Wheelchair accessible motorhomes have been, till just lately, custom-made retrofits of normal RV fashions. Not solely did wheelchair customers must pay the complete value of an RV, however in addition they needed to finance the price of an accessible conversion.

With the discharge of the Winnebago Accessibility Enhanced RV line, accessible RVs are actually accessible direct from the producer — they’re designed to be accessible from the beginning, and far more inexpensive! Earlier this summer time, I used to be invited to take a 2021 Winnebago Encourage RV on a street journey by way of California, exploring nationwide parks and forests alongside our route from San Diego to Sacramento.

It was an unimaginable journey, a journey to recollect — with the altering landscapes between Southern and Northern California, the enormous sequoia bushes in Sequoia Nationwide Park, and the mild meadows beneath towering peaks in Yosemite Nationwide Park. I’m going to share all of that with you, however first — let’s have a look contained in the wheelchair accessible Winnebago Encourage RV!

Wheelchair Accessible Winnebago Encourage RV

The Winnebago Encourage Accessibility Enhanced RV is a Class A motorhome, powered by a 340-hp Cummins^® ISB 6.7L Diesel engine. The motorhome measures 35 toes, 9 inches in size, and is Winnebago’s largest Accessibility Enhanced RV. It options two slideouts to dramatically enhance inside area at campsites, plus an entire host of accessibility options.

Heavy-Obligation Wheelchair Carry

Wheelchair entry to the RV is by way of a heavy-duty BraunAbility Century-2 wheelchair elevate, which has a capability of 800 kilos.

The elevate had no bother lifting me and my Permobil F3 energy wheelchair, collectively weighing simply over 600 kilos. The aspect door by way of which the elevate operates is automated, and might be opened or closed with the contact of a button (contained in the RV and on a key fob).

Seating & Wheelchair Securement Area

Two captain’s chairs sit on the entrance of the Winnebago Encourage RV — one for the motive force and one other for a passenger. The seats featured adjustable arm rests, swivel, mounted lumbar assist, and multi-adjustable recline. As a result of the passenger seat swiveled, I used to be capable of safely switch into it from my wheelchair, providing me distinctive views of the street forward!

A wheelchair securement area, with 4 tie-down places appropriate with Q’Straint straps, is situated immediately behind the 2 entrance seats.

Should you’ve tied down your wheelchair in a taxi or in your private automobile, you’ll don’t have any issues doing the identical on the Winnebago Encourage. The securement system permits wheelchair customers to really feel secure when touring within the RV.

RV Frequent Areas: Residing Room, Kitchen & Eating Space

With the slideouts deployed, the inside is spacious, with loads of room to maneuver about in an influence wheelchair. A eating desk (with a pull-out tabletop for wheelchair entry) and a loveseat greet you upon entry, with each changing into sleeping surfaces.

The lounge/eating space includes a 39″ HDTV, a house theater sounder system, Blu-ray participant and non-compulsory satellite tv for pc TV connectivity.

The kitchen area is well-appointed, with a big sink, 3-burner vary high, microwave/convection oven and a 2-door residential fridge with icemaker. The fridge/freezer combo supplied almost as a lot area for storing meals/drinks as my fridge at residence, and we have been capable of inventory all of the meals that we wanted for our weeklong journey. The gorgeous Corian® counter tops and sink cowl supplied enough area to organize our meals.

Talking of meals, we ate properly throughout our journey! We cooked steak, poultry, ribs and a great deal of greens utilizing the Winnebago Encourage’s kitchen. The meals tasted nice, no completely different than if we had been at residence! With the intention to be nearer to my household, I opted to switch from my wheelchair and into the booth-style seating on the eating desk, however this isn’t vital. A slide-out extension will increase the desk width to accommodate those that want to stay seated in their very own wheelchairs.

Wheelchair Accessible Bed room

Along with the sleeping areas supplied by the convertible dinette and couch, the Winnebago Encourage RV additionally has a bed room on the rear of the motorhome. The bed room includes a Queen dimension InnoMax^® Eurotop Freedom air mattress with controllers to regulate the firmness of each the left and proper aspect of the mattress.

The top of mattress raises and lowers, providing most adaptability to particular person wants. It’s a snug place to sleep, and makes you’re feeling such as you’re at residence!

To the left of the mattress, sufficient area exists to accommodate energy wheelchairs, and my Permobil F3 match simply. A Whirlpool washer and dryer, situated simply outdoors the bed room, ensures you’ll have contemporary garments and linens all through the journey. We packed gentle and did a number of a great deal of laundry throughout our journey.

