Planning for travel
When it comes to travelling, it pays to plan ahead and be organised. Here are some of our top tips to make your journey and holiday as enjoyable as possible.
Hire your equipment
Transporting equipment can take up all of your available room for luggage and can involve heavy lifting and set-up, so it’s worth looking at hiring equipment at your destination.
There are plenty of suppliers who hire equipment, which means you could have a bed, hoist or commode ready for you at your accommodation when you arrive. It also means you’re connected with a local supplier if you have any problems with equipment while you’re away.
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Make car transfers easier
Getting in and out of other people’s cars can be challenging, but there are some great tools available the market to help make car transfers easier.
The Autoslide is a great device that can be secured to the passenger seat of any car and used to help the process of turning and moving across the car seat. It can be easily moved from car to car as needed.
The Handybar is a device that fits easily into the door striker plate of most cars. It provides a handle to push up from when transferring out of the car seat. This can be purchased from a large range of suppliers - just google "Handybar". It can also be used to cut a seat belt or smash a window in the event of an accident.
Increase storage
Folding wheelchairs can take up storage in your car, but many large folding wheelchairs have ‘quick release wheels'. These allow you to easily reduce the weight and size of your wheelchair quickly and without any tools. This means easier storage and access to transportation - have a look at your chair’s manual before you travel to see what’s possible.
Flat tyres
If you get a flat tyre on your wheelchair while travelling, look up the local bike shop - they’re a great place to help with new tyres or puncture repair while you’re away.