Where is Gooserider?

[Gooserider]

The uShip site says it has a tracking ability, but I didn't seem to be able to make it work. However I got some bad news tonight - the bidder that I had originally accepted canceled on me, no really good reason given... Since I had gotten a bid that was slightly lower from a second shipper with less positive feedback, I opted to contact him saying that I'd give him first dibs if he was still willing to do it. He came back with a bid that was slightly higher, but still lower than the one I'd accepted, so I took it. The good thing is that he says he will pick up within 10 days, and deliver within 3 days of pickup, so I should be getting it fairly soon...

Gooserider

 

[Gooserider]

Gads, how time flies when having sort of fun.... Hadn't realized I'd let it go so long since I last commented...

The chair did finally get here, and I'm in the process of taking it apart - the photos of the process are HERE on Photobucket but in summary, the first shot below is what I started with, and the second is where I've gotten to - essentially I have the chair stripped down to the "power-base" and now have it up on a table in the garage waiting for me to take the next step of stripping the power-base down to the frame.

If you want to see more of a play-by-play on my progress, you can see what I'm doing over on the site "WheelChairDriver.com" which I think is one of the best sites out there on wheelchair tech, as it doesn't feel that one should be limited to just what is available from the mobility industry, but instead to create something that meets your own needs and abilities... (And points a big finger of shame at the mobility industry for the lousy job it does, so that we NEED to create our own solutions...)

Medical front is more or less OK, no big changes...

We have finally gotten some word from the folks at Mass Rehab on my being able to get a converted van - essentially we've been told to start shopping for a suitable conversion candidate (we have to buy the van, Mass. Rehab then pays to have it converted) It has to be a Dodge / Chrysler minivan, 2008 or newer, less than 24K miles, no accident history, with factory power sliding door on passenger side, but without the power folding rear seat, and preferably with the "load leveling" suspension, though this can be retrofitted.... So far it seems that there is a fair supply of 2008's and 2010's but not many 2009's for some reason. Also there isn't much cost difference between the '08 and '10 models, so we will probably get a 2010 just so that the factory warranty will last longer...

The other big news is that we are planning a "Work Day" to repair / replace the two sheds that I had collapse on me over this past winter.... Current plans are for June 11th, probably starting around 9:00 A.M. or thereabouts, and going until...

I have ordered a replacement for the portable tent garage, it should be here in a few days.

I have pretty much settled on a plan for the repairs to the tin shed - As I was posting in the "How do I fix?" thread, what I think will work best is to deal with it is to put some uprights on the outside of the walls at the corners, and a band around the top of the walls. After that, put up a few sets of rafters, and some 1x? strapping across them, and then put some clear corrugated plastic (Suntuf brand at Home Depot) on as a roof. Also build a small ramp so that I can get into the shed, at least when there is no snow on the ground.

In both cases we will need to clear at least some of the stuff in the buildings out of the way, and then put it back in when done....

Our friend Domi O'Brien will be doing the cooking again. Anyone who has been to the previous builds can tell you that this her cooking is something not to be missed, In addition to her home-made from scratch breads, we will probably be having a ham, a turkey and who knows what else... (Guaranteed the only folks leaving hungry are the ones that wanted to...)

It would be good if folks could let us know if they are coming just so that we can give Domi a rough idea of how many to plan on....

Gooserider

 

[Gooserider]

forgot the photos.... :red:

 

[fishingpol]

Thanks for the update Goose. Good to see the chair has arrived and work beginning on modifications. I'll start the ball rolling on the work day. I can make it for a few hours. I am on call for my job, but as long as everything is quiet, I'll be there. PM me if any tools are necessary. Maybe I'll make a few pork pies to bring along for a mid-morning snack to go along with coffee. All we need now is a break in the weather.

 

[Gooserider]

Good to hear from you - look forward to seeing you on the 11th... Don't know of any specific tools needed, but if you have some particular things you like to use, it wouldn't hurt to bring them along - I'm guessing that mostly what would be needed is carpentry type stuff...