Wheelchair Accessible Toilet & Roll-in Bathe

The lavatory, situated simply outdoors the bed room, includes a roll-in bathe. Accessibility options within the roll-in bathe included a seize bar, height-adjustable bathe head and simple to function water controls. A wall-mounted bathe seat isn’t included as a regular possibility, however clients have added this upon buy. Throughout my journey within the Encourage, I used a transportable bathe chair that may be bought from Amazon or Walgreens.

A sequence of bathe curtains, a rubber water barrier and a powered drain saved water inside the toilet ⁠— It’s a purposeful design that stops flooding and saves the headache of cleanup.

The lavatory additionally featured a bathroom with a bidet hose, a rest room sink, a drugs cupboard with mirror, and a linen cupboard. The lavatory is a good match, nevertheless it suited me properly, affording me the chance to securely bathe every day.

One factor price noting — and that is one thing that I shared with the Winnebago design crew — the toilet was solely accessible to my energy wheelchair when the right-side slideout was deployed.

Exterior Options

The Winnebago Encourage RV options two exterior awnings to supply shade outdoors the automobile and the campsite.

Along with the shade awnings, the RV additionally includes a TV that swivels out from the aspect of the RV, permitting individuals to take pleasure in reside sports activities and different content material with a satellite tv for pc TV subscription. I assumed many instances about how nice it will be to take the Winnebago Encourage to a school soccer tailgate.

Exploring San Bernardino Nationwide Forest & Massive Bear Lake

After departing San Diego, our first cease was the San Bernardino Nationwide Forest which encompasses greater than 800,000 acres of protected land.

The forest accommodates quite a lot of mountain ranges, together with the San Bernardino, San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains, in addition to parts of the San Gabriel and Traverse Ranges. With elevation starting from 2,000 to 11,000 toes within the forest, guests will have the ability to take pleasure in a various array of nature habitats and viewpoints.

Barton Flats Campground

We stayed on the Barton Flats Campground, which is situated close to the city of Angelus Oaks, California. The campground is close to to the Barton Flats Customer Middle, and is at an elevation of roughly 6,500 toes.

We set-up camp at web site quantity 52, which was flat and included satisfactory area to deploy the RV’s slideouts and wheelchair elevate. The campsite included an accessible picnic desk and fireplace pit, however there have been no electrical energy or water hook-ups. Earlier than we arrived on the camp, we made positive to high off our water provide (the Winnebago Encourage options an 84-gallon freshwater tank capability). The 6,000-watt Cummins Onan^® generator saved our home batteries charged, permitting us to make use of the RV’s air-con system in a single day.

Barton Flats had wheelchair accessible loos with ADA compliant bathrooms and seize bars. The bathe amenities included transfer-type showers with wall-mounted seats, however there was no handheld showerhead. I opted to bathe within the Winnebago Encourage RV.

We have been capable of dump our wastewater on the campground’s dumping station, and there was additionally a water refill station onsite as properly.

Mountain climbing & Flying Massive Bear Lake

One of many most important sights within the San Bernardino Nationwide Forest is Massive Bear Lake, measuring roughly 7 miles by 2.5 miles at its widest level.

A paved, wheelchair accessible path runs alongside the lake and thru the encompassing forested space. It was a stunning path, well-maintained with nice views and plenty of birdlife. To get a bit nearer to the lake, I took my energy wheelchair off-trail, which was a enjoyable expertise.

Those that have adopted this weblog for awhile know that I’m an aviation geek — the uncommon wheelchair person who truly enjoys flying! Massive Bear Metropolis, which is situated subsequent to the lake of the identical title, includes a high-elevation airport, aptly named Massive Bear Airport. There, the corporate Helicopter Massive Bear presents inexpensive helicopter excursions to guests. We determined to go up for an aerial tour — the 15-minute “Tour Kilo” spanned a 24-mile route across the lake and price our group of three individuals solely $195.00. It was an excellent worth and a implausible technique to finish our go to to the San Bernardino Nationwide Forest!

Exploring the Wheelchair Accessible Sequoia Nationwide Park

Many individuals have a nationwide park they lengthy to go to and for me that was Sequoia Nationwide Park, residence of among the world’s greatest bushes — together with Common Sherman, the largest tree on Planet Earth. I used to be thrilled that we have been capable of embrace the Sequoia and Kings Canyon Nationwide Parks on this RV journey!

