Ford Transit Connect

[-scott-]

http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/

been in europe for a few years; coming to america soon as a work vehicle. looks like it'd be easy to bolt a few parts onto & have a van that doesn't need to be structurally modified for accessibility, providing one wanted to transfer inside & not drive from a wc.

[NorthQuad]

I was checking this sucker out on the Ford site a few days ago. It looks a mini Sprinter somewhat. It's not all that bad.

[Eileen]

I really like the looks of this. It looks like maybe the back door opens in the opposite direction from the front, like the Saturn coupes use to.

[ancientgimp]

I went to see a preview at a local Ford dealer. They had a Transit there. The side door is a slider which opens enough to pull the average chair through but does not open widely enough for any kind of lift made currently. The rear door opening is cavernous and would be roomy enough for a platform lift. I was looking at the Transit to see if it would be an easy transfer outside from the chair to driver seat then pull the rigid chair through side door opening. Driver seat was higher than I liked. I came away thinking for my use the Mazda 5 minivan still was the best bet for transfer from chair to driver seat then pulling chair through slider. The Mazda 5 seat is an easier transfer (lower) than the Transit seat and the floor of the Mazda is lower than the Transit floor for pulling the chair through.

[Eileen]

Thanks ancientgimp. I guess my hope will have to be that someone in the US will modify one of the sliding doors to be wide enough for a side lift. I live in an urban environment, so a lift off the back isn't practical because of city street parking, leaving no room to get in or out.

[forestranger52]

This may eventually be a vehicle I can use because the inside height is 59 1/2 and I am 58 inches now.
Scott, how come one can not drive from wheelchair?
Thanks, MAC

[-scott-]

Scott, how come one can not drive from wheelchair?

look @ the photo & think about where your line of sight is sitting @ 58" tall.

the drivers seat, steering wheel, dashboard, etc isn't designed for someone with their head almost to the top of the roof in the rear.

a lift could be put in the rear (or side, if the door is wide enough), and a 6-way power seat base could be installed under the drivers seat... so the seat would elevate, swivel for a transfer, then swivel back & lower to drive.

to drive from a chair would necessitate lowering the floor.

[brucec]

Been seeing a few of these on the road lately, wondering if anyone's modified one for a chair?

[WC_Sage]

The local dealer here has several on their lot. We measured the side door and it does not appear to be wide enough to accommodate a typical van wheelchair lift.

For a price, the same folks that stretch limos and hummers could certainly modify this vehicle to accommodate a wheelchair lift. All things considered, the modified Ford Transit Connect could conceivably cost less than a typical conversion van, while still getting better gas mileage.

[-scott-]

*If* I were interested in this, I'd put a lift in the rear (i.e. out the back). A Ricon Uni-Lite should fit pretty easily, although I've never looked at one of these cars up close.

The side doors are contoured with the rear wheel wells... I can imagine that this would be problematic for a side lift install.

[RAFS]

A friend of mine who is a C 6,7,8 Quadriplegic is home from England for a short while. He's trying to establish a business over there w/a mutual English friend of ours. Since he's been there he purchased a mid 90's model Ford Transit. He said he paid about $1300.00 for it. It has a rear RICON lift that folds up when it's not being used, 6-way power transfer seat & hand controls. He said there is also a passenger seat in the front & also some small seats that fold up on the sides behind each front seat. It has a 4 cylinder engine in it. With the price of gas in England it costs him the equivalent of $100.00 to fill it from empty & we complain about the gas prices here in the U.S. He's in heaven right now with gas prices. Here he has a 1996 Ford Club Wagon w/Braun Swing Away side door lift, 6 way power transfer seat & handcontrols. He said the engine in the van he has in England is not to powerful. His van here has a 5.8 litre engine in it.

[sarcastrix]

There are a few company's over this side of the pond that adapted them with rear ramps and/or air suspension:

http://www.gowringsmobility.co.uk/pages/fordconnect.asp
http://www.bernardmansell.co.uk/whee...ourneo-wc.html
http://www.b-style.nl/files/pagina/70.pdf

[dsteenwyk1]

company that converts transit connects

There is a company known as Clock Mobility Conversions. They are able to convert the transit connect with two options. Option one is to do a lowered floor, fold-out ramp in the rear. This is the best option because it gives you more height room in the transit. The second option is to install a Braun lift or similar lift in the rear of the transit connect. Here is their website: www.clockconversions.com

[paramoto]

I just saw this on ebay and posted it on another transit site. I am curious as to what the final price would be, and what the seat height is, as I would rather do without the seat lift thing.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-...item3ca934f41e

[lfleighteen]

Ford Transit Connect for Wheelchairs

Check out the rear ramp for the Ford Transit Connect. There is one at Main Mobility in upstate NY. While not for a driver...it looks good for a transport with enough room, but manual lift.