheelchair
http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3642

I think he is more interested in hand controls for brake and throttle but that is one BAD ASS Jeep!!!!

thats easy google Mechanical Hand Controls:

also look up alamo mobility, they should be able to hook him up, but if not let me know i have a friend at mobility plus in houston

Thank you for the help guys I really do appreitiate it I have a slight case of Cerebral Palsey and i do walk with a cane i have found a 1990 Jeep Wrangler that i want as a project and I do need some mods done to it I have a wheelchair if i need it what kind of mods do can you help me with I do need hand controls for the brake and excellerator but on the other hand i am going to put 33 inch mudders on it so i will need help to jump in the drivers seat but right now the jeep is out of comission do to fire damage to the wiring all wiring and stereo were destroyed so if yall need any more info just ask...

OK...ya already got the Heep.

hands controls...already taken care here

help getting into the Jeep...hmmm, look into the little "cranes" that I see in the bed of handicap trucks...or for right now...a small portable step stool (since ya able to use a cane)...then all ya need is someone to fold up the wheelchair and step to stow in the back of the Jeep

Welcome aboard crazylegs.

Get all your parts together, I am sure we can get an install party together.

One of my runnin buddies was an installer for alamo mobility. I posted on FaceBook before I read all of this. If I can help let me know!

Welcome CL

There was a guy on the 4WP TV show who decked out his new FJ crusier for handi access. He was missing both legs (cant recall why) but he had a retractable crane for his chair, hand controls and quite a few other mods

Thanks I am so excited about this project it will be wortth all the countless hours and countless ideas THANK YA'LL for all the great ideas where can I find a little crane for my wheelchair it is not a standard wheelchair it is light weight and is about 8lbs so I can throw it in the back easily I want this project to be the most extreme thing crawling down the road I will be going to make a list of the parts next week when I have time And YES an Install party sounds great I am going to take a camera to the shop next week and get a few pics of the beast so ya'll can see where I need to begin... oh where can I find a set of Sparco seats or a set of fairly used front seats that I can get in lime green or have recovered in lime green?? AND IF SOMEONE CAN COME UP WITH A NAME FOR MY PROJECT I WILL HAVE THE NAME STICTCHED IN THE SEATS!!!!!!!!!! BE CREATIVE !!!!

The Mean Green wheelin Machine

Slimer

Green Mile

Slimearound (hoveround, get it?)

The Hawking Express?

GREAT Ideas for naming my project keep em coming by the way where can find air lockers cause I dont want to be stepping out of it to lock my hubs if you know what i mean

ARB man!

I still like my E-Lockers.

When it comes to selectable lockers, based on what I've seen there seem to be three main choices:

ARB: Air
Eaton: Electric
OX: Cable, Air, or Electric

Anyone familiar with more choices?

Ill check them out thanks a bunch guys for the help!

Ok guys here is the plan for Project Frankenstien I am just throwing this in for grins I am thinkin about a heart transplant for the Jeep I am either going to rebuild the I6 engine or swap it for a 318 for more power to put to the pavement and the rocks here is the list I was talking about ok here goes

One tired old Jeep
air lockers
35" BFGs
2500 lbs warn winch
ARB front and rear bumpers
A welded roll cage skeletal system
painless wiring harness from JEG's
SPARCO SEATS with 5 point harnesses
Dana 44s
Holley 650 carborator
and a custom FRANKENSTEIN Green paint job it is deffinately going to turn heads

Crazylegs Jeepster wrote:

Ok guys here is the plan for Project Frankenstien I am just throwing this in for grins I am thinkin about a heart transplant for the Jeep I am either going to rebuild the I6 engine or swap it for a 318 for more power to put to the pavement and the rocks here is the list I was talking about ok here goes

One tired old Jeep
air lockers
35" BFGs
2500 lbs warn winch
ARB front and rear bumpers
A welded roll cage skeletal system
painless wiring harness from JEG's
SPARCO SEATS with 5 point harnesses
Dana 44s
Holley 650 carborator
and a custom FRANKENSTEIN Green paint job it is deffinately going to turn heads

That should be really nice... might want to go with a little bigger winch - unless it is for pulling a go cart out of the mud.