Potwisha Campground

We stayed simply contained in the boundary of Sequoia Nationwide Park on the Potwisha Campground. It’s used primarily by tent campers, and was a good squeeze for the Winnebago Encourage, however the views of the encompassing space have been beautiful!

We had initially reserved campsite #40, which was listed as being accessible, however massive boulders blocked the RV’s wheelchair elevate at that web site. We moved to campsite #32, which was not listed as accessible, however suited our wants. It featured a hearth pit and picnic desk, however there have been no energy/water hook-ups (that are extraordinarily uncommon in federal campsites and recreation areas).

Potwisha had no showers, however did have a stunning accessible lavatory only a brief stroll away from the campsite. Regardless of the preliminary accessibility challenges and tight quarters for our massive RV, the campsite’s implausible surroundings and close by trails made it our favourite campsite on this journey.

Driving the Common’s Freeway

In our quest to see the most important bushes, we left Potwisha Campground early within the morning, taking the infamous Common’s Freeway to the Large Forest Museum (a welcome heart maintained by the Nationwide Park Service). The space was simply 12.8 miles, however the trip took almost an hour.

The drive is lengthy and gradual as a result of Common’s Freeway and, extra particularly, the portion between Hospital Rock and the Large Forest, is extraordinarily steep, winding, slim and troublesome to maneuver. Indicators posted alongside the route strongly strongly advise autos longer than 22 toes to search out one other route. As a result of we have been underneath time constraints and the detour would have added hours to the journey, we accepted the problem. The 35’9″ Winnebago Encourage RV dealt with it like a champ!

After we arrived on the Large Forest Museum, we parked the Encourage within the RV car parking zone — it’s free to take action. From there, we have been capable of stroll/roll to the Massive Timber Path, some of the well-liked sights in Sequoia Nationwide Park.

Wheelchair Accessible Massive Timber Path

Massive Timber Path is definitely accessible and comparatively brief in size, with a round route of simply 0.7 miles. The views are unimaginable, with numerous large sequoia bushes encircling Spherical Meadow — a pure habitat that’s mentioned to be excellent for the sequoia bushes which have existed there for a whole bunch if not hundreds of years.

The pathway is flat and paved, with benches alongside the way in which. Informational placards inform the story of the bushes there, documenting additionally the unimaginable work that has been carried out to reclaim and protect this awe-inspiring habitat. Relying on what number of images you are taking (most likely lots) and the velocity at which you stroll/roll, the path will take between half-hour to 1 hour of your time.

After I had snapped 100 images on the Massive Timber Path, I rolled again to the museum/customer’s heart (which has a implausible present store), and boarded a shuttle bus for the trip to the Large Forest, the place the world’s largest tree is situated. Though there may be some parking close to the tree, we have been suggested to take the shuttle — RV parking is at a premium, and the shuttle drops you off proper on the entrance to the Large Forest. The trip took lower than 10 minutes, and the bus (which has a wheelchair ramp & securement space) runs continuously.

Up Shut with Common Sherman, the World’s Largest Tree

As you might know, I’m simply impressed by large issues (just like the world’s tallest buildings & towers), so it’s no shock that I’d be fascinated by seeing the world’s largest tree in actual life. That title belongs to a Large Sequoia tree that’s almost 3,000 years previous and which is known as Common Sherman.

What surprises many guests is that Common Sherman is neither the tallest tree on earth (that’s Hyperion, a 380-ft. coast redwood in California) nor the stoutest (that’s Árbol del Tule, a 31.8-ft. diameter Montezuma cypress in Mexico). Sherman’s “largest tree” designation is predicated on quantity, some 52,500 cubic toes of it. The subsequent-closest tree in complete mass is Grogan’s Fault, a redwood that resides in Redwood Nationwide Park with its 38,300 cubic toes of trunk quantity. That’s a lot lower than the Common!

The total measurements on Common Sherman are as follows:

• Top: 275 toes (83.8 meters)
• Diameter: 36 toes (11 meters)
• Quantity of trunk: 52,500 cubic toes (1,487 cubic meters)
• Date seeded: 700 BC – 300 BC

I totally loved seeing Common Sherman, and it was a spotlight of my journey. The wheelchair accessible pathway into the Large Forest grove made accessing the tree hassle-free and, after spending a while there, we rode the shuttle bus again to our RV… to start the drive to Yosemite Nationwide Park!