Certainly we need to hope that the weather clears up eventually - this rain is getting to be a pain...

Gooserider

 

[fredarm]

Definitely go for the 2010 van if you can. 2008 was the first year of that redesign and they are known to have some first-year vehicle bugs.

 

[Gooserider]

Definitely go for the 2010 van if you can. 2008 was the first year of that redesign and they are known to have some first-year vehicle bugs.

Thanks for the suggestion - we did end up going for the 2010, mostly because the cost difference between a 2008 and a 2010 seemed to only average a few hundred bucks... We ended up putting a deposit down on a 2010 Plymouth Town & Country w/ just under 18K miles - former Hertz rental from OK. According to the computer report on the car, it scored a 94 on their scale, which was the top of the range for similar cars...

Now we get to wait for the "blessing" from the Mass. Rehab engineer - hopefully that won't take long. I did tell one of the sales guys at the place we are currently inclined to prefer to deal with, and he ran it by Braun, one of the outfits that does the conversions, and Braun said it was fine...

In other good news, Mary-Anne has "landed" - and this time in as permanent a position as you are likely to get in the software business... Hopefully means we can get more of the HP stuff that we need to make all of the house accessible, and take care of some of the other repairs that it desperately needs...

Gooserider

 

[Dune]

Barring unforseen circumstances, I will be there on the 11th. Hope to see some other members as well. I will be bringing my service truck and making some minor mods in the bathroom.

 

[Gooserider]

We are starting to get stuff together for the build day on June 11th...

The replacement portable garage unit has arrived, and I've opened it up to inventory the parts, far as I can tell everything is there that should be... I was most impressed by the guy that delivered it - those of you who have been to our house may remember that we are next to the last house on a dead end road that gets really narrow towards our end... I've always told anyone bringing something by truck that it needed to be on a straight truck because I didn't think a semi could make it in and out... However the driver bringing the garage came in with a 45' semi-trailer, backed it into our drive, dropped the tent, and took off again - made it look easy... Now I at least KNOW that it can be done with a semi, if the driver is good enough.

My friend Tim from NH is going to be coming down tomorrow afternoon so we can go shopping for the stuff I'll need to do the repair on the tin shed...

Domi O'Brien, who has done the cooking at the last two work days, has promised to do so again. She will likely be coming down once or twice beforehand to make sure we have the kitchen stuff ready. (Her cooking is one really good reason to show up - starting with breads made from scratch, and on from there.... I think we will at least have a turkey and a ham - nobody is going to leave hungry without a fight... :cheese: )

A couple of other minor tasks that may be involved - I have a bunch of baseboard and door casing that is all pre-finished and ready to install as the last thing to finish the bathroom - I'm hoping that some of the folks from the church group who do finish carpentry will be able to put it in, but a backup wouldn't be bad...

Also we have just purchased a pool lift, so that I can get in and out of our pool. Right now it is sitting in the driveway, and is going to have to be moved around back to the pool. It is on small wheels, but the ground is rough and its a big heavy thing... It may still need moving on the work day. However I did promise that if I had a lift I would open the pool - if I can get it open in the next couple of days, it will probably be swimmable by the work day after we get the other stuff done...

Ex-Gooserider

 

[snowleopard]

forgot the photos.... :red:

I don't get it--where does the MotoGuzzi decal go on this thing?

 

[fishingpol]

Goose,

I'll bring my finish nailers and chop saw as back-up for the trim install. I'm still threatening to bring some Tourtiers along for mid morning snack.

 

[Gooserider]

Stuff is slowly coming together for the build day on June the 11th...

I've gotten the replacement portable tent garage - inventoried it and all the parts are there.

I got some cement that I hope to till into the gravel that makes the current floor in order to make it into "soil cement" which will give me a firmer foundation that I hopefully will be able to get around on in my chair without getting stuck the way I have in the past.

