BraunAbility (formerly the Braun Corporation) has been making wheelchair accessible vehicles for years. In the early years, they were creating full size handicap accessible vans, but with the advent of the minivan in the early 90's, Braun engineered and introduced something new: the lowered floor minivan.
Though the years, the fit, finish, and technology have changed, but a few features remain the same. Braun Entervans offer a lowered floor which offers a few advantages. First, a lowered floor allows for enough headroom for wheelchair users to enter through the sliding passenger door. Not many people realize that without lowering the floor, there is just not enough headroom for most people to get through the door while seated in their wheelchair. Another advantage of a lowered floor is that their is extra headroom while inside the vehicle. This allows for a comfortable ride and a natural line of sight through the van's windows.
In the beginning, Braun Entervans operated manually or with the use of magnetic switches located at the rear passenger tail light. Through extensive development, BraunAbility engineers developed a keychain remote to operate the door and power ramp. In the last few years, they have integrated their handicap conversion remote with the original remote you get from the manufacturer (Dodge, Chrysler, Chevy, etc.). This was an important development because it eliminated the extra clutter of having additional remotes to run the handicap accessible conversion.
Throughout development, BraunAbility has stayed committed to constant improvement of their products. What you get today is a fully accessible van conversion. With the touch of a button, the passenger sliding door opens, the ramp folds out from the doorway, and the van kneels to the ground. The floor has been lowered to the front firewall and removable front seats have been installed. With all these features, a fully accessible vehicle is the result. Many people who are able to transfer have added hand controls and a transfer seat. For individuals unable to transfer, you can even drive from your chair with the assistance of hand controls and an EZ Lock.
All in all, the Braun Entervan is a great product and is helping thousands of people around the country have a higher quality of life--which is what wheelchair accessible van conversions are all about.
Upside:
-BraunAbility is one of the most reputable wheelchair van manufacturers in America
-The fit and finish of the Braun Entervan is so well done, to the untrained eye can't even tell it is a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
-Full automation allows for a wide variety of applications, including driving from a wheelchair.
Downside:
-Because of engineering costs of making the system fully automated, the Braun Entervan can be more expensive than other accessible vehicles on the market
-Although every Braun Entervan comes with a 3 year warranty, repair bills can become costly once the warranty expires.
The Braun Entervan has and will always be a staple to the wheelchair van industry. It is a safe, reliable choice no mater what your disability, and should be considered at the top of anyone's choices for mobility.
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12 comments:
I bought a Braun Entervan (a Chevy Uplander that has been converted by the Braun Corporation for wheelchairs) 10 months ago and have had it in the shop 16 times. The ramp was improperly installed, the Smart box failed, the Braun wiring harness was broken, and the Braun applied weatherstripping fell off (I had a GM dealer fix some of these problems). I've also had Onstar problems, seatbelt, and molding problems that are GM issues. The initial quality was very low. However, I do like the styling of the Uplander and the exterior Braun body mouldings.
Not happy with our Braun Entervan. We have had nothing but problems with ours. Braun has repaired the problems but they just keep coming back. Poor quality engineering and design. Prone to freequent break downs. When you are disabled the last thing you need is to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. They released our van after modification without doing an alignment. When we serviced our van at the dealership we bought it from we were told our tires were worn beyond limits because of the wheel alignment. It was the worst alignment issue they had seen. Braun says they have paperwork that the alignment was done and won't help us with the cost of the tire replacement. We know and they know the alignment wa never done. They take no responsibility for their poor product. We've had the sliding door fall off on the ramp side because they damaged the upper roller when they we modifying the van. It caused the roller to come out of the upper track and fall of the van causing alot of damage. We've had the van in for problems with the kneeling feature a total of six times. And it needs work again. The kneeling actuator started running on it own and wouldn't stop until I pulled the fuses. I had to keep pulling and replacing them each time I needed to use the ramp. The side impact sensor for the SRS system was improperly wired during modification and had to be repaired. The alignment issue as mentioned before. And everything is rusting already. We try to keep up with lubricating and cleaning what we can see. Worried about what we can't see. Having issues with the airbag system again. And the cooling line in the right rear wheel well has wear on it from the tire rubbing on it. Apparently the design for the location of the lines wasn't thought out well enough. Stay away from this if you can't afford the future maintenance. We really wish there was something out there people could count on.
