Rural Mail Carrier Right Hand Drive Pedal System
I always told myself if I ever became a full-time rural mail carrier that I would invest in some type of right hand drive pedal kit for my vehicle. After stretching and straining to reach the pedals from the passenger side, my back and hip started to get out of alignment and this was causing pain along with general discomfort.
There are a lot of good rural letter carrier pedal kits on the market and I did a good amount of research to figure out which one made the most sense for me. I didn’t want a full right-hand drive kit with the steering wheel and belts as I think they look like crap and didn’t want that in my new postal vehicle. My arms are long enough to reach the steering wheel from the passenger side and I’ve already grown accustomed to driving this way the past 17+ years on the route. If this is your situation too, I would suggest taking a look at the TARSUS Rural Letter Carrier Pedal Kit at Tarsussystem.com
The thing that stood out to me about the Tarsus system compared to the others was the electronic accelerator option so you are able to turn this on/off with the flip of a switch. The company is based in New Brunswick, Canada and offers excellent customer service that I put the test on many occasions with my flood of pre-order questions about the system.
Let’s face it. None of the systems are “inexpensive” and the TARSUS will set you back around $900 USD (plus another $500 or so for installation) but if you look at it like I do, my body is worth the investment now that I am driving nearly 500 miles and spending around 30 hours a week in my vehicle.
In the two months since I’ve been driving with the system, I have noticed a definite decrease in backaches and sore hip issues. It took a few days to get used to having the pedals on the passenger side but now that I am used to it, I’m really glad that I decided to have the kit installed in my vehicle.
Besides the health and mobility improvements, this right hand drive pedal system allows you to look “outside the box” when searching for rural mail carrier vehicles. The kits can be installed in nearly any type of vehicle (check with TARSUS) before purchasing but you will no longer be forced to buy that “old beater” because it has a bench seat. My new vehicle has a full console in the center and there is no way it could have been used for a rural letter carrier vehicle without the pedal system.
Newer vehicles are going to be safer and more fuel efficient than the standard type of rural carrier vehicles that you are accustomed to seeing on the routes.