Caravanning with a disability
Hi everyone, I recently underwent cancer surgery which has resulted in me having a stoma and I am looking for some advice from anyone in a similar situation.
Both my wife and I love are caravan and I don't want to give it up but I'm very concerned about all the heavy lifting that is associated with set up etc as I need to avoid the risk of hernia etc so id be grateful of any tips etc so I can carry on enjoying our caravan.
Thanks in advance for your help
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I don't know how practical a suggestion this is but a MH means using for less physical effort in setting up and dealing with water etc. No Aquaroll or Wastemaster to wrestle with, the toilet cassette can be driven to to emptying point and levelling is much simpler.
Other than that, try using a drill to wind corner steadies and get a cheapie foldable wheeled trolley for moving things around. Above all, use serviced pitches to make life easier.
Good luck to you 👍
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I would think serviced pitches might be your answer. Just a pipe from grey van outlet to drain. Not being a caravanner don’t know quite how fresh water works except pipe from tap. Certainly no aquaroles full of water to shift. Loo, may be you wife could empty that.
if you don’t have a motor mover filleted I would certainly get one. We had them when we caravanned and found them brilliant. A drill for winding steadies, not the handle.good luck
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We downsized to a small Eriba caravan as we got older and simplified everything. No awning, no aquaroll and minimal kit. We washed ourselves and dirty dishes at tne facilities block. Other than in emergencies we used their toilets too. We used electricity rather than haul gas cylinders. We fetched very little water but filled the coffee pot at the nearest tap. Setting up took five minutes. There was no heavy lifting at all.
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John
I don't know how long you usually stay at any given campsite? It might be worth considering longer stays to minimise the need for setting and packing up too frequently. If you use a full awning perhaps consider a smaller porch awning. It may also depend on how much help your wife can provide as that might influence what can and can't be done. As already suggested mechanical aids like movers and corner steady winders will make life easier if you don't already have them. Serviced pitches also help with the gathering of fresh water and disposal of waste. A watering can might help in keeping the Aquaroll topped up? Good luck with your endeavours.
David
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All good advice from above, service pitches, use facilities, use a motor mover, do you need an awning, etc…….
I would add don’t try and do things by yourself, if you can share the tasks between you, that would be good. Help is often available from staff or owners on sites, if you can discuss prior to arrival. Travel as light as possible as well, lighten the load and lessen the tasks.
Without doubt a MH is easier to set up and pack up, and will give you help in terms of access to a loo at all times should you need it, and a rest place if you are still in recovery. Appreciate this might not be the option you want though.
Any surgery will take time to recover from, particularly if core muscles have been affected. You could consider a seasonal pitch for a year, somewhere you really like, and try and find one where staff will set up and pack away your van, on a service pitch? There are some nice CLs that have seasonal pitches alongside, doesn’t have to be a Club Site option. Good luck, hope you get sorted.
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Regarding SP there are ways to get around using or getting out the aquaroll, either use a direct hose into the outlet (with pressure reducers) made by both of the major manufactures or there was a thread about using a small lightweight alternative from Collapz called a collapsible water aquaroll. I hope someone that poster originally about it will give more details. Might have been DSB who uses one?
Post edit some some details here and direct water hose in the pic as well as the Collapz.
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Sorry just had another thought, it's expensive and may affect payload but there are automatic leveling devices that level front to back and side to side and lower the steadies for you - here
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We use what is called a 'fresh-mini' kit from Colapz on a serviced pitch. We use it mainly to cut down on the weight/ space if stuff we carry as the user payload on many vans is generally quite poor.
A fresh-mini kit us a small collapsible bucket which takes a couple of litres of water. There is a valve which is fitted inside the bucket which keeps the 'bucket' filled up from the water hose that is connected to the tap on the pitch, in the same way as the kit that you can buy to put in the aquaroll.
We also use the flexi-waste pipes also produced by Colapz.
Colapz are bringing out a collapsible 20L container and they are currently experimenting with connecting 2 of these devices together to provide the equivalent of the 40L aquaroll/ wastemaster for standard (non-serviced) pitches. I suspect we are at least 12 months away before we see these in production, but I'm guessing here. They are also working on a small collapsible trolley to carry the 20L containers.
Here are some links:
https://colapz.co.uk/collections/water-containers/products/fresh-mini-starter-kit
https://colapz.co.uk/collections/flexi-waste-pipes/products/flexi-waste-pipe-kit-8-pipe
Hope this helps a little,
David
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The other thing we use is a wind-out canopy instead of an awning. Some of the awning can be heavy to pull through the awning rail. Our is a Thule awning. We tend not to use it in the winter as we don't take 'outside stuff' with us. It is sufficient to keep dry anything we leave outside....
David
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For some with certain medical needs it might be easier to use the van with everything to hand. I think serviced pitches can be a boon but the general lifting and carrying needs to be reduced so anything on wheels or wheeled trollies is very useful. We take a fold up wheeled trolley, one that has good sized detachable wheels, we found smaller wheels didn't cope with some surfaces.
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I agree with what you say Brue, particularly with regard to medical needs might be better done in the van.
I've tentatively investigated Peritoneal Dialysis as it might be on the cards in the not too distant future. If I did go down that route I'd much prefer to do it in my own shower, thus reducing potential infection risks so I would opt for service pitch wherever we stopped. Hopefully won't be needed for a while but the OP sounds like he might need as clean an environment as possible.
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I was in a similar situation, last year, after by-pass surgery on an aneurysm in my leg which meant that kneeling down was difficult / painful / not advisable. It's largely a question of how much you can afford or are prepared to pay to solve the various problems, but there are solutions for most things.
