Getting into the passenger seat of a 4x4

Spice101

I have trouble getting into the higher cars. Bought one of these and find it great.
www.aidacare.com.au/products/daily-living-aids/assisted-living/handy-bars-for-car
They are portable so you can have it in your bag and so eliminate the driver getting in and out to retrieve the stool.

Thank you that looks useful.

Thank you to everyone who agrees that they are difficult to climb into! I know my back needs little excuse to play up without levering a leg or having to grab a handhold and haul up my body, but 4x4s without an extra step don’t seem the best of vehicles from which to make an elegant entry or exit.

Yes, Tea3, the drivers usually find it most amusing!

Yes I am the same, short and disabled! My friend had a Land Rover Discovery and getting into that was always a nightmare! I like the SUV's which are higher than your average car but not as high as others, I have a BMW X1 which is just perfect to get into for me, my daughter has a Fiesta and getting into that is difficult as it is too low for me .....

FlexibleFriend

No, I'm only 5'2" and disabled but have always found a 4x4 incredibly easy to get in to. Maybe it's the way your doing it. Basically the seat is pretty much bum height so stick your bum in first and swing your legs up.

Blimey, how high is your bum - or is this a bit of a stealth boast?

Riverwalk

FlexibleFriend

No, I'm only 5'2" and disabled but have always found a 4x4 incredibly easy to get in to. Maybe it's the way your doing it. Basically the seat is pretty much bum height so stick your bum in first and swing your legs up.

Blimey, how high is your bum - or is this a bit of a stealth boast?

A type of Fosbury flop perhaps?

I love driving a vehicle where you are higher off the ground but agree with Tea3 that it is awkward to get into for smaller or less able people.

Spice101 has answered your question perfectly.

Not sure what is meant by a stealth boast, not sure what a short arse disabled person has to boast about because they've never had a problem getting in a variety of 4x4's and pick ups over the past 20 odd years but whatever. I've got a hospital appointment in central London on wednesday and I'll see if I can still manage to do it, I'll be shocked if after all this time I can't but you never know. They'll measure my height too so I'll know I've not grown either. I was just answering the question and have now told the family I'm either imagining I can get in the vehicle with ease or a budding olympic athlete which has made them laugh.

I have shrunk 2 1/2" over the last decade, was always 5ft 5 1/2" and am now 5ft 3"!

I get measured every 6 months at hospital and I haven't shrunk at all and certainly haven't grown. Always exactly the same measurement. I can't get in an ordinary car as my legs don't bend. I need a large high vehicle or I'm stuffed.

Or if you just feel the need to be flash. Where I live there are hundreds of the things dropping one child off ten feet from the school door

Sorry the quote thing didn’t work I was replying to callistemon saying 4 x 4 cars are useful if you live on a farm

Dunelm sell a folding step around £5 it would be perfect as it has a handle on the top to pick up & put in footwell

O can get into DH's Range Rover (obviously I have a high slung bum) but my problem is shutting the door afterwards. It has to be opened wide to get me in but I have to use my stick to hook around the handle to close it. (DH has to pull a trailer before anyone mentions why we've got this vehicle)

I like travelling higher up. I have few problems getting in - and getting out is easy, unlike a lower ones.

How about a pair of these? (yes - I am joking)

www.toysmegastore.co.uk/gb/tub-stilts-children-walk-stilt-jumping-stilts-balance-trainers-with-ropes-toys-feet-outdoor-sports-1-pair-random-color/p-45554841-90999421?language=en&ac=toysmegastore&utm_source=organic_shopping&utm_medium=organic

I'm under 5ft tall and really struggle to get into my husband's Discovery. As I age our muscles weaken, our ability to jump decreases - it happens. We all lose height as we age and it can only get worse.

It’s the same with a low slung sports car (a dear departed distant memory). As the owner, there’s a knack to using the door sill with the right hand to push up and out, but I’ve had to physically drag the odd passenger out! Most undignified.

I can't find the step stool suggested by Susie on the Dunhelm webpage, and I have the handle that clips on the door lock post is only useful for getting out.
As for needing an SUV, its pretty difficult to manage without one if you live halfway up a mountain on a farm in Cumbria, two miles from the nearest bus route. And there are quite a number of farmers on Gransnet.

www.dunelm.com/product/large-grey-step-stool-1000152740?defaultSkuId=30658311

My daughter got a folding step stool from B&M for me, it was £3.99.

i don't think that dunelm one would be safe in this situation.
and is specifically for indoor use on even ground.
don't risk it.
could the driver line the vehicle up next to a high kerb on rising camber.

SuzieHi

Dunelm sell a folding step around £5 it would be perfect as it has a handle on the top to pick up & put in footwell

Thanks Susie. I’ve a couple of these stools I use around the house, and experimented with using them to get in my friend’s 4x4 (she is probably still laughing now). I tied braid to the handle to haul them in, and drop them down when I needed to get out. Sadly they didn’t open out on descent.

Hetty58

I like travelling higher up. I have few problems getting in - and getting out is easy, unlike a lower ones.

How about a pair of these? (yes - I am joking)

www.toysmegastore.co.uk/gb/tub-stilts-children-walk-stilt-jumping-stilts-balance-trainers-with-ropes-toys-feet-outdoor-sports-1-pair-random-color/p-45554841-90999421?language=en&ac=toysmegastore&utm_source=organic_shopping&utm_medium=organic

H.mmm I wonder if a slightly higher version of these can be found. They could be the answer! Thank you Hetty58.

Georgesgran

It’s the same with a low slung sports car (a dear departed distant memory). As the owner, there’s a knack to using the door sill with the right hand to push up and out, but I’ve had to physically drag the odd passenger out! Most undignified.

Impossible for me. I can get in but it crucifies my back to even just stay there for a couple of minutes.

When is someone going to put a retractable electric step on these vehicles as we have on our motohome.