Wheelchair Accessibility on the Iconic Yosemite Nationwide Park

Sequoia could have been the nationwide park on the high of my record, however Yosemite was on the high of my sister’s. We have been excited to go to the Yosemite Valley, which was the primary pure space put aside for preservation by the federal authorities. The “Yosemite Grant” handed each homes of Congress and was signed into regulation in 1864 by President Abraham Lincoln. It’s due to that regulation, and the later efforts of different naturalists, that People have this pristine wilderness to discover right now.

Yosemite Lakes RV Resort by Thousand Trails

Tenting choices inside Yosemite Nationwide Park are extraordinarily restricted and in excessive demand (they promote out almost a 12 months prematurely), so we as a substitute reserved a spot on the personal Yosemite Lakes RV Resort, which has area for greater than 400 RVs.

The RV park was situated about 6 miles from the principle entrance to Yosemite. The shut proximity to Yosemite was implausible, however the the RV park wasn’t notably accessible. Regardless of having on-site showers, none supplied barrier-free entry appropriate for wheelchair customers. There was one accessible bathroom, nonetheless.

Our “accessible” parking area was not on stage floor, which prompted some issue in using the wheelchair elevate. The ramp on the elevate folds out as quickly because it ranges with the bottom however, for the reason that floor was not stage, one among my touring companions needed to manually prolong the ramp. Not like the federally-managed campgrounds we had stayed at earlier, there have been hook-ups for electrical energy and water, which allowed us to provide the generator a relaxation.

Wheelchair accessible trails to Yosemite Falls, El Capitan & extra

Observe that, as of 2020, admission to Yosemite Nationwide Park throughout peak seasons have to be bought on-line prematurely — typically per week or extra earlier than arrival.

With solely two days to discover the Yosemite Valley, we jumped proper in and sought out the highlights. We parked the RV in quite a lot of completely different places as we moved all through the park, together with the Customer’s Middle, in several parking heaps and even alongside the roadway the place acceptable.

Because of the California wildfires, smoke was within the air, which obscured the views to a sure diploma. As you’ll see from my pictures, it was nonetheless breathtaking!

One among my favourite trails within the Yosemite Valley was Prepare dinner’s Meadow Loop, which gives beautiful views of Prepare dinner’s Meadow (you guessed it!), Half Dome, Sentinel Rock and Yosemite Falls (from a distance).

The path is a combination of pavement, wood boardwalks and hard-packed sand that’s accessible and simple to navigate. The path is round and is about 1 mile in size. As is the case elsewhere, you’ll most likely spend extra time admiring the view and snapping images than it takes to stroll/roll the path.

One other path price exploring is the one which results in Decrease Yosemite Falls. Collectively, the Higher and Decrease Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America and the fifth highest on the planet.

As a result of we visited the park in late summer time, the water stream was minimal and troublesome to see from the closest viewing level (pictured above). In line with the Nationwide Park Service, the height stream happens within the Spring — from late July or August by way of October, the water stream is minimal and will at instances cease altogether.

What does the Winnebago Encourage RV value, and the place can I get one?

The brand new 2022 mannequin of the Winnebago Encourage Accessibility Enhanced RV has a beginning MSRP of $361,352 USD. The 2021 mannequin that I had the pleasure of taking up this California street journey was the bottom mannequin. Patrons of the Winnebago Encourage can relaxation simple realizing that the RV comes with a 36-month/100,000-mile fundamental restricted guarantee and a 10-year restricted parts-and-labor guarantee on its fiberglass roof pores and skin.

We picked-up the Winnebago Encourage RV from the La Mesa RV Middle in San Diego, California. The crew there was actually useful in familiarizing us with the RV’s options, and serving to to get us ready for per week on the street. La Mesa is without doubt one of the largest RV dealerships within the nation, and so they have places within the following cities:

Arizona

California

Florida

New Mexico

As a consequence of excessive demand for the Winnebago Encourage, fashions is probably not accessible to tour in any respect places, however the crew at La Mesa have all the data you would need and extra!

Closing Ideas

The Winnebago Encourage RV made it potential for me to hit the street — experiencing among the most interesting nationwide parks that America has to supply. The wheelchair accessibility built-in to the Encourage is unmatched and supplied every thing I wanted to reside freely off the grid. The RV lived as much as my expectations for what accessible design ought to seem like, and I’m excited to see how Winnebago continues to innovate by way of its Accessibility Enhanced RV line. Should you’re fascinated by taking a street journey throughout America, I can consider no higher method than within the Winnebago Encourage — it’s the proper device that can assist you #OpenYourWorld.

For extra data on the wheelchair accessible Winnebago Encourage RV and to obtain a brochure containing an in depth record of its specs and capabilities, go to the Winnebago web site.