Tell us about your disablity & rig

[1leglance]

This thread is meant to be an location for folks who have any kind of mobility issue to post up a bit more detail. It will help to have 1 place we can find each other even while we play in the larger "expo" world

Please tell us only what you are comfortable with discussing.

Your first name:

Your location:

Type of mobility issue & how it effects you in the outdoors:

Types of modifications you have done to adapt:

Your vehicle (locker, sliders, cb, ham radio, navigation setup, fridge, anything you can think of)

Tell us about some of your adventures:

And lastly please let us know if you would be open to helping others in your area. Either as a driver for Ride-Alongs (so other disabled folks can see they do it too), allowing others to look over your rig, joining in on our Guided Trips.

Thanks eveyone for your help and I know we have a number of folks here who will chime in but I will get the thread started.

[1leglance]

Your first name:
Lance

Your location:
Phoenix, AZ but I travel all over

Type of mobility issue & how it effects you in the outdoors:
Lower left leg amputee for 20yrs, honestly barely effects me but that is more my bad ego than anything else, I don't like sand or fist size rocks as I will have balance issues. Mud is a nightmare since it tries to pull my leg off and gets into the joint.


Types of modifications you have done to adapt:
Exhaust jack since the a Hi-lift is tough to handle for me, SPOT global messenger so I don't have to hike out due to breakdown, emergency gear to bunker down waiting for help, Ham radio to reach out for help if SPOT breaks, Laptop GPS navigation to try and not get lost, dual batteries so I always start


Your vehicle (locker, sliders, cb, ham radio, navigation setup, fridge, anything you can think of)
2007 FJ Cruiser, rear locker, front ATRAC, 3" lift, sliders, skid plates, ARB front bumper w/ Warn winch, Gobi roof rack with sunroof cutout, Hannibal Roof Top Tent & Awning (thanks Andrew-Hltopper), CB, HAM, dual battery, Engel fridge, Warn rear bumper, and a bunch more..

Tell us about some of your adventures:
Ghost town exploring in the Southwest, Climbed the Andes in Peru (hey I rode in a 4wd to get there), hiked jungles of Costa Rica, backpacked the Yucatan, won the 2007 Expo Trophy w/ JP Lederman, and more than I can remember

And lastly please let us know if you would be open to helping others in your area. Either as a driver for Ride-Alongs (so other disabled folks can see they do it too), allowing others to look over your rig, joining in on our Guided Trips.
I will help anyone, anytime, anywhere I can.

[Rubicon Rich]

It's called a Rubicon Jeep!! My name is Rich and have been disabled since I was a kid. When you lose the normal use of your legs, you have to get creative. Finally, I rebeled and took a gamble by buying my jeep. It moved slow enough to resemble "walking". I modified it to accomadate me. I have difficulty seeing, so I installed six Light Force offroad light that permit me to see better. I have memory problems and suffer from anxiety. To relieve that, I installed two in dash GPS systems. I wanted a back up! One is sold by Jeep and is a Garmin that doubles as a handheld. The other is a Pioneer AVIC N-1. The Pioneer also has a monitor that has a camera bus port for the infra red vision I installed. I use that to see the animals and it enhances night driving.
I gave myself a/c electricity thro a 3,000 watt inverter. That powers my laptop and coffee pot, I like fresh coffee. I have a Cobra 280 coupled to a Wilson antenna. I have a dual Optima battery system, one in the engine compartment and one in the add-a-trunk in the back. I have two Warn winches for the front and back with a remote for safety reasons. All kinds of recovery straps and blocks. High-lift jack and a wheel chock. An Army shovel, a tree saw, a d.c. powered fridge, two air compressors, Warn jumper cables, 165 amp alternator, aux fuse boxes, chain saw, tools and spare parts, Wrangler 35's with Staun inner beadlocks, regeared to 4:88's with 30 spline axles. Curry steering, Rubicon Express 4.5 with a R.E. 1 inch body lift.
Warn steering box skid plate, Temco gas tank skid plate. A 1943 Bantam Army trailer to carry the stuff in. Lockers in all gear ranges.
Still need a few things like my trailer modified with a roof top tent for me and my dogs. Love to find a disabled guy to fill the shotgun seat. Camping equipment I put last on the list, so I am saving for that. In a year or so, I'll be able to get out. My dream trip is the Southwest during warm weather. Of course I'd be willing to help anyone that is disabled to see where I go. So far, I've roamed the mountains in Washington and some in Oregon.

[The Adam Blaster]

Your first name:
Adam, that part might be given away by my screen name.
Your location:
Sherwood Park, AB - Basically the east wing of Edmonton Alberta, Canada
Type of mobility issue & how it effects you in the outdoors:
Not so much of a mobility issue per se...
From a motorcycle accident in '97, paralysed right arm from the shoulder, and 2 blown out knees. Maybe it is a bit of a mobility issue? lol
Types of modifications you have done to adapt:
With my Cherokee, nothing. Looking into the exhaust jack though.
I have a custom-rock crawler buggy as well, and I had it built with the steering wheel on the right side so it's easier for me to move all the levers in the center console area.
Your vehicle (locker, sliders, cb, ham radio, navigation setup, fridge, anything you can think of)
Cherokee:
Over a year-long process of lifting from 3 - 4.5 inches being lazy and having too much pride to ask friends for help with it. lol
I've got the 33's sitting mounted on rims and it already has a Detroit in the rear.
Buggy:
Custom-built with 'mog axles that have been narrowed 7", disc brake conversion, front and rear mechanical lockers, full drivetrain from a 1990 Chevy Blazer with 4.3 engine etc. Axles have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 7.56:1 gearing. 42" Super Swamper TSL's mounted on Hummer beadlock, full hydro-steering and some other crap.
Tell us about some of your adventures:
Most of my driving trips could be described as little more than straight-up road trips. I've driven between Alberta and Windsor, Ontario (my former home) about 6 times, make it a 7th next summer, but have stuck to staying in motels because they have been just a means to get between points A and B as fast as possible, and I wasn't able to enjoy everything in between. My wife and I drove down to Denver area in 2006, rented a Jeep for a week and drove around with other friends, did Pike's peak, and some other crazy-high altitude trail across some mountain peaks.
Been to the Amazon in Brazil with a small tour group, want o go back on my own schedule.
Spent a couple of weeks in a rental camper-van seeing New Zealand. Never actually slept in the van though because it was their winter and was a bit chilly on that south island. The wife doesn't like the cold!! lol

