Need advice from Scooter owners UPDATE p. 2

[mamabunny]

Wow! 3-wheel scooters are more stable than 4-wheel? Not I'm really confused. I'm looking to buy a new mobility scooter, and I want one that'll break down for the car trunk. Three wheel scooters are lighter when they break down, but I've had several people tell me that 4-wheel are more stable. Now I don't know what to do.

I've used both - and you might remember that my personal device (Angus!) is a 3-wheel. A 3-wheel scooter, driven by a competent adult who is paying attention is not more or less stable than a 4-wheel.

There are a few differences - where I think a 3 wheel is superior is in the tighter turning radius. Not as important at WDW maybe, but in my daily life, I love the fact that I can spin my device hard on the rear right side wheel by turning the steering fully to the right, and while it's not a "zero radius" turn, it's about as close as you can get with a standard production model ECV right now. (If you want a true "zero radius" device, please see @cobright for details and pricing LOL). I can make a "u-turn" in very tight quarters (as long as I can turn to the right; the left side has the hub motor that powers the unit, so it can't do that kind of turn)(side note: if the hub motor was in the front wheel, then I could do all manner of tricks LOL).

3-wheel devices tend to be lighter, as you mentioned, and often they are smaller, and fold into easier configurations to handle. Additionally, 3-wheel devices just take up less physical space (typically) and are a bit more versatile when parking, which is super handy when parking it in your Disney Resort hotel room! (it's easier to find a triangular shaped spot than a rectangular shaped spot)

Where 4-wheel devices tend to really shine is in overall comfort. They tend to have big, heavy upholstered seats (sometimes with arm rests) and lots of "floor space" for your feet. (side note: never leave your purse on the "floor" of an ECV - it can slide right off - saw it happen in January at AK, and that poor lady's purse just dumped all over the floor!)

Because they are bigger and heavier, they do tend to ride a bit better, smoothing out the bumps. That can be addressed with air-filled tires on any ECV you buy; my device has solid, "no flat" tires, so I never have to worry about getting a flat tire, however.

4-wheel units tend to break down into multiple pieces for transport, and the (average) weight of the heaviest piece is usually about 50 pounds, which you have to be able to lift from the ground into your car, and (later) back out of your vehicle to the ground for re-assembly. They typically break down into 3 larger pieces, or 4 smaller ones.

3-wheel units can break down into multiple pieces for transport as well, and can also have the same 50 pound requirement, however, there are some of the "ultra lightweight" units (like mine) that weigh in as little as 35 pounds total weight, ready to ride, and can be lifted assembled into the back of an SUV as small as a Kia Soul.

So... no easy answers - I'm sorry! What I did when I was first looking for my device was to decide what features I *had* to have, and what would be a "bonus". That helped focus my search, and ultimately led me to find Angus (and his stablemate, Max). But what was important to me might not make the top of your list - only you know what your priorities will be!

 

[mamabunny]

I like the Robomaster you linked. It's a good platform. Funny thing is, watching the video, the programming interface they show is called Scratch. It's a programming interface that makes the version of C++ used on these micro-controllers easier for children. And I use it to create the framework everytime I get started on a new system. Eventually things get much fidgety and eventually I hand the project over to someone who will chase down my bugs for me (in exchange for $$).

And the controller for that robot is the same one I've been using on my powerchair designs. A rockchip RK3288. Sort of like a suped up Raspberry Pi.

I haven't had a chance to do a deep dive into the Robomasters ins-and-outs yet (for one thing, hubs is kinda hogging all the fun for himself LOL) but I think it's really cool that you were already using the controller in your work!

And I swear someday I'm going to master Scratch/some flavor of C. It's on my list... I just keep getting distracted by shiny things...

 

[toocherie]

I just bought a Pride GoGo Sport. For me it was the right choice. I use it mostly to go to Disneyland--it breaks down and I am able to get it in and out of my car trunk by myself if necessary and it is MUCH easier to put together than my old Pride GoGo UltraX. For everyday life (grocery shopping, etc.) I am able to walk with a cane or using the shopping cart for stability. I am considering taking the new scooter to WDW on my next trip--but have concerns about taking it on the plane (connecting flights), and airport to hotel (thinking of not staying at a Disney resort the first night). I may consider the TravelScoot in the future--but one was not available locally to try out and it was a bit out of budget at this time. Are there scooter stores near your home? Perhaps you should go and try them out yourself first? Also--for what it's worth--my long-time scooter repair person (mostly just replacing batteries) indicated to stay with Pride.

 

[mamabunny]

... I may consider the TravelScoot in the future--but one was not available locally to try out and it was a bit out of budget at this time. ...

Just FYI, TravelScoot doesn't have showrooms or salespeople around the country, so if you are interested in seeing one in person you can call them, and they can try to find a nearby owner that will let you see it and try it out locally. Personally, I give away hundreds of their business cards every year to people I meet who want more info.

 

[anonymousegirl]

Gosh, thanks everyone for keeping this discussion going. i am learning so much. I really appreciate it!

 

[toocherie]

Personally, I give away hundreds of their business cards every year to people I meet who want more info.

I hope to run into you someday and personally get a card!

