Hi all - my first post so please excuse my ignorance. I am also completely non-technical so no responses with more than 2 syllables please!

I have a 58 plate tdv8 vogue.

My wife is a wheelchair user and struggles big time to get into the fatty, even when I have lowered the suspension right down. As you can imagine getting out is easy enough as gravity takes over naturally.

Thanks to MS she can stand OK but not lift her feet or legs. I have added deployable steps to the car so she now stands up, swivels around and puts her backside against the seat. I then have to lift her right foot onto the step and a combination of her grabbing the handle above the door to pull herself in and me holding her foot on the step she can propel herself backwards (not a pretty sight I may add) and onto the seat.

However, if the seat was just a few inches lower from a standing position she could easily just sit on the seat edge and swivel around with the help of the handle.

Is there anyway that anyone knows of how to lower the car by another couple of inches in the lowest position option but will still go back to the normal drive position when the suspension raise button is pressed?

Need to find some solution or may (sadly) have to consider finding another workhorse.

Many thanks

welcome to the forum..

any height adjustment will affect all the height modes equally...you cant adjust each separately , this can only be done on the 2002 to 2005 years.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

The IIDTool allows custom heights to be set, no?

I think (not 100%) you can edit ACCESS NORMAL and OFFROAD heights.

If that's true, you could set ACCESS right down on the stops, no?

. Cheers, Greg
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2011 Vogue SE 4.4 with lots of toys in Stornaway

any height adjustments on the 2006 -2012 will be global greg...ie, adjust the access by -10mm and both the standard and offroad will go down by -10mm... ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

I think there may be a way, though Stan, I set a super extended height and then mistakenly set that as NORMAL. I'll post a screen grab later..

Or is is in the CCF values?

I may be completely off though. Cheers, Greg
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2011 Vogue SE 4.4 with lots of toys in Stornaway

Gareth
Welcome to the forum.
My wife has the same access difficulties as yours, but rather through arthritis, which is reducing her mobility, so I beginning the search for a means of transfer from walking frame/chair to car should that become necessary. Side steps are the first route, but further deterioration means change the vehicle to one that allows a ramp or look into the fitting of a specially made seat which extends from the FF to act as a lift. Wife does not want to change the FF to anything else, so that's a plus.

So far I have simply web searched for disabled vehicle seat/ access and found these links, which I am going to follow up:
https://www.ergomobility.co.uk/getting-in-...vel-seats/

http://www.elap.co.uk/products/

I doubt it will be a cheap but I understand there are options that allow the seat to be moved to another vehicle when you change as well as those that can lift a wheelchair in should that become necessary. This means many vehicles would come within your range of choice.

Hope this helps
Richard

Thanks for the kind welcome Richard.

There are a couple of seats that can fit the ff but as you say they are not cheap. The one we would need literally comes out of the car and lowers and turns 180 degrees so my wife could transfer onto it by placing her wheelchair at the side of it and sliding over.

We were quoted between £6,500 and £8,000 for it.

Another problem with it (as if the price wasn’t enough) is that it is a standard seat without any refineries such as heated seats, electric positioning, etc. Believe it or not this was the dealbreaker for Jules - not the price!

What about something like this:

https://simplifiedbuilding.co.uk/wheelchai...chair-ramp

ramp to side step, then brakes on!

Only issue probably never enough space to the side of the car, even in disabled parking areas ? .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

Joking apart I have considered ramps but there are so many technical issues it is a non starter on top of the angle needing to be almost vertical!

From my quick search I would have preferred to find a folding ramp with a level platform which could go along side the car, and would fit "fold flat" in the boot.

A couple of sheets of stout checkerplate, some box section, hinges and locks.... .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

I wish I could tell you how to do this exactly, but unfortunately I can't! However, there WILL be a way to do this, after all, the suspension is controlled by a computer, which is programmed by a human... We just need to find the right human to re-write the software!

I was personally looking to have a higher offload height, and to unlock the suspension when towing (as per D3 which allows height adjustment when towing).

I see that there are two options. Software/Electronic or Mechanical.

Software/Electronic:
This would involve re-programming the ECU to allow different heights for different set points, such as the Access height. (or in my case, the Off Road height). I am sure there are clever people out there who can do this but I've not put enough effort into finding that person. However, I have a spare Air Suspension ECU and a "Guy" so I'll ask him to take a look and see if it can be modified through software or even electronic component changes.

Mechanical:
This would involve tricking the ECU into thinking the car is not as low as it is, but only for the Access height. I am not sure this is the best solution, and I've not fully thought about the safety aspects, so this would need some thought. But my initial thoughts would be some sort of adaptation to the linkage that gives normal travel readings to the height sensors from Motorway to full height, but reduces the travel that the sensor "sees" from Motorway to Access heights. So for example, if the can moves down 10mm, the sensor only picks up 5mm of movement, but only on that lower range.

Thinking about it, there is also a third option:
Wire in some sort of switch that bypasses the sensors altogether but provides you with manual control through a variable restore (a rotating type knob probably). You would probably want to put some safety features into this circuit, for example so it can't be switched over when the car is moving etc. Again, this is not the ideal fix, but for your purpose may be a viable solution. You would then slowly wind round the resistor as the car lowers until it is at the height you want.

I'll let you know what I find out with the ECU. Is there a difference in ECUs between '04 and '08?

**Edit**

There is also the "Deflate" function within most diagnostics machines. I always carry a Foxwell with me in whichever Land Rover I am driving! I have other machines too. Although this isn't a "pretty" solution, you could always use (presumably) the IID Bluetooth tool and your iPhone to deflate the system, or just lower front and or rear to your desired level. Again, this is not an ideal solution - it's a bit cumbersome, but it is a solution you could use until a better solution is found.

Thank you so much for your comprehensive response. That really does give me food for thought.

I have a local Indy RR garage who do work on lots of different RR so I will ask them also about this.

As you say, there must be a solution somewhere that works in all scenarios.

You're very welcome.

Personally, I'd get a diagnostics tool if you don't have one. I recommend the Foxwell as it is not linked to one vehicle, but the Bluetooth IID tool should be a nice neat solution too.

That would be the immediate "quick fix" for you'r situation and would help your wife and yourself overnight.

Then you can look for a "better" fix later - and still have a diagnostics tool.

I produce the LLAMS plug-in kit that provides lowered and raised height adjustments depending on a switch setting which can lower the L322 and others to the bump-stops. I provide it at a very low price when used for mobility-impaired people. Please PM me for details if interested.
I'd be quite happy for, indeed would appreciate, this post to be deleted once the people looking for a solution are aware of my offer.

Interesting,

Do you have a link? And does it also de-activate the suspension lock when a trailer is plugged in? (For example, I like to raise the can when loading a car with low front bumper onto a trailer, or when a bike rack is on it is useful when getting the Euro Tunnel!)

Thanks
Mike