Hi all. Thanks to ideas from you all about how to get out of the house as can’t drive and can’t walk, I have decided to give mobility scooters another try, if only to get to the bottom of the road. Electric wheelchairs have been suggested by my County Council as well, but that needs an assessment by my doctor, and I think they would be for people much more disabled than me. So - as I had a few disasters with a scooter I was given many years ago due to the state of our local pavements, I am now wondering what type to go for -portable, but don’t look very stable with three wheels, cheap four-wheeler, or more expensive, and if so, what are you paying extra for etc. Shan’t be going on roads, except to cross them, and am only just over 5ft tall, so the last one seemed massive. Maybe hire one first? Any suggestions would be very welcome. Thanks. Binnie R.
Hello BelindaR
The type of scooter you want is determined by what you want from it.
I have a Travelscoot and it ticks so many of the boxes. Lightest one on the market, only 18 Kg, does not make you look disabled, good turning circle, can take luggage or shopping, I can take it anywhere, planes trains and boot of a small car.compact… Two bad sides, 3 wheeler therefore inherently uinstable and no reverse but this is not a problwm to me as I am mobile.
There are plenty of mobility wheelchairs/scooters on the market, what ever you go for give it a testdrive and get a testimonial.
To find out about Travelscoot go to http://www.aid4disabled.com/travelscoot/. Its my website
Good luck in your hunt.
Patricki
As Patrick so rightly says ‘the type of scooter is determined by what you want from it’
I have two scooters: a lightweight one which goes into the car boot and is brilliant in shopping centres but struggles on uneven or sloping terrain and a heavier one which is better locally but won’t go into the car boot.
From what you have said previously about ‘your lane’ you might find that a Tramper scooter would best suit your needs as they are designed for any terrain.
I wold make sure you test drive any scooters first to make sure that they meet your needs. Local mobility shops should be willing to bring them to you so you can try them out. Scooters needn’t cost the earth, my chunkier one was second hand, or you can use higher rate DLA to fund one.
I’ve just bought at TGA sonet - delivered on Saturday but the weathers been so bad I’ve only managed one short outing on it- it’s small enough to go up a ramp and into a car but still fairly robust and stable to go out and about.
Hi
I tried a coule of different scooters first at my local shopmobility place, I dont know if you have one but you pay a small fee to join, then you can hire one for the day up till about fouhar idour wheeeal for me round the shops, and means I dont have to take my big four wheeled oyou have to be careful ne also I bought mine from E-bay as no way could i afford new one and its fab, its my second one from there as I upgraded to bigger one, but you have to be careful as there are unscrupulous people out there, resold my first on there with not much loss, I prefer four wheels as I feel safer, Good luck in your search.
To begin with you need to work out where the Scooter will live;needs to be warm, dry and have an electric socket. Then; how will you get to the scooter,get on it,get out of where it is parked and eventually after your adventure repeat all the above in reverse.
As for the type; ALL of the class I type have solid tyres. These are advertised as puncture proof, yes they are but are EXSCRUTIATINGLY uncomfortable out in the real world on a pavement,drop kerb,road,unmade path etc. These wheels suit people who don’t use a scooter,and the people who import the Chinese junk which is foisted upon the disabled.
If the rider of a scooter cannot avoid broken glass,hawthorn branches etc they shouldn’t be on the scooter.A class II scooter will be bigger,heavier,more stable and should have proper pneumatic tyres. If punctures worry you,ALDI are currently selling emergency inflater cans for £3.99.
Then there is the class III scooter. If purchased from a legitimate dealer it will be registered with DVLA and have free road tax. It will have a registration document.You can travel legally on the road(excepting motorways,and you need an orange recirculating light to travel on dual carriageways).You must diplay the free tax disc, but donot need to display the registration number or have insurance.
I get the impression from what you say that a good class II may suffice.You would need to survey your most often to be used routes to make sure you and the buggy could cope.I’ve done nearly 2,500 miles on the road on ‘Big Bug’ and never have any problems.However,I’ve got 30 years driving experience and have driven just about everything.
Good luck, Wb
Binnie,
l have had some great scooters over the last 25yrs. Most l bought second-hand - l need something fairly robust to take my dogs out over the fields. l did get a secondhand Tramper a few years ago - lt was marvellous - so l did - last year buy a brand new one. Tramper gave me a good price for the trade-in of the old one[11yrs]. TGA do some good scooters that will take you up and down steep pavements as well as Tramper. Do look at second-hand - l have had some real bargains that l got a lot of use out of. Tramper might have some second-hand - l have a trailer to transport mine- but thats very rare.l do have a lightweight scooter that folds down for the car - but it hardly gets used - which is no good for the battery - the more you use and recharge the longer the batteries last. l had one scooter that the batteries lasted 11yrs-thats with daily use. l have never had a scooter break down whilst out on it - [says she touching wood] l have had the charger burn out - but considering the way l use them - the work they do - l have been very lucky. We were snowed in the winter before last - for three weeks - but l got out on my Tramper no problem. Even rescued the Tesco delivery van that was stuck in the snow - l went and got a farmer to tow it out with a tractor.
l would be lost without my faithful scooter.
Frances.
Gee -thanks, folks. Lots of interesting info there. We have 3 mobility vehicle shops at least in Scarborough, so will get myself down to one or all and see what they have. There’s rather a lack of pavements in my district so will have to do some local research. It would be so lovely to get out somewhere though. Garage with electric point no problem. Thanks again. x
Hmmm sorry my post seemed pretty gobbledygooky usually I am quite literate, hope you understood the gist of it though.