Re: preference for Scooter not Power Chair

[Guest guest]

Rob and Jackie,

I use a scooter a lot and would no longer attempt to go to a mall, flea market,

warehouse-type store or department store without it. My scooter lives in the

garage. My house would not accommodate it. My scooter does come apart but is

too heavy for me to do it, so I opted to purchase a van with an electric

drive-in ramp in order to maintain my independence. I chose the ramp system

instead of the trunk lift or the rack attached to the rear bumper because I can

drive the scooter inside the van and then transfer to the driver's seat. The

other systems require you to load the scooter and then walk around the vehicle

and get in. Although I am able to walk around the vehicle now...I may not be

able to in a few years.

I prefer a scooter to a chair because it allows me to carry groceries, hand

luggage, etc in the baskets and on the floorboard...the posibilities with a

chair is more limited.

Some scooters are fairly lightweight and come in narrow widths that will fit

through most doors. Many breakdown with the heaviest component weighing about

25-30 pounds. But, unless you have good hand and upper body strength or someone

else willing and able to break it down, load, unload and reassemble it, it may

stay at home because of the effort involved. The lightweight narrow scooters

generally have small tires and low ground clearance and are great for indoor use

and sidewalks that are in good repair. If you want to explore the city and run

around outdoors a sturdy scooter with 10 " tires and at least 3.5 " ground

clearance is better suited. I have both a small scooter and a large one. The

large one was purchased second after experiencing the limitations of the small

one.

My scooter is coming with me aboard a cruise ship next month and I expect to

utilize it 90-95% of the time. It is a real energy saver and I can no longer

travel without it. It is a great life line!

Hope this helps,

Rascal Rider Ruth