My plans for Ocala Gathering 07

Hey everyone, I just posted this on the welcomehere.org forums but I have a feeling it may be overlooked in the shuffle of other questioning posts by young members inadvertantly. The basic gist for those that don't have time to read the full post, I'm looking for feedback and ideas on getting there and keeping my electric wheelchair using self safe and happy. So here goes the madness .

 

I don't really know the answers to your questions, but I'm planning on being there and I'd be more than happy to help you with anything you need, maybe we could even ride together. As for your chair, I'm sure there will be generators there and that wouldn't be a problem. As I've told you I worked for someone who was wheelchair bound, and we went camping with her and that is what we did.

Maybe taking your van would be better, becuase it probably has more space, than whatever else you're thinking of. I don't know. But it's smart of you to get this all out in the open, so far in advance. I'm sure you'll get what you need and have a great time!

 

Yeah definitely... and hey hannah if you guys do want to come up to CT a few days before and trade your car for my van (has a lift so waaay easier) we can go down together. I have yet to explain this to my parents, heh, but I will.

 

ghostcrab your blog is empty..lol whats the point in that? but wheels, i'mthinking the idea we spoke of before of the second battery & some sort of solar charger would be the ideal situation, also many buses & campers have generators i believe some people even arrange with local folks to just charge the batteries at nearby houses hannah is a total sweety & if shed like to help you out id take her up on it.. ocala is definately a good choice for you for a first experience because the terain is much easier then most gatherings
oh, just a thought,you may also want to contact rob savoy whos the webmaster of welcomehome.org (not welcomehere) & ask him about charging options i know he always has a solar setup for the radio communications & usualy for charging radio batteries, if he has an extra pannel or somethning maybe hed be willing to bring it to help you out
ive also seen solar waterpumps & filters before so you might want to ask him if he knows of anyone else going who may have a setup

perhaps you could concider also bringing a manual chair as a backup? i know withyour muscular weakness that presents a problem for you getting around, but thats not a problem with so muvcch help availible, many people rig up a rickshaw type rig, i've even seen rickshaws withheavy duty springs & motorcycle wheels..
for you a rickshaw type option mayy prove better then a power chair, especialy at more mountanouse gatherings
i dohave an extra manual rigid frame chair if your fairly skinny,

you'll find if youve got the will toget there..kindness & rainbow ingenuity will dothe rest

 

the family owns solar panels, and an extra battery would be a handy thing to have.

 

some friends of mine done a handicamp movie a couple of years ago, lots of cool people were there and if i remember right there were a couple a electric chairs.. ill see can i get ahold of em an see if they comming down this year,
Ill keep ya posted.......

 

wow lots of responses... thanks for the advice eagle, papa and nutz

the chair has 2 twelve volt batteries wired in series for 24V

I did some more research on it and my chair has Group 24 deep cycle lead acid gel cell batteries. The charger I use for charging the batteries on board is automatic but it runs on standard house current, except that it needs at least 10 amps to charge properly.

It may be feasible to charge a second set of batteries while I'm not using them. I'm thinking of a rig with a marine battery charger (these are basically boat batteries) mounted on a box that the extra set of batteries will go into, and clip on to the charger. Then I can run this off a generator or an a/c power inverter. I don't see solar panels generating the type of current that would need on a reliable basis, but I don't really know too much about that yet.

There's a lot of different options to look at... so I'm going to get on this.

As for the manual chair, I have been thinking about it already, and if soaringeagle's extra won't work for me (I'm 6'2" 230-something lbs) I'm sure I can locate something extra that's rugged enough to handle some mountainous terrain. But I'll look into that after Ocala... thanks again everyone

 

I would if i could = Florida sucks this days. specially south florida. its a Nazi State.

 

Care to elaborate on that?

 

You can be sure that Camp Burntout will be there

 

Solar chargers really can reliably charge two 12-volt batteries in a day. If they don't charge them all the way, then at least you'll have less idling time or gas use for a car or generator. check out:

http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_solar.html

 

awesome bobinbecca good to see ya too..thanks fr the info, i'll let him know
are u going toocala?

 

It's highly doubtful I'm going. I wish I could get my sibling to go, she lives in
FL now. But she got scared off of family agroness, and Ocala really ain't the kindest of our vibes.

 

thats really sad, last year was one of the beter years and we need more loving spirits this year to make it even better.....cant wait to see everyone !

 

It's true, Nazi state. We are a conservative state with horribly high crime and redneck cops.

To your wheelchair question; when I went to the ocala gathering the vehicles stopped at the entrance with the drunk vets and the camp area was pretty unpaved.

 

thats true but as far as gatherings go ocala is very easy in a chair, the only parts that arent very ez is the deep sugar sand areas.. but its nothing like when theyre high in the mountains with all sortsa crazy terain & high altitude so its an easy 1st gathering terainwise
i've been to more in my chair then out & ocalas an ez 1

 

It was pretty flat for the most part. Do they always have it in the same place?

 

not in the same place for at least 5 years.

 

Well the power chair is pretty resilient and can do reasonably steep slopes unassisted so I'm definitely not worried about that being a real issue at Ocala.

 

yes a powerchair can handle hills better..but..what do u do when a log or stream crosses your path?
a 20 pound chairs much easier to get over a log then a 100 pound one

id rather get some help up a hill then come across a creek i cant get past
i'd really plan on bringin a manual chair even a rickshaw type setup as a backup & to get past other bariors
also..at most gatherings a power chair might flip sideways on slanted narrow paths..& more modern manual chairs u can set the wheel angles to handle more extreme side slants as well
with my wheels set at 3 degrees its very ez to rock side to side & flip out...but at 15 degrees i can rock as hard as i can & not get the wheels off the ground