A Power Wagon that puts a paraplegic in charge of 500 lb.-ft. of torque
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair
The Dodge Power Wagon was born as a ¾-ton military truck in 1945, and continued as the forerunner to the Ram series in 2005 as a civilian version. The 1958 Power Wagon shown here is a very special customized version that is owned and driven by Bruce Chargo. When he was 17, Bruce suffered a spinal cord injury from a diving accident that left him a quadriplegic (no use of his legs, some use of his arms but not his hands), Bruce had two choices: stay home and feel sorry for himself or overcome his condition and live life to the fullest of his ability.
He chose the latter.
In spite of his handicap and being confined to a wheelchair, Bruce learned to drive—in specially-equipped vehicles. He needed something that he could roll into and fit behind the wheel in his wheelchair. He came up with a 1958 Dodge Power Wagon that he had modified including a custom-built frame—low and wide.
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair
Bruce rolls into the Wagon on a folding ramp at the rear. The ramp operates electrically via Bruce’s oversize toggle switches that he operates with his arm. Driving with handicap controls takes some doing. Bruce has been at it long enough so it’s second nature. But not everyone gets it. The “steering wheel” is a horizontal wheel with a low turning effort that was designed by a quadriplegic back in 1984.
The low effort steering is accomplished by gearing the steering wheel 2 to 1 to the steering box and then modifying the power steering pump. Bruce found out about one guy who had a brand new converted minivan in the mid-‘90s. He scared himself and wanted to have the handicap controls taken out. Bruce was able to pick up the hand controls- the horizontal steering and the electric gas and brake system just for the cost of the labor. Apparently, the guy didn’t realize how hard it was going to be driving with the steering, gas and brake controls. It takes a lot of commitment to learn how to do that.
The horizontal wheel is about 10 inches in diameter. It has a quad pin on top. That’s what messes everybody up--the 4 pins that stick up. Bruce slides his hands into them because he doesn’t have any grip. A second quad pin for Bruce’s other hand controls the gas and brake. The controls activate electric servos that turn the wheels, pushes the brake or pulls the throttle cable.
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair
The only thing Bruce has to be careful with in this truck, as opposed to all the other vehicles, is not getting on it because of the torque (estimated at about 500 lb.-ft.) of the early-style Hemi Bruce had installed. A little too much and his wheelchair will wheelie and his hand can slide out of the controls—which almost happened the first and only time he goosed it. He had his buddy with him at the time and he grabbed the back of the wheelchair and said “We can’t be doing that stuff.”
“You get a lot of thumbs up from pretty much everybody when you’re driving the truck,” says Bruce. “The windows are darkened so you really can’t see that I’m handicapped, they’re just giving the thumbs up for the truck, they don’t realize the real significance of it. The fun comes when you pull into a show or a cruise and I open the back doors and it’s like ‘Whoa, waitta minute…’”
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair
The Dodge Power Wagon was born as a ¾-ton military truck in 1945, and continued as the forerunner to the Ram series in 2005 as a civilian version. The 1958 Power Wagon shown here is a very special customized version that is owned and driven by Bruce Chargo. When he was 17, Bruce suffered a spinal cord injury from a diving accident that left him a quadriplegic (no use of his legs, some use of his arms but not his hands), Bruce had two choices: stay home and feel sorry for himself or overcome his condition and live life to the fullest of his ability.
He chose the latter.
In spite of his handicap and being confined to a wheelchair, Bruce learned to drive—in specially-equipped vehicles. He needed something that he could roll into and fit behind the wheel in his wheelchair. He came up with a 1958 Dodge Power Wagon that he had modified including a custom-built frame—low and wide.
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair
Bruce rolls into the Wagon on a folding ramp at the rear. The ramp operates electrically via Bruce’s oversize toggle switches that he operates with his arm. Driving with handicap controls takes some doing. Bruce has been at it long enough so it’s second nature. But not everyone gets it. The “steering wheel” is a horizontal wheel with a low turning effort that was designed by a quadriplegic back in 1984.
The low effort steering is accomplished by gearing the steering wheel 2 to 1 to the steering box and then modifying the power steering pump. Bruce found out about one guy who had a brand new converted minivan in the mid-‘90s. He scared himself and wanted to have the handicap controls taken out. Bruce was able to pick up the hand controls- the horizontal steering and the electric gas and brake system just for the cost of the labor. Apparently, the guy didn’t realize how hard it was going to be driving with the steering, gas and brake controls. It takes a lot of commitment to learn how to do that.
The horizontal wheel is about 10 inches in diameter. It has a quad pin on top. That’s what messes everybody up--the 4 pins that stick up. Bruce slides his hands into them because he doesn’t have any grip. A second quad pin for Bruce’s other hand controls the gas and brake. The controls activate electric servos that turn the wheels, pushes the brake or pulls the throttle cable.
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair
The only thing Bruce has to be careful with in this truck, as opposed to all the other vehicles, is not getting on it because of the torque (estimated at about 500 lb.-ft.) of the early-style Hemi Bruce had installed. A little too much and his wheelchair will wheelie and his hand can slide out of the controls—which almost happened the first and only time he goosed it. He had his buddy with him at the time and he grabbed the back of the wheelchair and said “We can’t be doing that stuff.”
“You get a lot of thumbs up from pretty much everybody when you’re driving the truck,” says Bruce. “The windows are darkened so you really can’t see that I’m handicapped, they’re just giving the thumbs up for the truck, they don’t realize the real significance of it. The fun comes when you pull into a show or a cruise and I open the back doors and it’s like ‘Whoa, waitta minute…’”
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair
The World's Most Powerful Wheelchair