Australia So Much to See
Having mobility difficulties, including being wheelchair bound, need not preclude caravanning. Most builders of custom caravans will build wheelchair accessible caravans, including a wheelchair accessible shower and toilet, lowered benches, wheel chair accessible seating and better positioned taps and switches. One company specialises in this market. Visit Accessavan.
While there are many caravan parks that cater to varying degrees for travellers with mobility difficulties, not all do and not all facilities will be easy to access or use for those in a wheelchair. Even if the bathroom is easy for you to use, getting there from your caravan site may be slow, especially if you cannot get a site close by. Add to this the many opportunities to experience bush camping in Australia, and an on board shower and toilet becomes all the more important for someone with a physical disability.
Sometimes it takes a medical condition or health scare before people decide it is now or never and take to the road while they can. If you require regular treatment, discuss with your doctor before deciding whether travel is possible for you. You may be able to arrange treatments and/or blood tests in various towns as you travel, or you may be advised to take short trips between treatments. See also Doctors and Medications.
We have met a caravanning couple where the lady was the driver as her husband had very limited eyesight. Always keen to take on projects that defied his disability, he had constructed their fifth wheeler himself from a caravan. They were both enjoying the travelling adventures.
To see aids to make caravanning easier for all, particularly ageing or people with a disability, see Making it Easy.
What ever your disability, it will be unlikely to prevent you from travelling if you have the right aids.
On tour with a group of Ulysses Motorcycle Club members, this camping rig was used by a man who had limited mobility. He was still out there biking.
Some custom caravan builders have built Wheelchair accessible caravans when requested. On The Move Caravans have built a wheelchair accessible caravan, including having power outlets in reach and external water fittings easier fir the owner to access. Motorhomes with wheelchair access have been built by manufacturers such as Avida (formerly Winnebago). Wheelchair friendly motorhome