I've purchased most of the stuff that I needed to get the roof on the tin shed replaced - I had a lot of the 2x stock on hand already as leftovers from when my ramp was built last year, but needed some 1x3 strapping and the corrugated plastic roofing material. I've got an order in w/ Home Depot's website for the rest.

I've gotten the pool open, and the water looks and tests pretty good, but I have a lot of gruck on the bottom of the shallow end - something seems to be wrong with the pool cleaning bot - it just runs around in circles in the deep end, doesn't go into the shallow end at all... It is interesting to work on figuring out how to do all the pool upkeep from a wheelchair...

I have also gotten the pool lift that I will need to be able to get in and out of the pool - still need to get it around to the pool area, and deal with the eBay vendor who didn't include the battery pack or charger for it, and didn't say they weren't included in the description... I'm putting a couple pictures of the lift down below - the first is as it came off the truck, and sort of reminded me of the "Trojan Rabbit" from Monty Python & The Holy Grail... The second is what it looks like once I got it unwrapped... It weighs several hundred pounds, but I think a lot of the weight can be broken up as it has a bunch of steel counterweight plates under the cover.

just hoping for good weather....

Gooserider

 

[pastera]

Stuff is slowly coming together for the build day on June the 11th...

I have also gotten the pool lift that I will need to be able to get in and out of the pool - still need to get it around to the pool area, and deal with the eBay vendor who didn't include the battery pack or charger for it, and didn't say they weren't included in the description... I'm putting a couple pictures of the lift down below - the first is as it came off the truck, and sort of reminded me of the "Trojan Rabbit" from Monty Python & The Holy Grail... The second is what it looks like once I got it unwrapped... It weighs several hundred pounds, but I think a lot of the weight can be broken up as it has a bunch of steel counterweight plates under the cover.

just hoping for good weather....

Gooserider

I have a 12v SLA charger and battery (7Ah) hanging around - Useful?

 

[Gooserider]

Stuff is slowly coming together for the build day on June the 11th...

I have also gotten the pool lift that I will need to be able to get in and out of the pool - still need to get it around to the pool area, and deal with the eBay vendor who didn't include the battery pack or charger for it, and didn't say they weren't included in the description... I'm putting a couple pictures of the lift down below - the first is as it came off the truck, and sort of reminded me of the "Trojan Rabbit" from Monty Python & The Holy Grail... The second is what it looks like once I got it unwrapped... It weighs several hundred pounds, but I think a lot of the weight can be broken up as it has a bunch of steel counterweight plates under the cover.

just hoping for good weather....

Gooserider

I have a 12v SLA charger and battery (7Ah) hanging around - Useful?

Not tremendously, unfortunately most mobility stuff runs on 24VDC these days. Chairs and such tend to use 2 gel or AGM batteries, and the pool lift is supposed to be a 24V nicad pack.

I do have a stair climbing gizmo that uses a 12v SLA battery, but we don't use it very often as it is kind of awkward and cumbersome - it only mounts on a "transport" style chair that I can't be in comfortably for very long, so using it means carrying two chairs, plus the climber itself, and means I have to transfer in and out at each end of the stairs. In addition it requires that it be operated by a fairly agile attendant who can climb up and down the stairs as the unit moves, which Mary-Anne isn't quite coordinated enough to do.

I'm actually hoping to get away from the mobility chargers eventually. They tend to give a very slow charge, and don't really treat the batteries "kindly" for a number of reasons. What is recommended over on WheelChairDriver is a "Hyperion 1420" charger, which is a very flexible charger from the RC hobby industry - not cheap, as it usually sells for around $175, and it needs an additional power supply, but it can charge just about any size or chemistry of battery at a very high rate (20A) with great precision, which is needed with the LiPO packs used in a lot of RC models (They will explode or catch fire violently if overcharged) It is somewhat overkill for lead batteries, but I would eventually like to go to LiFePO4 batteries, and in the meantime it will maximize the life of my Pb batteries, which need all the help they can get... One of the things that WCD does is go into a lot of detail about how best to set up the chair and charging systems to maximize battery performance and lifespan - something the chair makers do a very bad job on (perhaps because the mobility dealers sell batteries???) A lot of the suggestions are based on some very detailed discussions that were held with the battery manufacturers and much experimentation - the guy that runs the site is very hard on his batteries, and says that he has already gotten at least twice as much lifespan out of his latest set as he is used to, all because of the way he currently handles charging.