Not happy with our Braun Entervan. We have had nothing but problems with ours. Braun has repaired the problems but they just keep coming back. Poor quality engineering and design. Prone to freequent break downs. When you are disabled the last thing you need is to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. They released our van after modification without doing an alignment. When we serviced our van at the dealership we bought it from we were told our tires were worn beyond limits because of the wheel alignment. It was the worst alignment issue they had seen. Braun says they have paperwork that the alignment was done and won't help us with the cost of the tire replacement. We know and they know the alignment wa never done. They take no responsibility for their poor product. We've had the sliding door fall off on the ramp side because they damaged the upper roller when they we modifying the van. It caused the roller to come out of the upper track and fall of the van causing alot of damage. We've had the van in for problems with the kneeling feature a total of six times. And it needs work again. The kneeling actuator started running on it own and wouldn't stop until I pulled the fuses. I had to keep pulling and replacing them each time I needed to use the ramp. The side impact sensor for the SRS system was improperly wired during modification and had to be repaired. The alignment issue as mentioned before. And everything is rusting already. We try to keep up with lubricating and cleaning what we can see. Worried about what we can't see. Having issues with the airbag system again. And the cooling line in the right rear wheel well has wear on it from the tire rubbing on it. Apparently the design for the location of the lines wasn't thought out well enough. Stay away from this if you can't afford the future maintenance. We really wish there was something out there people could count on.
I have a Braun Entervan. The quality of the conversion in regards to welding is shoddy at best.
I purchase a 2005 Toyota Braun conversion from adaptive mobility in Seekonk Ma. In 2009 we started having trouble with the ramp side door. Was told motor was weak, just keep the vehicle running when deploying lift. History vehicle serviced on a regular basis. 2013 door still giving trouble, now drivers side door stuck. Look we're runner was and completely rusted out. Motor for ramp wide open the whole replacement floor is rotted out. Welds are gone. Contacted adaptive mobility was told "yea the 2004's came in last year so we figured the 2005's would be next. We can sell you a new one". I paid $49000.00 for this vehicle in Nov 2005! Contacted Adaptive service manager. Was told that Braun had stopped making in floor ramps because of poor quality metal. It would cost well over 6500.00 to fix just the door areas! So Needless to say I went to another company. I contacted Braun and was told a case would be filed but the lift was out of warranty! I can be contacted at 4016620550. Richard Ruggeri
I bought 2002 Entervan, from the beginning proved by invoices that every component was defective. In 2015 had 70000 miles and always parked in garage. Rust underneath could see through floor was told by mechanics lucky didn't fall through to road. Entire conversion was defective and never rustproofed correctly, dealer, Braun were negligent but guess who has to take the big loss, me the customer. Warning if drive early 2000 Entervan highly suggest check rust underneath, could be in danger. And also Braun vans aren't expensive because of engineering, they have a monopoly on the market
Did you ever get your issues fixed on your van?
No. Nothing has been taken care of to fix the overall problem. We get repairs at our expense. Which is frequently. But the parts just keep failing. We now have a power sliding door motor on the ramp side that has failed for the fifth time since initial purchase in 2011. It was just replaced in March of this year, and is once again failing. Braun won't do anything for us. Not even to replace their faulty parts. You would think that a part they supplied failing in a few months would be covered. Especially since the parts and labour for this one repair cost us $1500. Stressed to our limit with them.
No. Nothing has been taken care of to fix the overall problem. We get repairs at our expense. Which is frequently. But the parts just keep failing. We now have a power sliding door motor on the ramp side that has failed for the fifth time since initial purchase in 2011. It was just replaced in March of this year, and is once again failing. Braun won't do anything for us. Not even to replace their faulty parts. You would think that a part they supplied failing in a few months would be covered. Especially since the parts and labour for this one repair cost us $1500. Stressed to our limit with them.
We bought a 2010 Braun Honda Entervan in 2013 with 11k miles. It was our first side entry lowered floor minivan and it will most certainly be our last.
Since then:
1. Within a month or so of buying it, the main ramp motor died.. thankfully a warranty replacement but still, a 2k item that went on a van with not even 12k miles on it.
2. Center door roller failure - 15 k miles
3. The ramp side sliding door jammed and fell off the van causing extensive paint damage. 3-4k cost to us to repair between body & paint work, a new door motor, various replacement sensors & labor. Van was out of commission 2 months! Oh yeah, the cost of a vehicle to drive while the Honda was out
4. Due to water in the sub-floor, the main braun wiring harness had to be replaced and the entire floor of the van had to come apart. The mobility power door operator went bad due to the wiring. The main ramp motor again went bad. We fought with Braun on this one and in the end they wound up covering the cost. I think the estimated cost was 4-6k between parts and labor (we never saw the end cost of the bill).
5. The current issue - the door track supports completely rotted out. Getting an estimate for new pans on both the driver and passenger side. The doors are unusable as they are (I had to rig up something just to get them to close).
These vans are designed to last just a few years. As much as I hate leasing and car payments (we don't do loans / debt) I would seriously consider leasing one as they are not really designed to be bought and held onto for a decade or two. They are plaggued by issue after issue and they ultimately fall apart into a pile of rust. I would have never sprung for the better honda drivetrain had I known the conversion was going to crumble away.
Our next van will be something of an econoline or sprinter van size where there is no body modification work. A lift gets bolted & wired in... and that's it. Our other we own now is a 19 year old honda odyssey.. it has somme typical old age issues but nothing remotely like what we are going through with our 2010 Braun Honda with only 53k miles on it. Stay far, far away from these unless you are comfortable / can lease it.
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