I had E&P automatic levelling fitted (Compact version) which means I don't have to scrabble about on my knees to fit the twin wheel locks - I can do it sitting on the caravan step after I've raised the van on the hydraulic rams. I've just had the same canopy fitted that DSB has and if I do have to kneel down to peg out an awning - I use one of those garden kneelers which allows me to take the weight on my good knee - and get up again!!
We tend to use CLs and CS's quite a lot - and often go to the same ones regularly where I know the set-up. By using a 4-way tap splitter, I can usually plumb into the water and also allow others to do so or get their water from the spare outlets - even if it's not an 'official' serviced pitch. It's often possible to improvise with drainage as well. So that's the problem of lugging water about solved!
Just have a think about all the tasks that you are going to find difficult and then look for alternative ways of doing it - there's a mine of information on the internet. I'm sure you will - and good luck.
One final point - don't be afraid to ask for help. I am sure that a fellow (more able) caravanner will be more than willing to assist you if you explain your situation.
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Not trying to say you should not continue to use your caravan, but have you looked at some other alternatives, e.g. country cottages, in the UK, these are quite reasonably priced out of season, if going to countries such as Spain apartments and even small villas are quite cheap out of season, for these you should be able to rock up put your bags down and go explore, no heavy lifting/carrying getting the caravan level, no hair raising experiences on roads not designed for todays large caravans, and you could quite possibly save money by down sizing your towing vechile to a more practical/economical family sized saloon.
caravaned for many years and never really taken into consideration the costs but of late i have noticed for instance a big increaese in pitch fees, particularly in the UK, ferry costs if you travel abroad, increase in fuel costs especially when towing, storage fees for caravan if you cannot store at home, servicing/insurance for caravan, yes , as people have said, there are many gadgets out there to make life easier, but a lot are very expensive, e.g. motor mover £1k plus, i guess a lot depends on how much use you actually get from your caravan, some folk on here are away some 250 days plus per year others may be only 30.
I dont really have any disability but i am 75+ , and the way i caravan today does not get any easier, so am going to take a serious look at how we can make how we caravan today easier without spoiling our enjoyment, that will involve not taking everything except the kitchen sink, or should we cut and run for something that should be much easier to handle and possibly more enjoyable.
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Hello John. I have 2 stomas for the same reason as you. We have a motorhome which cuts out all the heavy lifting. I know this would be a change but it may well be the solution. The last thing you want is a hernia.
If this wont work for you, please talk to your stoma nurse about strengthening exercises and dont do anything without support wear. Take advice from the stoma nurse. They will have experience of this I'm sure.
All the very best.
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Not trying to say you should not continue to use your caravan, but have you looked at some other alternatives, e.g. country cottages, in the UK,
While to some extent I agree with you R&R, it can be a bit limiting whereas when you have your own van and things around you with the mobility it gives you, you have greater scope for travel and you can still undertake suitable other forms of holidays/breaks as well.
We would certainly not give up our van lightly and since we started touring 35 years ago with a disability, we have continued to make changes to maintain and improve the freedom it gives. Every disability is different but the only thing I would let stand in our way would be lack of a driving licence.
peedee
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Here what you are saying peedee, and i know you have to deal with a true disability, not just getting old like me, so for us apartments, hotels, country cottages, villas do not present an uncertainty of the unknown as to how the facilities would meet our needs, a MH for us now is an expense we just cannot afford, like you we do love the freedom of our caravan, only time will tell, enjoy your MH.
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We faced this problem when OH became unwell and was told not to lift anything, and they meant anything. Each trip became too much of a worry for me, even hitching up started to concern me. So we bought our static caravan. I know that being in one place isn’t for everyone, but if you choose a nice site, in a place you love then it works. If you have offspring who can use it as well then even better. Ours is rarely unoccupied. Once there the kettle is on in a moment, the freezer has food, all we need do is unpack our clothes, it really is home from home and we never get tired of visiting the surrounding area. OH had a big operation and is now a little better but we wouldn’t go back to towing. Our only regret - that we didn’t do it years sooner.
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Spot on👍 They are great for advice, and if it’s recent surgery, then things will be new to you, and you perhaps need time to adjust and rebuild your core muscles as best you can. Hence why I suggested a seasonal pitch with assistance for a season, do away with most of the hard work if you can. With some adjustments, compromises and doing away with the lifting and handling of water, waste, hooking up, positioning van on pitch and in storage, you should be fine. Might mean spending a bit of money on new devices to assist, but only you know what your choices will be.
Using your own facilities onboard would be more hygienic for you, and there’s no pressure in terms of anyone outside the loo/shower cubicle either. There are some very nice serviced pitch options around nowadays, Club, CL and nice private sites.
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I'd certainly second DEBS post above. Although we bought our static some years before we actually gave up touring, and not due to health reasons, it turned out to be one of the best things we ever did. Costs of new statics are now frighteningly expensive but "pre-loved" and ready sited ones can be quite reasonable, certainly less than most new MHs and car/caravan combinations.
If you decided to go down that route I'd just offer two bits of advice.
First, make sure you do your homework - have a good look round various sites in the area you like, talk to potential neighbours and ask what their opinion of the site owners/management is.
Second, don't make it the be all and end all of your time away from home. By combining using ours almost monthly (we'll be there next week in fact) with hotel and cottage breaks (both very competitively priced these days) you'll be able to have as many and as varied breaks as you probably do at the moment with your van.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
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