Future plans include driving to northern Alaska, or farther north in Canada, and all the way south to Tierra Del Fuego. Probably not all at once though.

[Rupe]

My name is Rupe (David) I live in Springfield, Oregon and became disabled 2 years ago, do to back injury and having rods and screws put in to keep me moving some. I'm 54 today and so being disabled late in life sort of has me down some, but I'm coming to grips with it. . I have to use a cane and may have to the rest of my life. I'm unsure yet. I drive a 07 Jeep JK 2 dr. I don't have to have any mods. done to drive it. Being disabled has been a real eye openner and finding different ways of doing something has been a challenge at times but it also is pretty cool when you figure out how to do it after trying it so many different ways. The little steps like figuring out how to tie your own shoes is a great triumph or some of the other little things in life that I took for granted. I'm now getting involved some in trying to keep roads and trails open so that the disabled can enjoy the same quality of life that hikers can. My pet peeve is having the hikers take away our right to see our country the only way we can, by 4 wheeling into it! If it wasn't for being able to drive a motorized vehicle into these areas, we would never get to see some of the sights we have in this country. Oops didn't mean to get off topic. See what I mean Pet Peeve! LOL later Rupe

[weezerbot]

My pet peeve is having the hikers take away our right to see our country the only way we can, by 4 wheeling into it! If it wasn't for being able to drive a motorized vehicle into these areas, we would never get to see some of the sights we have in this country.

Welcome Rupe! I have to say your comment there is a huge part of Disabled Explorers for me. I'm an avid hiker, and don't get me wrong I like peace and quiet as well....but I think the biggest thing that some of these groups forget is the access for the handicapped. It just doesn't even dawn on them that 4wd is the only way for a lot of people to get out and enjoy nature. I think when they picture 4wd all they see is some drunk redneck in a Chevy mod bogging or something. Hopefully soon we can change their minds!

[1leglance]

There are some cool folks with cool rides...
We are finally getting to the point of featuring all of you on the Overcome sections of the DE site so that the newly disabled can see someone like them who is out there enjoying the backcountry.

[Fulltimer]

Welcome Rupe! I have to say your comment there is a huge part of Disabled Explorers for me. I'm an avid hiker, and don't get me wrong I like peace and quiet as well....but I think the biggest thing that some of these groups forget is the access for the handicapped. It just doesn't even dawn on them that 4wd is the only way for a lot of people to get out and enjoy nature. I think when they picture 4wd all they see is some drunk redneck in a Chevy mod bogging or something. Hopefully soon we can change their minds!

I wasn't going to respond to this thread. But, changed my mind because of what was said above. I'm 61 years old and the years haven't been that great in some ways. I was in the Army, in Vietnam in 1967. I was hit in both upper legs by a machine gun. I spent the next 23 months in the hospital. Many operations later now. My knees don't bend very much, I have had the left one replaced (total), the right replaced twice (total). From 1967 to 1995 I walked around with a badly bowed right leg. It was finally fixed, but other damage resulted from the bow. I now have a bad back and neck. I can't get out of chairs without using my arms and as a result of that I have bad shoulders. Now I have osteoporosis!

I can't walk very far and if I fall chances are I'm going to the hospital. So, I can't visit all these neat places our country has to offer IF I have to hike in. My Jeep isn't set up in any special way for me but it does allow me to see a lot of the country! Gotta love 4X4!!!

Terry

[weezerbot]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread. But, changed my mind because of what was said above. I'm 61 years old and the years haven't been that great in some ways. I was in the Army, in Vietnam in 1967. I was hit in both upper legs by a machine gun. I spent the next 23 months in the hospital. Many operations later now. My knees don't bend very much, I have had the left one replaced (total), the right replaced twice (total). From 1967 to 1995 I walked around with a badly bowed right leg. It was finally fixed, but other damage resulted from the bow. I now have a bad back and neck. I can't get out of chairs without using my arms and as a result of that I have bad shoulders. Now I have osteoporosis!

I can't walk very far and if I fall chances are I'm going to the hospital. So, I can't visit all these neat places our country has to offer IF I have to hike in. My Jeep isn't set up in any special way for me but it does allow me to see a lot of the country! Gotta love 4X4!!!

Terry

Welcome Terry! You certainly don't need to have anything fancy on your rig in order to get to a fun outdoor experience! I hope we can wheel together soon!

[1leglance]

You know Terry you bring up something that is going to become much more common as our population ages.
Often folks don't look "disabled" but still have mobility issues. You don't have any fake legs/arms you aren't in a wheelchair but in the end you need motorized access to enjoy the backcountry.

I think there will be a huge wake up call down the road as folks who fought against motorized access get older, have accidents or illness and suddenly can't go where they want to go.

As always Disabled Explorers never ask for NEW roads or trails, just please keep the access we currently have open. Stop closing trails.

Glad to have you on board Terry and nice to know we will have another person to wheel with in Florida if we get down your way.