Some Demo Reno

In the winter of 2024 we spent two short weeks in our usual Florida campground. For the rest of the year we took short shakedown trips to get used to the “new to us” RV. After a couple of these outings it became apparent that something needed to be done to make the rig more accessible for me.

Surprise, surprise, nothing about an RV is designed with accessibility in mind. I’m fortunate because generally speaking, I function well enough as long as I’m wearing my prosthetic leg to negotiate the entire RV. When I’m not wearing my leg, I use a walker to get around in the coach. Certain things became either difficult to do, and just getting around increased my risk of injury from falling.

The chief problems are in the back of the RV, in the bathroom and bedroom areas. The bathroom was the easiest to resolve. Ben installed a riser for the toilet to make it easier for me to use. He and added two extra shower attachments and grab bars in the shower. There is a step over to get in to the shower, but I’m able to negotiate that safely.

A harder thing to fix are the doors. The industry standard for an accessible door opening is at least 32,” which will accommodate most walkers and wheelchairs. The doors in our RV range from 23″ to 28″. The bedroom door is 28″ wide, which might seem adequate, but thanks to bad design the end of the bed juts into the middle of the door opening. There’s just enough space for an average-sized able-bodied person to turn sideways to scoot around the bed and through the door. For me and my walker, it took about an 18-point turn maneuver to squeeze by. We weren’t sure what to do so we called Chris Berry, who specializes in renovating repairing our brand of RV. Chris also happens to live in Alabama, so it’s not something we could get done right away. Ben and Chris had several discussions with me about what I needed to be able to do, and came up with a plan.

We made the drive down to Red Bay Alabama in December. Chris’ assistant Caden did the work for us. He took apart a pocket door, cut back the wall as far as possible, and made the repair invisible. If you weren’t familiar with the build of the coach, you’d never know anything had been done. That one change widened the door opening to 34,” giving me room to get around the bed and through the door in one maneuver.

I asked Chris if he’d redone other motor homes. He’s done several and the most memorable one was when he lowered the entire array of cabinets in the coach to accommodate a couple who were Little People. Chris told them when it came time to sell their motor home he would buy it back from them. He didn’t think there would be any buyers interested. When the time came for them to sell, Chris was surprised to get 12 buyers interested in the rig.

People with all kinds of disabilities travel in RVs. Sometimes that’s the only way to travel freely and be guaranteed a room with facilities that are accessible. There are all manner of lifts, hand controls and other accessibility features installed that allow one to exit, enter and drive vehicles. The trick is to find someone who can remodel the interior of an RV. We were lucky to know a skilled carpenter who understands how RV are built.

All remodeled and shined up, we were ready to begin the new year with our annual winter trip. Onward!