OK, the first thing is, you are looking for a handicapped equipped coach and all mobility problems and solutions are different so I will describe what I have done to my coach and if it doesn't fit your needs, then you need waste no more time on this one. However, do remember that things can be changed and the guys who built this coach are just up the road from me so they will be able to adapt it to your needs if necessary. One thing which I have been asked about was how someone with a complete spinal injury can get down the steps if they cannot walk. One gentleman was quite serious about buying the coach if this problem could be solved so I got to work. Then answer was simple. For a small cost, the cabinet behind the drivers seat could be cut back and made perfect once again, but with the inside strengthened. Then a stairlift could be attached to it. The handrail on that side would be removed, so the driver could transfer onto the lift, swivel round using the other handrail to pull on, and then ride the lift down to the lower deck. Then he could push on the handrail and swivel the chair so it was beside the drivers seat and slide into place. So it can be done. Unfortunately, the potential purchaser had problems with his drivers licence so the sale did not go through.

First, you have to get in! The front steps are about 8" high each step, far too much for my limited walking ability so I have had a RICON wheelchair lift installed. This is the type used by Disney in their buses and is considered one of the best available. Prevost installed a one off door for me and the lift fits underneath. As you can see from the above picture, when the lift is stowed, nothing of it shows. With the push of a button on a small remote control the top door opens by air pressure and an electric motor drives the lift door up

Then the lift extends automatically

And then with the press of either the up or down button on the remote, the lift either goes to the ground or up to the inside floor level.

I found the use of the side safety rails cumbersome when travelling by myself which I often do, so I removed them, but they are available and can be refitted if you want them. The panel on the edge of the door is a series of buttons which force the system to work if the remote fails and as a last resort, the system can be operated manually from bay 1 with the aid of an assistant. No matter what, I want to be sure I can get in and out of my coach.

OK, so now you are inside and immediately you are in a spacious area.

And a view from the side

this is the solenoids on top of the pedals

An able-bodied driver can easily drive the vehicle but is working somewhat harder as they have to push the solenoids as well as operate the coach. Removing them is a simple and quick job.

In my mind, the next most important thing to a person of limited mobility is the bathroom. There is a half bath in the center of the coach which is not really accessible from a wheelchair. At the rear of the coach is a full bathroom which extends off the bedroom and there is a sliding door between the bedroom and the salon which is operated by the push of a button and it ensures your privacy if necessary. For easy access there is no door between the bedroom and the bathroom. It would not be difficult to have one fitted if this is considered desirable.

The toilet is right next to the shower and as I have a fear of falling into a glass shower door and breaking it, I opted for a shower curtain. The shower itself has a seat and a very low lip to the tray which will allow a wheelchair driver to wheel into the shower and then to transfer from their chair to the seat.

In operation, I found the showerhead was fine for a person standing up but not seated. And so I had a second showerhead fitted much lower down which was for the person sitting on the seat. A handle in the center of the hot and cold faucets directs the shower to either the upper or lower showerhead as desired

The washbasin has been tastefully undercut to allow someone in a wheelchair to get close enough to use the basin and the mirrored cabinets above the faucets and allow you to see your face during your ablutions.

If you are still reading this then you must feel that you can work the customized editions I have made to suit my physical problems. So now, let's have a look at the rest of the coach and we will start from the front. This is the driving position, with its multitude of dials switches gauges knobs, all of which seem a little baffling at first but you would soon become familiar with. The large screen mounted on the center pillar is a touchscreen connected to a PC behind the driver's seat. Its main purpose is to act as a very large GPS screen. Below that is the rearview camera screen and the switches to the side will select either the rearview camera or the side cameras or a camera above the door which has been marked as to exactly where the edge of the wheelchair lift comes, so that you can get as close to a fuel island as possible and still get the lift down. If you do not get close, then sometimes the fuel hoses will not reach the filler caps.