However if you need a new home for it....

Gooserider

 

[fishingpol]

If you need a stable base to move around on, stone dust or base pack for brick pavers is good. Stone dust will harden once packed down. It can be delivered by the cubic yard and spread out. I didn't know if you had bigger areas that need a stable base.

 

[mywaynow]

Goose,

If you are in need of ADA door hardware, let me know. Don't know if you have the need for ADA levers, but if so I can offer some assistance there.

 

[Gooserider]

Right now there are two areas that I'd like to make into more solid surfaces, one of which I'm planning on addressing during the build day... The portable garage is sitting on a 1-2' thick base of gravel, which doesn't seem to be quite solid enough to reliably hold up the power chair. I've gotten stuck a couple of times and had to be rescued, other times I was able to push myself back out, but had troubles. My plan is to do "soil cement" which is a low budget way to make a solid surface - essentially the idea is to dump a bunch of portland cement on the ground, till it in a couple of inches, and then run over it with a plate compactor or equivalent. Given that the surface is gravel from about 3/4" down to sand, I figure this ought to work really well.

The other area I'd like to get more solid is one of the two ground entrances to our pool area, Currently it has a step in it made from a railroad tie, that was obviously put in so they could level the ground around the pool deck. I'd like to get a load of stone dust or other such material so that I could build up the ground below the step enough so that I could roll over it with the chair. The other entrance is already accessible, but it requires running around the house the long way... However that is something for a later date.

mywaynow - thanks for the hardware offer, but at the moment I don't think we need it... We have basically dealt with the issue by removing the doors to our bedroom and my office (which are barely wide enough to get through with the chair, and I don't think can readily be made wider. The main floor bath was set up with a 36" wide doorway when we did the makeover, but we haven't installed the door yet. Partly because I haven't finished putting the last layers of finish on it yet, and partly because we don't feel a huge need for it... The other doors are either wide enough, or go to level changes that I can't get past with the chair any way. We did put an ADA lever on the bathroom door when we were picking hardware, but I don't really need that sort of accommodation, as my hands are still in good working order....

Gooserider

 

[mywaynow]

Good to hear your hand strength is/was not affected. Here is a link for modular ramps. This stuff is very nice, with anti-skid surfaces; http://pemko.com/index.cfm?event=pr...oryId=900&subcategoryId;=&productMaterialId;= i don't have any product ini stock to offer up @ n/c, but I would be happy to arrange anything in this line at cost to you. The supplier is in MA, so it may be close enough to avoid shipping an pick up in person. Also, if you need an automatic door operator/opener, I can offer that at cost as well. Same deal with the supplier being in your backyard, but a different one than the ramp dealer. Best of luck to you, and feel free to pm any questions you may have with designs/implimentations, as this is part of my business. Be well.

 

[greythorn3]

hope you get fixed up quick sorry to hear about your misfortune!

 

[Gooserider]

Good to hear your hand strength is/was not affected. Here is a link for modular ramps. This stuff is very nice, with anti-skid surfaces; http://pemko.com/index.cfm?event=pr...oryId=900&subcategoryId;=&productMaterialId;= i don't have any product ini stock to offer up @ n/c, but I would be happy to arrange anything in this line at cost to you. The supplier is in MA, so it may be close enough to avoid shipping an pick up in person. Also, if you need an automatic door operator/opener, I can offer that at cost as well. Same deal with the supplier being in your backyard, but a different one than the ramp dealer. Best of luck to you, and feel free to pm any questions you may have with designs/implimentations, as this is part of my business. Be well.

