I have just been on holiday abroad and taken manual wheelchair, my intention was to walk a bit then husband push me a bit ( on the flat ) but with the heat I spent more time being pushed than i did walking and i didnt like the fact my husband had to do lot of pushing … soooooo i thought that next time i could hire a lightweight foldable electric wheelchair then there would be no pushing needed for hubby and he could just enjoy his holiday ( and i could get out of wheelchair, disengage it and walk a bit by pushing it )
My question is can anyone give me an insight to how to go about this !
I already have an electric chair of my own but my Dad (91) has taken a liking to Cruises. Trouble is, they’ve been wearing him out - especially when trying to keep up with me in my speedy chair!
Long & short of it is that after considering rental, he bought one The palaver of paperwork, T&C’s, collection & return, plus the considerable rental costs quoted, meant that it was better to own one. Let’s face it, if you want/need a chair for holiday, there are probably other excursions which would also be made possible if a chair was available. Think hospital appointments, sporting events, shopping & supermarkets etc.
Today was our first day out, two-up. A test run: my Dad had a hospital appointment. We go on a cruise together in 9 days. He did well - only drove into one door frame and no pedestrians maimed! Also got the chair in & out on his own, with me watching on.
We did our research. Dad can still drive and is independent. We established that my chair at 26.5kg is too heavy for him to dead-lift in & out of the car, so found him a fancy carbon-fibre one weighting just 19kg, which he could manage. It also folds small enough to stow in the boot of his current car.
eBay is a good place to find good quality second-hand chairs. Rather than from a dealer, we bought privately from the brother of a chap with dementia who is no longer able to control it or remember where he’s was going… It’s in very good nick and less than half the new price paid just a couple of years ago. In our case it was £850.
You will have your own criteria but the process would be the same. What do you think?
The 1 i was looking at is carbon fibre costing £2,700 or from the internet the 1 similar is £1,700 ?!?!??!?!?! So considering i would only be needing it twice a year its ridiculous spending that amount.
It would have to be lightweight and airline acceptable battery so im thinking will such a new piece of equipment be on ebay !!! I know you said your dad bought 1 from ebay and thats brilliant for him, but im thinking id rather just hire 1.
Hi, I’ve been all over Europe, so Moscow, St Petersburg, Paris, Barcelona, Brussels, London, The Hague, Riga, Vienna, Berlin, Brno, with my DiBlasi R30 fold-up electric scooter. It can go on planes, trains and cars, and weighs 22kg. I bought it from Cavendish Mobility in Waterlooville, who are the main importers for this scooter. They might hire you one, as I know they hire other mobility scooters and equipment.
Thank you so much for your reply, this is fantastic… wow you have certainly been able to visit so many places, absolutely great.
I will take a look at hiring a DiBlasi R30 … im in a right quandary whether to hire powerchair or scooter … the reasoning behind thoughts of a power chair is to give me the ability to walk by pushing it a little bit … but then I think to myself that if its warm and humid all energy to walk will be zapped so what is the point in hiring a scooter ?
I don’t know where you’re planning to go, but I’ve hired powered wheelchairs in resorts in Spain, Lanzarote and Tenerife. Maybe check mobility equipment hire online for your intended destination
The palaver of paperwork, T&C’s, collection & return, plus the considerable rental costs quoted, meant that it was better to own one. Let’s face it, if you want/need a chair for holiday, there are probably other excursions which would also be made possible if a chair was available. Think hospital appointments, sporting events, shopping & supermarkets etc.