 

[mamabunny]

I hope to run into you someday and personally get a card!

Well that just sounds like fun! Do you have feelings about *chocolate*? Because we could be good friends, and just not know it yet!

 

[anonymousegirl]

UPDATE- mom went with a rollator. She loves it. It has given her the stability she needed and she can now get over to the dining rooms, and to her gardening plot. This works perfectly because she can lift this into her trunk, and take it to shops etc. Turns out she was resistant to the rollator because she could not see how it would be that much of a help. She made a snap judgement without even trying one.

 

[toocherie]

Well that just sounds like fun! Do you have feelings about *chocolate*? Because we could be good friends, and just not know it yet!

My feeling on chocolate are if it's not chocolate, why bother?

 

[mamabunny]

My feeling on chocolate are if it's not chocolate, why bother?

Look everyone! It's my new best friend!

 

[mamabunny]

UPDATE- mom went with a rollator. She loves it. It has given her the stability she needed and she can now get over to the dining rooms, and to her gardening plot. This works perfectly because she can lift this into her trunk, and take it to shops etc. Turns out she was resistant to the rollator because she could not see how it would be that much of a help. She made a snap judgement without even trying one.

Yay for your Mom! I am so glad to know that she has her Rollator, and she can do all the things she wanted to with it! I love a happy ending!

Maybe to celebrate, you can find a set like this one to dress up her new wheels, that she would like!

 

[toocherie]

Look everyone! It's my new best friend!

And I really DO know grammar (shaking my head at myself). Hello new best friend!

 

[Groot]

Hi. I am looking for advice re: a new scooter for my elderly mom. She is in an apartment and I think the single front wheel would have more maneuverability but she is worried they are more unstable than the four wheeled scooters. Any truth to that? She has never driven one so we are heading over to a mobility store this weekend to try some. Anything else I should be aware of when buying new? I know this isn't Disney related, so if anyone has a idea of where I can go for advice, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

It is true that 3-wheel scooters are more maneuverable than the 4-wheel ones. When you compare ANY 3 wheel scooter to its 4-wheel counterpart, you will see the difference. (For example, compare the Pride Victory 10.2 3-Wheel Scooter to the Pride Victory 10.2 4-Wheel Scooter and you’ll see a HUGE difference in the turning radius.

Also, every 6 months, Gold Mobility switches out their rental fleet for newer scooter models and sells the old one at a discount. The only caveat is that you have to pick it up in person, as they don’t ship because of risk of damage to the scooter. But, if you have an airline that will transport the scooter for you, they will deliver it to the airport for you to take home. Their purchase price ranges from $800.00 (USD) to $2,651.00 (USD)

I too was originally thinking about getting a mobility scooter for myself. Then my mom was worried about how we were gonna get it in/out of the car and how big it was, so she told me to look at manual wheelchairs.

Well, from the get go, I knew that I didn’t want a traditional manual wheelchair that you see in nursing homes and that would I would have to work on getting the upgrades that I wanted for it, ((I.E. the color I wanted (purple), the casters that light up, the spoked rear wheels with black tires, a low-medium height back, a nice comfy cushion, a platform footrest vs. regular footrests, and most importantly, NO ARMRESTS (I have trouble pushing myself with armrests because they would impede my more severely affected arm from pushing efficiently.)). So, I looked at some customizable manuals that had the features that I wanted and the cheapest option that I found was over $3,000.00 (USD) and the most expensive was about $9,000.00 (USD)!

Mom was like “Oh, no, that ain’t happening, I’d rather have you look at powerchairs before I’d spend that much money on something that you had to PUSH.”

So, I looked at powerchairs. Well, that wasn’t much better either cause the ones I looked at and “mock-built” were anywhere from $10,000.00 (USD) to over $25,000.00 (USD)!

Now, when it comes to powerchairs, I’m kinda picky. For one thing, Front-Wheel Drive Powerchairs (The ones with the big wheels in front) are the hardest ones to learn how to drive because you don’t have the casters in front to help guide you and their turning radius is the largest out of the three types.

Mid-Wheel Drive powerchairs (The ones with the big wheels in the middle, hence the name.) are easier to learn how to drive because you DO have the caster wheels in the front to help you guide with turning, as well as in the back of the chair and this alone gives the Mid-Wheel class the tightest turning radius out of the three types of powerchairs.

Rear-Wheel Drive Powerchairs (The ones with the big wheels in the back) are just as easy as Mid-Wheels on learning how to drive. Scooters are just like Rear-Wheels in the principle that you use the front wheels to guide the chair in the turn and the rest of the device follows.

The biggest advantage of Powerchairs over scooters is that when you make a turn with a powerchair, you don’t have a “Nose” to worry about when you turn, making it effortless even in the tightest of places.

Now, if you want the convenience of a powerchair, merged with the portability of a Folding Manual Wheelchair, you might want to look at the Fold and Go. (Yeah, @RaySharpton, you ain’t the only one that plugs them. )

These chairs can go 16 miles on a single charge, only needs 5 hours to charge, come in a VARIETY OF COLORS (vs. only silver on other foldable powerchairs), and have a lot of accessories to choose from. You can even get some other things, like this cushion for your chair.