I like the idea of the paint job.... will defiantly turn some heads.

The carb will be a PITA on the trail...... I will let Geo and the others weigh in on the technical stuff... they know more than I.

then what size wench do I need?

Here is a good explanation. I use a 9500, a bunch of folks are running 8k winches with no probs.

"One of the first questions to ask when you’re looking for an off road is what size you need. The basic rule of thumb is to multiply the gross weight of your vehicle by 1.5.
The gross vehicle weight includes a full tank of gas, the driver and
passengers, and all of the tools and gear you carry along with you.
Weigh your fully loaded vehicle on a truck scale for the most accurate
total, or if you can’t weigh your rig on a scale, estimate the gross
weight as precisely as you can.
This total gives you the minimum rating needed for your rig. Note that this is only the minimum. If you wheel in mud, the sucking force of the mud will make your winch work harder.
The same rule applies to other situations where getting unstuck
requires extra power. When you’re trying to decide on the best winch
size, take into account where you ride and how bad you might get stuck.
Another factor that you should consider is how the extra weight of
the winch will affect your vehicle. Check out the manufacturer’s rated
load capacity for the front or rear of your vehicle—depending on where
you plan to mount the winch—and make sure that the winch is not too heavy for your truck or quad.
This load rating will limit how big a winch you can mount on your
vehicle. If you’re tempted to buy a bigger winch than you need, remind
yourself that it’s not worth the extra weight. This extra weight can
change the way that your vehicle handles and increase your chances of
tipping or rolling, so don’t overload your ATV or truck.
How high or low you mount the winch can also affect the handling of
your vehicle and its center of gravity. Give yourself time to get used
to the changes in handling before you try any crazy stunts.
Before you buy a winch, check the dimensions to make sure it will fit in the mount space on your rig. Finally, remember that you can always double your winch capacity with a snatch block. So even if you get into an unusually sticky situation, you can always double up the cable for a stronger (but slower) pull."

Crazylegs Jeepster wrote:

Ok guys here is the plan for Project Frankenstien I am just throwing this in for grins I am thinkin about a heart transplant for the Jeep I am either going to rebuild the I6 engine or swap it for a 318 for more power to put to the pavement and the rocks here is the list I was talking about ok here goes

One tired old Jeep
air lockers
35" BFGs
2500 lbs warn winch
ARB front and rear bumpers
A welded roll cage skeletal system
painless wiring harness from JEG's
SPARCO SEATS with 5 point harnesses
Dana 44s
Holley 650 carborator
and a custom FRANKENSTEIN Green paint job it is deffinately going to turn heads

i'll wiegh in a little...............

i'll start with the arb bumper.........nice but a little excesive pricewise for a trail beater, also your going to want a stubbie

2500 lb winch?..............for a wheelchair maybe.........concider 8000lbs minimum

carbs suck offroad........efi is mandatory .............propane will work if your being cheep

and forget the sparco seats.............you want a offroad suspension seat......try PRP, twisted stitch, mastercraft, or hunsaker if you want a good seat.........corbuea baja ss's are nice for the money also.............garage pro non-adjustables are cheap and work good



i would really, really recomend getting some 33's and a SMALL lift and keeping the axles you have and getting out on the trail.....

you might want to get the jeep wheeling first and go enjoy the outdoors.............find out if this is what you really want to do.....and what you need to upgrade

realize if you do all your talking about and 6 months later loose intrest, your jeep is going to worth 40-50% of what you have in it...........

Ok I will do some web searching tomorrow on the wenches and seats and trust me I wont loose interest in this I have always been a JEEP nut and this is just a Big kid's toy that I wanted to do for a long, long time and I finally have the chance to do it we have alot of jeep trails around where I live and mud puddles too and it is something I can enjoy with the girlfriend She has got me in to this little hobbie as she calls it...lol So I think we will be going everywhere this thing will take us...

I will have pics up this weekend of project Frankenstien

Pics......