Motors for wheelchairs. Anyone got one?

My dad had one on his wheelchair. A little temperamental, & rather heavy to take on & off.
You would have to time your journey so that it doesn’t battery doesn’t conk out.
Does make the chair easier to manage, but the person pushing the chair needs to be fit to keep up- me with my two dodgy knees struggled.
Go through the mobility shop. Also see if you can get the vat knocked off for being disabled.

I’m not suggesting this, but on my recent visit to Paris I was horrified to see wheelchair users with their chairs perched on an electric scooter, tootling about, sometimes at high speed!
That was as well as seeing daddy and the two children all on one scooter, and even one fellow on a bike with baby in the basket on the front!

Thank you * MT62* I’m just hoping it will help me push her up hills. It will be interesting to find out more.
Daddima I don’t think we’ll be emulating the French!

Good luck. Don't go down the mobility scooter route. I bought a supposedly lightweight one for me. I had mega problems getting it in and out of the house because of its weight and the machine was too light for the cracked pavement and slight hills here.

My own experience of the motors that can be added to manual wheelchairs is that they’re very heavy, the chair can’t be fold up with the motor attached and some are rather temperamental. Not too mention the weight they add to the chair.

Oh dear, maybe not the answers I was hoping for

Pamela the flip side is you know the problems in advance and will not waste money.

My friend has an electric wheelchair. And is a speed demon. The batteries are taken off to be recharged. The wheelchair is light enough for her daughter to get it in and out of the car . She brought it herself not through the mobility scheme. It is a reconditioned one, she has ones from brand new before but she said you wouldn't know this was second hand . Safer than her old one and more comfortable as she can only walk to and from the car with help.
She goes on the bus in it .

Astitchintime

My own experience of the motors that can be added to manual wheelchairs is that they’re very heavy, the chair can’t be fold up with the motor attached and some are rather temperamental. Not too mention the weight they add to the chair.

Oh glad you mentioned that, that you can’t fold up the chair Asit, so will need plenty of room to store the chair.

Whiff

My friend has an electric wheelchair. And is a speed demon. The batteries are taken off to be recharged. The wheelchair is light enough for her daughter to get it in and out of the car . She brought it herself not through the mobility scheme. It is a reconditioned one, she has ones from brand new before but she said you wouldn't know this was second hand . Safer than her old one and more comfortable as she can only walk to and from the car with help.
She goes on the bus in it .

Yes I would go down that route of second hand. Either through mobility shop for reconditioned, or you could try eBay. You could ask the owner if you could try before committing.
‘Next-door’ platform is another you could ask on.

Just a quick update, we have bought a new one, five years guarantee from a well recommended mobility shop.
It’s fantastic. Mum can control it, I can control it remotely, we can also push it with or without the motor. It seems to tick every box.

Sounds lovely! Have you tried putting the wheelchair in and out of the car boot yet? Would you say it us lighter/more comfortable/convenient/easier to control than a motor scooter? Just weighing up the pris and cons for our situation. Thanks

Us = is
Pris = pros

I have both a folding mobility scooter and a lightweight electric wheelchair. I use the latter when i need to travel on any sort of public transport. This will go on buses, trains, London underground, etc.
Do feel safer on my pavement mobility scooter and use that around town. For days outings with my daughter, she feels it is actually easier to take apart the scooter and putting that in her car boot, than the wheelchair which does fold to about the size of a large suitcase, but is then heavy to pick up
I am looking to purchase a lift mechanism for her car boot so she will not have to do any more lifting.

The only problem I have with the wheelchair is when I am using it go away for a few days. I am very independent, and happy to travel, etc by myself (with Passenger Assistance on trains), but there is no way I can also manage any sort of suitcase, so all I can take with me has to be in the bag on the back of this wheelchair.

Thank you franbern for that thorough explanation. 👍 you have given me food fir thought. Good for you getting out and about, I expect it takes being well organised to make things run smoothly. Well done, and enjoy your freedom.🙂