Has anyone tried CoachLift chair lift?

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richardhufford

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Apr 11, 2016
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Location
San Jose, AZ
I bought our 1991 Thor class C hoping to get rid of a serious case of cabin fever my wife, Linda, and I are having.  Linda has a number of health problems and is stuck in the bedroom most of the time, but she can get in and out of a wheelchair and go for short trips in the car.  As it turns out, she can't go up and down the steps of the motorhome--we've had it for almost a year and we're still on our first tank of gas!  I'm thinking of buying a CoachLift, and I was wondering if anyone uses this product or something similar, and how much they like it.  It's a chair, mounted on a screw drive, I think, next to the doorway.  I spoke with a salesman, and he had answers for every question I asked.  He also sent me installation instructions, which involve fabricating a support and welding or screwing it to the frame.  Installation seems sensible to me.  Here's a link to a video of the CoachLift:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb69RXmyqEo
  Thank you for any ideas.
 
Yes we have a "CoachLift" chair and it works very well.  We bought it from here:  http://www.coachlift.com/about-us/  We stopped by Phoenix and had the shop the seller recommended do the install.  The install is not overly complicated.  We bought it in 2014. 

We have the "screw mechanism" installed inside the door.  I am not sure how you would keep the dirt out of the screw mechanism if it is mounted outside the door. 

It does take about 1.5 to 2 minutes to go from the ground level to the inside floor level.  Kind of slow when you are in a hurry. 

Like you my wife has mobility issues and cannot climb the stairs in and out of the RV.  We also travel with a portable power wheel chair and a 4 wheel electric scooter I carry in the bed of our pickup under a camper cover.

 
Thanks for your reply.  Would a 250 lb. person feel confident that the CoachLift isn't going to break?  (We've bought some items that are rated over 300 lb., but you don't get the feeling they can actually hold you.)
 
Sorry for the delay in answering.  Been away from the form for a few days.

CoachLift asks you how much you weigh when you want to order. 

My wife weighed about 220# when we bought the lift and it worked fine.  She says it felt secure and not like it was going to fall apart or collapse.  The seat, kind of like a captains chair for a dining room set has ribbed rubber on the surface of the seat.  You are not going to be able to slip off. 

The one thing that does take a little getting used to is, as you swing out the door the seat bottom is about 5 feet off the ground and you are kind of hanging in the air.  If you are really afraid of heights, that would be a problem.  You do have the seat arm to hang on to.  My wife also gently holds on to the grab bar on the outside as she goes up and down.
 
Thank you!  I think you understand exactly what I'm worried about, and it's worth giving the CoachLift a try.  I hadn't thought of what it would feel like to go out the door 5 ft off the ground--I can sure imagine how it feels!
 
My sister-in-law and here husband had one on their Class C for him. He had a severe stroke, and at 6 ft 220 lb, and her at 5'4" and 130, getting him around was no mean feat.
They traveled about the countryside for a couple of years.

I drove on a couple of trips, and my only complaint was that the apparatus created some visibility challenges in the right-side mirror when maneuvering in close quarters.

 
LarsMac said:
My sister-in-law and here husband had one on their Class C for him. He had a severe stroke, and at 6 ft 220 lb, and her at 5'4" and 130, getting him around was no mean feat.
They traveled about the countryside for a couple of years.

I drove on a couple of trips, and my only complaint was that the apparatus created some visibility challenges in the right-side mirror when maneuvering in close quarters.
With the CoachLift you can install it inside the door so visibility is not an issue.
 
Im working with the VA to try and get one for my DH. Mostly he can get in and out ok, but there are times when he just stays inside because he would not be able to go out. As those days occur more frequently, it will become necessary to have one. I glad they seem to work well
 
I placed my order today for a CoachLift.  It will be mounted on the outside, and I'm thinking I might extend the mirror to the right.  Our local RV repair place doesn't want to install it, but my neighbors--who weld a lot of stuff--are enthusiastic.  The CoachLift salesman asked good questions and had several options on what the chair can look like.  (Removable armrests or no armrests, higher back.)  I'm feeling confident that we'll get a good product, and it should take about 2 weeks.
 
Richard,

Would you be able to post a few pictures after the chair lift is installed?  My wife has RA and getting up and down steps gets harder for her every year.  May well be looking for something similar in the near future so we can continue the RV experience.

Thanks!

Jim
 
56safari said:
Richard,

Would you be able to post a few pictures after the chair lift is installed?  My wife has RA and getting up and down steps gets harder for her every year.  May well be looking for something similar in the near future so we can continue the RV experience.

Thanks!

Jim
There is a pretty good video of the operation of the lift on Coach Lift's website:  http://www.coachlift.com/rv-lift/

We have had the lift in our Class A gas MH since 2014 and it works like the video.  We have the lift tube mounted inside, but your door needs to be wide enough for an inside mount.
 
Our CoachLift has arrived.  Here's what was in the boxes.  The chair we ordered has an optional high back and removable arms.  We have a 64-inch tube, which I think is standard, and from the photos in the documentation, I see that we got a heavy duty swing arm.  One thing I wish I'd considered is that the lowest part of our frame is 15" off the ground, which means the chair seat will be about 23" high.  A drop bracket swing arm is also available.
 

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About the height above the ground, when we ordered ours they had us measure the height from the ground to the lowest step, then to the highest step and then the height to the top of the door and ceiling. 

As long as the campsite is level the chair height above the ground works well.  If unlevel to low on the passenger side the chair height is a little high. 
 
I think the height of the bottom step is important for an inside installation.  I can't find it now, but I'm sure I read that the inside installation requires a 25-inch or wider door.  We have an outside installation, which requires a support to be fabricated and attached to the frame.  According to the CoachLift documentation, the height of the seat, with a standard swing arm, will be 8 inches higher than the support, so it looks like our seat will be about 23 inches off the ground.  The documentation recommends a seat height of 18 inches.  I hate to put the support much lower than the frame, because I don't want to lose ground clearance.  I'm hoping to spend time in Forest Service campgrounds, and the motorhome already has a few dents on the lower edges of the body.

I'm pretty sure most CoachLifts don't come with the good-looking dog.  Actually, my pit bull, Clinton, adopted us in 2012 by sitting on the front porch and looking in the glass sliding door until we let him in, hours later.  I've never been very good at training our dogs to either be in or out of a photo!
 
Yes, the inside install does require a fairly wide door.  I forgot you are doing an outside install.  I understand the desire to not have the bottom of the lift tube to extend below the bottom of the coach.  Much to easy to rip off the lift.
 
Here are some photos.  I still need to finish up some wiring, build a cover for the stairwell, and find a place to hook the safety chain (which holds the chair in place when you're getting on and off inside the coach--don't want it flying back out the door!).  I guess the big advantage to having someone else do the work is that it's done when they've finished.  Our local RV place didn't want to do the work, but my neighbors enthusiastically did everything necessary to attach the CoachLift to the motorhome.  They attached the lower channel iron to the frame and also attached a brace to the stairwell.  And they drilled the holes in the side of the house and welded on the necessary hardware for the electric motor at the top.  Most installations are made flat against the coach, instead of at a 90 degree angle.  The materials sent by the CoachLift company require signatures of both the buyer and the installer, so I hope I don't ever need to get any warranty service!  If you'd like to see any more photos, I'll be glad to attach them. 

My wife can't get out of bed at the moment, so she hasn't tried it out yet.  It seems to be a good, basic, sensibly built unit.  I can find things to complain about, but the fact is that I believe this product will give us the freedom we need!
 

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