There are many other features on the dashboard but they are all fairly common with the exception of my favorite one which sits underneath the radio and this is the distance control for the V O R A D radar system which works in conjunction with the cruise control and the electric retarder to allow you to follow another vehicle at a precise distance and if he comes to a stop you will as well. This coach was the first Featherlite coach to have this fitted.

The salon has white tiles with black and sand colored dots in them which always seem to stay clean, and instead of grout I have had fitted brass spacers which make the floor very easy to keep clean. The combination of lights and flash have given the floor in the pictures a green tinge which isn't there when you are actually inside, so this is a closeup of the floor in daylight!

The kitchen work surface is somewhat smaller than normal due to the wheelchair door occupying some space. However, the single sink and the 2 burner ceramic stovetop provide adequate facilities when combined with the microwave/oven above.

The dining table and end of the seating are both electrically powered and move out to provide adequate seating for 4.

The refrigerator/freezer is the single door type as I found the double door type obstructive and difficult to use so I had it replaced. The black glass panel opposite the refrigerator has the generator control system in it and allows full control of the input power to the coach whether using the generator or plugged in to mains power. The gap down the center aisle measures approximately 28 inches at its narrowest point. Next to the refrigerator is a pullout pantry.

As you can see this whole area is very spacious

I have covered the bedroom and bathroom already so I will not go over that again. So, time to go outside the coach at look at storage bays.

This is with everything open. Let's take a look at each bay individually see how much space you have to play with. The first bay is a fullwidth bay and has a slide which will come out approximately 3 feet either side. This makes loading and unloading the bay very easy. It also has the pushbutton controls for the lift doors and the pendant for the lift control. Beside them is the two remote controls for the awnings. The front awning will only extend or retract if the lift door is closed. The reason for this is that the door would cut into the awning if it was opened while the awning was extended.

The next bays are above and below the lift. The upper one has a slide and is very useful for storing tables so that you can sit outside and eat your evening meal underneath the LED lit awning. The bottom Bay carries the emergency ladder and the airline for topping up your tire pressures from the internal compressor.

Next bay has the quiet box for the generator and the two 2 kW inverters above it.

Next to this is a Bay mostly filled by the fuel tank but there is sufficient space for some chairs and a small refrigerator which I will leave in the bay if you want it.

Finally, on the passenger side, is the water pump bay

While on the passenger side,there is of course, the front access door. Notice the height of the steps to get into the coach.

On the drivers side, the other side of Bay one is under the front slide out and so its door opens sideways. You can see how far the slide extends out to give you good access to stored items

The next usable bay is bay 4 and this is partially occupied by the other side of the fuel tank.

Next to this is the services bay which has the aqua hot water heater, fresh water inlet, black and gray water dump valves and the 50 amp power cord.

The last picture is probably the most important as it is the noisy smelly bit at the back which makes the coach go.

A few details. The coach at the present has done some 78,000 miles, but as it is going to have a full-service tomorrow and then will be washed and waxed and it may be some months between that and you actually reading this, the mileage will certainly have changed. The coach is fully serviced every 12 months and has a full wax every six months. The front tires and tag axle tires were changed at the end of 2012. The drive tires, for some unknown reason, are two years newer than the other tires so they do not need changing until 2014. The batteries were all replaced also at the end of 2012.

Now, with a coach of this complexity there will always be something that you cannot remember how to do, or you cannot remember what makes it work. Fortunately there is a solution to this. In order to explain this, I need to go back through the history of Featherlite. When I first purchased the coach, Featherlite occupied a large sales/service area beside the I-4 interstate, and had a large production facility across the road. The sales facility was taken over by La Mesa coaches who agreed to sell and service Featherlite products alongside the lesser coaches that they normally sold. This agreement soon fell apart and service all moved over to the production facility at the other side of the road. This coincided with the sale of the manufacturing side of Featherlite and they moved to Virginia. The service department became Featherlite service and remained in the production facility.