Does look like nice stuff, but we have pretty much done everything we can do with ramps... We have a very nice ramp built for us by the same group of folks that will be helping me with the sheds on the 11th. It goes from our driveway up to the front door, with about a 65' run for around a 60" height difference. ADA compliant, except that I don't have the 30' rest point it's supposed to have. The ramp had to fit into a limited space, and I felt that it was better to use that 5' of space to reduce the total slope than it was to provide the rest area. About the only thing I can see my needing a ramp for, is that when I get my accessible van, some folks have suggested carrying a small folding portable ramp to deal with visiting places that have only minor accessibility issues.

What we are having a problem with is that we have several height changes within the house that are not really solvable with ramps due to lack of space... I have a single step onto our back porch, about 8-9" and another change of about 3 steps (two feet?) to get down into the laundry room. Both don't have enough room for a ramp, so I'd really like to have some sort of low travel lift that I could get my chair onto. I've suggested making a home brew solution for the back porch issue by using the guts of a trash compactor to raise and lower a platform, but some folks have said that wouldn't really work. It doesn't seem like there are any sources I've seen that make small height lifts, don't know why...

We also have steps (4-5') going from the laundry room into the garage, and from the back porch down to the pool area that I wouldn't mind replacing with a lift, but am not as worried about since I can get to both the garage and the pool by going down the front door ramp and running around outside. These heights have appropriate sized lifts on the market, all it takes is to throw enough money at the problem.

The last BIG challenge are the stairs to the basement and the master bedroom on the 2nd floor. We have fantasies about putting an addition on the house with an elevator, or trying to get some sort of device for the stairs. I can't really use one of the "chair lifts" that everyone seems to sell as my ability to do transfers is limited (I have a bad shoulder from the accident) and the few lifts that can deal with my wheelchair that I've seen are prohibitively expensive...

Gooserider

 

[Gooserider]

We are getting stuff in order for the work party on Saturday the 11th,

I've (I think) gotten everything needed to do the portable garage replacement and the new roof on the tin shed....

The pool is open, and borderline swimmable - the chemistry is OK but there is a lot of gunk still on the bottom because the pool cleaning robot isn't working right - I've ordered parts to fix it, but don't know if they will be here on time... However if you don't mind water that will get muddy looking once folks get in and stir stuff up...

We have our friend Domi planning to make lunch for the group, I know the menu will include home made breads (from scratch) a ham and a turkey, not sure what else...

Directions for those that need them....

Our house is at 10 Kohlrausch Ave. in North Billerica.

The "One size fits all" directions - There are shorter ways to do this, but the following works no matter where you are coming from...
From Boston / Rte 128, take Route 3 North
From NH and points north, take Route 3 South
From Rte 495 head towards Lowell, and take Route 3 South

From Route 3, take the Treble Cove Road exit (this exit is two exits SOUTH of the junction of 3 & 495)
At the top of the ramp, take a left.
Follow Treble Cove Road to the intersection with Route 3A (Boston Rd) There is one almost fork in the road, stay to the left. You will see a day care center on one side, and a pizza place on the other.
At the traffic light, go STRAIGHT across 3A
About 100 yards after the light, Treble Cove will make a sharp turn to the right, just after a church on the right and a parking lot on the left.
Take the sharp LEFT just past the parking lot, which is Sprague Street.
Kohlrausch Ave will be on your right about three streets down - if you come to a major intersection with a stop sign, you went one street to far.

If coming with a GPS, note that many seem to think they have arrived way before they actually get to our house - just keep going. The road will get narrow and bumpy, sort of looks like it's turning into a driveway, but it isn't. We will be the next to last house on the street, it is a gray "contemporary" style house with a red garage door, and a very visible handicap access ramp. Please park on the street or the dirt turn-around just past our house. We want to save the drive for workspace and for folks running various errands.

