Transporting Electric Mobility Scooters
You're feeling foot-loose and free whizzing along on your Pride Go-Go Ultra Power Mobility Scooter...until you get to your car and try to store your new hot wheels. Still, needing mobility aids didn't faze you, right?
Most electric mobility scooters easily disassemble for convenient transportation and storage, even if your car seems only slightly larger than your mobility scooter. The Pride Go-Go Ultra, for example, disassembles into four pieces. The trick is putting it back together again, so keep your instruction manual handy. Many companies offer portable scooter cases, and the Pride Go-Go ultra comes with its own red or blue case.
Other mobility scooters, like electric wheelchairs, fold for storage in hatchbacks, overhead racks and trunks. Most airlines will allow you to store your equipment in the overhead storage bin--just make sure the frame doesn't shift during the flight. Although flying is becoming less and less civilized, flight attendants are still happy to help. Just request special assistance ahead of time--you can do it when you buy your ticket online!
After all, the whole point of a mobility scooter is to get around without fear and with confidence.
Scooter Options
Lime green versus champagne. Directionals versus floodlights. New tires versus the standard. Sound like choices for your first car? All of these are important when designing mobility aids. For example, you can request a crutch/oxygen tank holder add-on for your mobility scooter. You can select a color that turns heads. You haven't felt this empowered since you bouth that little juice coupe. Some other add-ons to consider--note that they all have additional charges, just like at the car dealership:
? Foam-filled tires, if you can request them, don't slow you down as much. No flat tires!
? Wire baskets for shopping till you drop!
? A tiller if your hands can't grip with full strength. It's just like using the handlebars of that first two-wheeler.
? Throttle extensions so you can brake better.
? Left-hand or right-hand drive options if you have a stroke in either side of the brain.
? Powerful headlights, and directional signals if you can get them.
? Seat with extra foam padding, swivel seat or high-end "captain's chair."
Thanks to mobility aids add-ons, your stylin' new scooter looks less like most medical electric mobility scooters and more like that souped-up hot rod you had in high school.
3-Wheel and 4-Wheel Scooters
You're fighting arthritis or an old farm injury as you figure out a way to work the farm you've owned for twenty years. You hunt and fish, herd cattle, and you wouldn't dream of doing anything else. No one's putting you out to pasture.
You can climb back in the saddle, so to speak¡ªthe mobility four-wheel-drive scooter saddle. Four-wheel scooters are heavy-duty, stable for outdoors and can turn wider around pastures and fields. Plus you can go up to 10 mph. You only need the scooter for farming chores anyway, and the handy basket carries everything but the sun, wind and rain, that's great mobility scooters advice.
If your idea of farming is rounding up the dust bunnies under your bed, you probably need three-wheel-drive electric mobility scooters such as the Pacesaver brands. You can use three-wheel-drive mobility aids both indoors and out without being tempted to re-enact an episode of "Green Acres" or "The Simple Life."
Whether you grow your own tomatoes for spaghetti sauce or order Italian, you can pick a scooter that will last till the cows come home.
Crutches and Electric Mobility Aids
Scooting around the house and doing the boot scooter boogie around the office or at school is fun, but the docs say you need some time walking as well. Unlike wheelchairs, scooters aren't meant for people to stay seated 24/7 but intended for people with some mobility problems to get out and about easier. Plus, you may need to sit or stand since scooters won't park in front of desks or tables.
If you use a mobility scooter, you're able to walk with some assistance. You still have the use of your legs. You need to build upper body strength.
Whenever you need to walk, say to the pool for aquatic exercise, we recommend a folding or telescoping cane that you can transport easily in your scooter basket. If your doctor prescribes crutches, you can buy collapsible crutches. You're on the go and don't have time to waste with bulky mobility aids!
After all, the whole point of a scooter is to preserve your independence, and if you have the option to walk, do the mobility aids boogie once more with feeling!
Mobility Aids and Accessories
A humorous quote on growing older: "Seniors are the nation's leading carriers of AIDS! Hearing AIDS, Band AIDS, Roll AIDS, Walking AIDS, Government AIDS, Medical AIDS...and most of all MONETARY AID to their Kids!"
Add mobility aids to the list. Mobility aids simply mean wheelchairs, walkers, canes, standers...and mobility scooters. You've chosen between Pride Luxury Line Victory XL 4 electric mobility scooters and the Drive Odyssey 4 Wheel Full Size mobility scooters (in Candy Apple Red like your first two-wheeler). Now, you have two other choices in the age of mobiltiy aids:
1) What great new places will I go?
2) What accessories can I select?
The ultimate accessory for your scooter mobility aids is the power lift. The Harmar AL055 Economy Inside Lift can even get your candy apple red mobility scooter inside your SUV. Or you could choose the Harmar AL600 Universal Scooter Hybrid Platform Lift, ideal for the back of your van or even that monster station wagon your kids hate to ride in. There are also power lifts for the sliding side doors on panel vans. Don't forget an EZ Access Track Ramp, which is designed for electric mobility scooters, power wheelchairs and manual wheelchairs.
You can dress up your mobility scooter the way you would a wheelchair. Naturally, you've added safety reflectors.
In this age of mobility aids, no matter what the number on your birthday cake says, you can go about with humor and good spirits! The places you'll go are up to you.
Mobility Scooters and Safety
They look like high tech go-karts, but mobility scooters are built to withstand more punishment as well as the wear and tear of everyday life. There are some safety tips to make sure that your kart lasts as long as you need it to. Follow this mobility scooters advice:
? Rain and electric mobility scooters don't mix, either while you're driving or your mobility scooter is sitting in the driveway. Invest in a cover for your mobility scooter, even if you're storing it in the garage or cellar. Moisture and rain can seep through inside the garage or basement.
? Charging mobility scooter batteries is easy--just plug in and power down. You can also buy battery charges.
? Most mobility scooters, as well as electric mobility aids in general, have anti-tip devices for added safety. Never remove or fuss with anti-tip devices.
? Get a master key so no one has access to your scooter but you.
? A locking seat and tiller eliminates those bumps and jumps when you're riding.
? Use reflectors for night and low-light driving.
? Front bumpers absorb minor impacts from curbs or walls.
? Avoid using portable electronics and cell phones while your electric mobility scooter is running.
? When traveling or driving, don't try to load or unload mobility scooters, with parts that can weigh 30 pounds, without the help of family, friends or caregivers.
High-tech go-karts? The amusement park was never this much fun, or safe. Best of all, you can take the ride with you.
Heavyweight Mobility Scooters
You're thinking about being a Million Dollar Baby in your mobility scooter. You can stand the punishment of a few rounds with Evander Holyfield, but can your scooter survive a trip to the boxing arena to watch Holyfield K.O. his opponent?
Heavyweight or heavy duty electric mobility scooters such as the Invacare Zoom 400 can hold up to 400 pounds. If you're a musclebound boxer/sumo wrestler on the mend, or a fan battling weight problems, you can be sure that the heavyweight mobility scooter will support your weight without pain and further injury.
It's tough ducking bookies, obsessed fans, and would-be Mike Tysons. Fortunately, your mobility scooter can withstand bites. They're indestructible should you decide to drive through the boxing ring, although we can't speak for the durability of your nose, particularly since scooters can't turn as fast as an electric wheelchair--though speeds are improving as new models appear on the scene.
Best of all, you may dream of being a Million Dollar Baby, but in the meantime, a heavyweight scooter won't cost you nearly as much as Don King's cut in Vegas.