Beach Crossers adds a wheelchair van to their options for Vallarta

This is our newest addition to our service. We've found that many people need a lift from one place to another and there just aren't many options in #Vallarta. Importing the van is becoming the next hurdle in the never ending list of hurdles we've jumped thus far. Vehicle import seems to be "frozen" at this time unless you have a 2006 or 2007 vehicle. Then, the wait is about 5 weeks at the border. Well, at least that is the word on the internet. We are planning on driving down in June. Looks like we will be getting a 6 month permit at the border and hope that sometime in that 6 months the rules ease up. We were also told that once we get our permanent resident visas we won't be able to bring the vehicle in at all and would not be able to renew our 6 month permit. So, we are really not sure how the wheelchair van is going to get into the country or how long we will be able to keep it there, but we are praying and hoping that things work out with this. It would be so nice to add this option to our product line. 

What mobility devices should Beach Crossers add?

It's so hard to decide what products to add. Essentially, we are guessing what people may want to rent in the future with absolutely no history to guide our guessing. Beach wheelchairs? Power chairs? How about some crutches?

Originally we thought that we would need mostly beach wheelchairs, but that has proved a little inaccurate. Power chairs have been much more requested than we anticipated. Those of you who came to Vallarta and had an accident during vacation love the power chairs. They are great for getting around the resorts and if you don't want to cross the sand, can take you most everywhere else. The beach wheelchairs have been popular downtown. It turns out that they cross cobblestone far easier than any of the other chairs, and with the umbrella, cup holder and elevated leg rest, can be a pretty comfortable way to see the Malecon. And the walkers... who knew. I would have thought that people would just bring their own walkers, but I would have been wrong. It turns out that airlines are pretty hard on mobility equipment. Lots of people have told us that they would rather rent something than to have their own equipment damaged or lost. Yes, lost!.  When traveling home with a wheelchair, one of the airline employees asked me, "are you traveling with a wheelchair?"  "Yes." I answered, "But, I checked it through." "Well, is this your chair?" Why my chair made it to the terminal is still a puzzle, but I'm glad that we were reunited and the chair made it to my final destination after all.

We've had a few requests for items. That part's easy. People asked for a walker, we got a walker. People asked for a rollator, we got a rollator. People asked for crutches, etc. But what about the other needs? Anita needed a chair that would elevate her leg and fit through some less than standard sized doors. The only chairs we have with elevating legs are beach wheelchairs. Lindsey needed a beach wheelchair, but she was just a little bit of a thing and needed pillows on all sides to stay put in the beach wheelchair. We really want to meet the needs of our clients, but our experience with mobility is limited to traveling with Mom. She used a chair because it was easier than towing her oxygen concentrator along behind her. When we came to steps that were not passable in the chair, she could get out and slowly make her way up the steps. At times, some nice men would come along and pick her up, chair and all, and depsit her at the top or bottom of the impassable obstacle.

What do we need? Many of you are much better at seeing those needs than we are. Help us out. Send us your suggestions. We listen and want to grow in the right direction.