Buying a disabled holiday home is a lifestyle investment, particularly for those with limited mobility who find it difficult to travel overseas. It provides couples and families with an escape from everyday life while allowing them to enjoy the disabled facilities available at many UK Holiday Parks but, of course, they need to be adapted for freedom of movement and tailored to meet your needs.
In this complete guide to buying a disabled static caravan in the UK, we’ll give you top tips on how to find the perfect holiday home and park for your family, by highlighting the manufacturer’s that specialise in wheelchair-friendly caravans and explaining the many modifications available for those with disabilities.
A Guide To Disabled Static Caravans
Thanks to advances in technology, static caravans for disabled users are more accessible than ever before. Leading manufacturers such as Willerby, Atlas, and ABI are pushing the boundaries of design to meet the needs of wheelchair users, those with restricted mobility, and the elderly who require additional safety supports, and creating dream holiday homes for the whole family to enjoy. But how do you find them?
The easiest way to buy a disabled static caravan is to buy new directly from the manufacturer or through your preferred Holiday Park. While buying new is inevitably more expensive than purchasing a preowned caravan, this option allows you to custom-design a holiday home that meets your specific needs. You can add the features you need, skip those you do not, and create the perfect haven for weekend breaks, summer holidays, and winter escapes.
When you buy a new wheelchair-friendly or disabled static caravan, you’ll have access to a full range of custom specifications, including:
.Low-threshold exterior doors
.Wheelchair access ramps
.Wide internal doors
.Spacious interiors for optimal wheelchair manoeuvrability
.Non-slip flooring
.Wide sliding doors to access outdoor spaces
.Galley style kitchens
.Low-level kitchen cupboards, work surfaces and appliances
.Single lever mixer-taps
.Wet rooms equipped with shower seats, grab rails, hoists etc.
.A choice of bed options (singles, king-size etc.)
.Bedroom hoist systems
.Low-level light switches and plug sockets
To give you some idea of the holiday homes available to disabled users in the UK, here is a brief overview of the most popular new “off-the-shelf” disabled static caravans offered by leading brands:
Unless specifically made as a disabled option, such as the Richmond, the Derwent, and the Debonair Access listed above, retailers and holiday parks may not list them as disabled options.
To help you compile a list, here are some names of wheelchair-accessible caravans previously released by the UK’s leading manufacturers, which you may find for sale on ‘pre-owned lists’:
Willerby Richmond Wheelchair-Accessible Static Caravan
Specially designed with wheelchair users in mind, the Willerby Richmond Static Caravan is bright, spacious, and fully accessible for those with disabilities. A two-bedroom holiday home, it includes wide access doors, a galley kitchen with low-level work surfaces and appliances, a full-size wet room with integrated support handles, and airy bedrooms with integrated storage and a portable helper frame (hoist) to aid lifting from the bed to the wheelchair.
You can buy this wheelchair-friendly caravan as it is, or customise it with a range of additional extras to meet your specific needs. Holiday Parks in the UK that offer Willerby Static Caravans includes Parkdean Resorts, Park Holidays, and Haven, so they are a great place to start in your search for the perfect disabled caravan.
The Derwent Disabled Static Caravan by ABI
The Derwent by ABI is another wheelchair-friendly holiday home that you can buy direct from the manufacturer, from many UK Holiday Parks, or from an independent static caravan retailer. Remodelled in 2020; this two-bedroom holiday home features a range of thoughtful features to make it easily accessible to wheelchair users and those with mobility issues. There are wide access doors, a roomy living room, sliding internal doors to maximise space, a disabled-adapted kitchen, a brand-new wet room design, and the main bedroom comes complete with a hoist.
You can order this ABI caravan for wheelchair users at Park Holidays, Parkdean Resorts, Wyldecrest Holiday Parks, Haven, and Surf Bay Leisure, but to name a few.
Debonair Access Wheelchair-Friendly Static Caravan by Atlas Leisure Homes
Described as “country style living for everyone” the Debonair Access Disabled Caravan by Atlas Leisure Homes is 100% wheelchair accessible and equipped with everything you need for comfortable living in your holiday home. As with most “off the peg” disabled static caravans, this stylish option is perfect for families with two bedrooms, wide access doors, a wet room with all the necessary support features, low-level kitchen work surfaces, and a hoist in the master bedroom.
You can buy the Debonair Access disabled static caravan directly from the manufacturer, from an independent retailer, or Park Holidays, The Leisure Company, Surf Bay Leisure, Parkdean Resorts, and more.
Buying Used & Preowned Disabled Caravans
If you are looking for a preowned disabled caravan you will need to complete some research. It is often difficult to filter results on websites to identify disabled static caravans. To help we have complied a list of specific caravans to look out for that may meet your requirements.
.ABI The Derwent Disabled Static Caravan
.ABI Arizona Wheelchair Adapted Caravan
.Atlas Leisure Homes Debonair Access Wheelchair-Friendly Static Caravan
.Atlas Ruby Super Wheelchair Friendly Caravan
.Atlas Pearl Adapted Static Caravan
.Delta Danbury Wheelchair Accessible Caravan
.Pemberton Serena Mobility & Accessibility Caravan
.Prestige Adapted Caravans
.Willerby Rio Gold Disabled Caravan
However, most Holiday Parks do allow you to modify and upgrade static caravans, and so it may be possible to adapt a used or pre-owned model to suit your needs. If space allows it, you could widen doorways and hallways to make them wheelchair accessible, replace the bathroom with a wet room, and add hoists if necessary, in the bedroom.
But modifying a static caravan to make it suitable for disabled users could end up costing you more than buying a brand new one tailored to meet your needs. We recommend that you compare quotes and consider your options before deciding which is right for your family.