List your concerns as a disabled camper

[smkymntn]

Hey Smoky (not sure of your real name)

I am a bka also, but I use a silicon sleeve & pin...tried the vac and didn't like it.

I got rid of my PETT and went with this for $40

toss the bucket part, sew in a net bag and use wag bags...I have been tesing a version and will snap a pic tomorrow...best thing is it folds flat and is hgt adjustable

As an amputee I loved using a roof top tent, gave me a place to sit on the edge...
Until you get one a cot is a good option I found and a hammock works really well when I camp with Boy Scouts.

Great to have you around!! It helps inspire the newbies

That looks good Lance.

Any chance of a DE event on the eastcoast?

 

[1leglance]

We have had alot of inquiry about doing something out east...
There is an Ability Expo event in Oct in Atlanta that might give an excuse to head that direction...tie that in with some other places...
Email lance AT disabledexplorers org with some ideas....there are plenty of disabled folks around the country!

 

[AmericaOverland]

Hello everyone. I am profoundly deaf, so it's not a mobility impairment, so I don't know how it fits into all this...

I will share my experiences. Being deaf tends to be dangerous and expensive.

Dangerous because I may not hear predatory animals until it's too late, or rattlesnakes, so I tend to stay out of areas where there's lots of grass or brush cover where I can't see the animals from a distance. I'm especially watchful for snakes, since I can't hear rattlesnakes. It is such an ingrained habit to look on the ground in front of me that I do this today, over 20 years after I left the countryside for the city. Coworkers recently told me, "Chin up, girl!" I finally realized I was still doing it. Stopping on a hike, I visually secure a circle around me before I even look up, and I scan again to see if a snake comes in defense of its space.

Expensive because I don't hear motors, transmissions, or axles failing until it's almost too late (I've locked up a front-wheel-drive differential, blown out two motors, and wore out a manual clutch until you could put it into 5th gear and it would be standing still, idling(!), and of course rotors scored beyond the point of turning for new brakes).

I think it helps us to travel in numbers so we can help one another out.

Stephanie

 

[1leglance]

Hey Stephanie,
What part of the country are you in?
Here in Arizona we used to have a hearing impaired FJ Cruiser owner who traveled with a hearing friend to handle radio comm.

However we were working hard on a solution using ham radio to allow text between rigs and such.

She had to sell her 4wd so the project lost speed, it would be great to work with you on it. Or on any other concerns you have.

The DE mission is mainly on physical mobility challenges however we enjoy the mind expanding involved in working with & learning from anyone.

 

[AmericaOverland]

Hey Stephanie,
What part of the country are you in?

However we were working hard on a solution using ham radio to allow text between rigs and such.

She had to sell her 4wd so the project lost speed, it would be great to work with you on it. Or on any other concerns you have.

Thanks, Lance.

I'm in Houston, TX. I've wondered about texting on radios, which is possible if you have the right radios, however, I would not be driving if I had to text. I'd have to pull over and text, and everyone would be wondering if I broke down or something.

My suggestion is, and this is a saver for me, for me to speak on the radio, but have a designated rider text me back on my phone.

Another option might be to hardwire the hearing aids into the radio (I have direct audio input cables for that) and try to listen with both ears without environmental noise coming in through my hearing aids.

Normally, I just follow and pull over when everyone pulls over.

I'm not good at making out what is being said unless I've been around people for a long time, and the language has to be simple, predictable, like "Camping line one, line one," or "You're welcome" after I've said, "Thank you" and I was looking at something at the moment. It helps if you speak crystal clearly, like my friend here - http://www.yourownvictorygarden.com/?page_id=3 - click on the podcast link on there, and listen. I've known him for over 20 years, and I can understand about 30-45 percent of what he says, and guess about another 10-15 percent, and build up the context of the conversation to get a bit more of it. I know what he tends to say and how he does it.

You could say my hearing is rudimentary, skills-wise. Listening without lip-reading is a very complicated guessing game, where I guess wrong and have to backup a split second and go through sound matching before I get it right. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If we're talking about tents, and as a test (without lip reading), someone comes in and says something about kayaks, I get lost completely because the predictability of the conversation becomes broken. And boy, talk about talking with people with accents from remote parts of the world! Gah, I have to deal with that on a daily basis at REI, because we serve an international clientele in west-central Houston.

Stephanie

 

[1leglance]

The systems we were working on coverd a number of options...

A wifi repeater/external antenna on the HI (hearing impaired) rig with other folks on the trail running laptops, each person runs a simple program that has some F? messages, so hit F8 and the words ON COMING RIG flash big on the HI drivers screen

Another was using ham radios with APRS setups, many have text on screen and looking at using the 4+ programable buttons to relay simple messages like PEE BREAK, TRAIL HAZARD, ONCOMING RIG and such...

Sure there are issues to each setup but none are impossible...the HI person might have to carry and extra setup to loan someone but that isn't a major issue.

If you are interested in getting the project rolling again I can put you in touch with the people I was working with and it is yours....we can help with some of the gear and such.

 

[1leg]

I have used the APRS messaging; it’s a pain with the current radio options.

Maybe something more along the line of a communication light system. The hearing impaired person could have this multi colored light tree inside their truck. Each color would represent the status of the caravan, Yellow for rest break, red for emergence, green for rolling again. Now how could we remotely trigger these lights from a chase vehicle with non-disabled that have a radio? I have some really smart friend that might be able to come up with a system. I’ll ask around.