If you get lost, or need better directions, feel free to call - 978-663-0241

Again, if you haven't told us you are coming, you are still welcome, but we would like to know in order to be certain that there is to much food...

Gooserider

 

[fishingpol]

Goose,

What time can we show up? The weather is looking great, it should be a good day to accomplish the work.

Jon

 

[Gooserider]

We are asking folks to show up around 9:00 AM, by which time I should be ready to go... Mary-Anne has also ordered a "Box-o-Coffee" and a couple dozen donuts from Top Donut - a Lowell place that many feel is better than Dunkin's ...

Tools are optional, though if you have a few favorite "implements of construction" it would be fine. I do have at least one air compressor (and a second one in the collapsed tin shed that may or may not still be working...) so air-tool power is available. I also have plenty of extension cords for those who haven't gone cordless.

Gooserider

 

[Gooserider]

Well, the weather was pretty miserable, with off and on rain and drizzle most of the time, but despite that, we managed to get a lot of stuff done. Sorry no photos, as I didn't want to risk getting the camera wet in all the rain. However we started out by dismantling the old portable garage and moving the stuff out of it - this had to be done at the same time because of the way that the garage ribs had collapsed, trapping some of the taller things. We also got a lot of the stuff out of the collapsed tin shed.

As soon as the portable garage was demolished, the gravel base was raked to get the worst of the leaves and other trash off it, and then 12 bags of portland cement were scattered over it and raked more or less flat. It was then tilled in a couple of inches with our neighbor's tiller, followed by compacting it with a rented plate compactor. The result was really nice, folks were saying that it looked almost like a poured concrete slab. I'm really glad that I remembered reading about doing "soil cement" many years back, and decided to give it a try... This was one time when the rain wasn't a big problem, as it helped to make the cement set up, and kept the dust down to some degree while the cement was being worked. It also helped that the base was gravel, as that isn't all that different from what regular cement is made from anyways. However I've seen stuff that says the technique works well with pretty much anything other than heavy clay soil. As soon as the cement was compacted, we started to put up the new replacement garage, partly to give folks a place to stand out of the rain for lunch.

We did a break for lunch - NICE menu, thanks to our friend Domi - Spiral sliced ham, turkey, Alaskan salmon, lots of different sorts of home-made breads, beans, potato salad, and a great pork pie contributed by fishingpol. This gave the cement a chance to set up for a bit, although it was solid enough to walk on from the time it was compacted.

As the garage finished up, we shifted a few folks over to the tin shed, who's collapsed roof was removed, and the walls straightened up as needed. A bunch of uprights were fastened to the outsides of the walls, and some more wood was fastened around the outside. A ramp was also constructed so that I can now get in and out of the shed with my chair. While the rafters were cut, and most of the wooden parts were sized, it wasn't possible to finish the new roof as people started to leave because it was getting late, and everyone was cold and wet... However as a temporary measure, the plastic roofing panels were laid across the top of the walls and weighted down with some of the wood that hadn't gotten put up - it is a temporary solution only, but it is still more weatherproof than it was when we started...

A couple of folks also helped move the swimming pool lift that we recently got from the driveway around to the pool area, and put it roughly in place.

Those who were still here then got most of the stuff pulled out of the shed and portable garage, that had been sitting in the driveway, back into either the portable garage or our regular garage - lots of soggy cardboard boxes with stuff that needs to be gone through to see what is salvageable and what has been destroyed by the rain, or should have been thrown out anyway....

Many thanks to Fishingpol and all the others from various groups that came and helped out - despite the weather it was a most productive day!

Gooserider

 

[mywaynow]

Nice to see you had success. You have good friends around you. Your solid floor for the garage sounds interesting. Does it ever set solid or is it more of a stable/flexible base? Sounds a lot like what I would see under landscape pavers, referred to as quarry dust. Although that is all fine grit. It does compact tight and holds form well.