A beach wheelchair has been a wonderful addition to our lives. Not only can BJ access the beach, but as a family we love the freedom it offers us. We’re no longer tied to the availability of a loan chair being available at a specific beach and we can access the beach anytime. We no longer have to rely on the surf life saving club hours to access a chair and we know our own beach wheelchair will be in a good working condition. If you’re unfamiliar with beach wheelchairs, I’ve written an extensive review of the Sandcruiser beach wheelchair which you may find helpful. Our biggest challenge when we go to the beach for the day, or travel for a beach holiday, is storage. It left us looking for an accessible equipment solution without the need to buy a larger car. We’re happy with our cars but need to be able to transport both the beach wheelchair and BJ’s manual wheelchair when we travel to ensure flexibility and ease of travel. Our old roof pod did an okay job for many years but when it broke, we looked for a bigger and better solution, and we found it.
TRANSPORTING A BEACH WHEELCHAIR
Hubby did the research on this one and he was looking for a durable roof pod with the ability to open from either side. It needed to be lockable for security and able to fit the entire beach wheelchair inside. Our old roof pod only fitted some of the components of the beach chair.
The Sandcruiser beach wheelchair comes apart for travel making it easy to store in a large roof pod but it still wasn’t easy finding one large enough.
Hubby chose the Thule Motion XT-XL in Titanium which fits BJ’s beach wheelchair and leaves room for a few bits and pieces we can squeeze around it for long distance travel.
Having the entire beach wheelchair stored on the roof will free up the rear of the car for other luggage and when we arrive at our destination it can stay up there until we head to the beach.
The locking system is more secure and easier to use when compared to our old roof pod.
Now when we go for a day out at the beach this will allow us to have BJ’s manual chair and the beach wheelchair with us. Although we love using the Sandcruiser beach wheelchair at the beach, to go to a cafe or take a walk to the shops we really need the manual chair. Now we can travel with both and not have to limit our experiences once at the beach.
As many of you will no doubt have experienced, it’s hard to store the amount of equipment that can come with having a disability. It was one of my concerns about having our own beach wheelchair but Hubby found a way to keep it out of the way and in a safe space by hanging it in the garage in front of my car. It’s easy to get down when we need it but also out of the way when not in use.
We paid in full for our new roof pod. This isn’t a sponsored post, we just like sharing our experiences and equipment solutions to help more people get out into the community and travelling.
You may also like to read the following
The Versatility of a Beach Wheelchair
DIY Beach Wheelchair Kit – Manual Chair to Beach Wheelchair
Review of the Sandcruiser and Sandpiper Beach Wheelchairs
Have Beach Wheelchair Will Travel
Love the way the pod has the same color as the car!