Hi, chimonmmy.
The Go Go Sport from Gold Mobility Scooters, LLC is a great mobility
scooter.
I surmize since you asked Gold Mobility Scooters, LLC about battery life concern, he offered the Victory 10 since it has a larger battery capacity than the Go Go Sport. Not that either are not good mobility scooters.
Just from my personal experiences, the main reasons that a mobility scooter may run out of battery power are:
1. Not recharging the battery at night. You may still have battery power, but you may run out of power if not charging every night. That is not unusual for newbies since that have just gotten back from the parks after a long day and are tired and forgetful and not used to a routine of recharging daily. I would take the charger with you if this happens. Many cast members will tell you where an electric outlet is located.
2. Every battery on every mobility scooter may be different in size and the amount of Amperage. Some mobility scooters only use one battery and others may use two batteries. Not every battery has the same Amperage and the larger the Amperage the more capacity or length of battery use is available. That is why he probably offered a larger mobility scooter to you with the larger capacity battery. When researching mobility scooters on Google, and you look at the probable hours of use on a charge, also look at the size of Amperage power and if they have one or two batteries.
3. Gravity whether it be a mobility scooter's driver's weight and the backpack weight, or a hill all cause increase battery use. That is why going up a hill the mobility scooter may go slower because of the increased gravity required to go up the hill which also uses more or maximum power from the battery which also decreases the length of power time wise on a given charge. One person may weigh a lot less and may not have a problem going up a hill or having the battery last all day. On the other hand, a person that weighs a lot more may have a problem going up a hill as the scooter strains and uses more battery power or may have a problem with the battery not lasting as long. Every person may have a different experience with the same mobility scooter based on the driver's weight and the weight of any backpacks. So when you read one poster says it lasts all day and another says it doesn't last all day this is something to consider.
4. Turning the power know all the way up all day for full speed can increase battery usage and decrease the number of hours and miles that it can be used until recharging. You would be amazed at the difference in length of miles you can drive if you only not set the power, not to maximum power. The mobility scooter doesn't run on gasoline. The battery is electrical. Think about your cell phone and if you have the brightness set up to the highest setting, etc.
5. Batteries eventually get old and parts of the battery cells die just like in a car. It is usually not all or nothing whether it is a dry or wet or lithium battery. When I bought my first mobility scooter, after about a year of use, I noticed that it took less and less time to recharge the mobility scooter to get all green lights showing fully charged. I later found out it was fully charged, but only for the live battery cells. It did not register the dead cells part of the battery. So if after a year of use and the battery was 50% depleated and only had 50% live cells to recharge, it meant it only took 50% less time to charge. I didn't know this at the time because I was a newbie. Eventually, I also noticed that even though I full charge the mobility scooter every night, my battery power went down faster. One time at WDW, I was aware of this happening. My mobility scooter had a meter like an olde car that showed fully charged and that would decrease over time. Every mobility scooter has a different way of showing power on their mobility scooter. Most use lights instead of metering with an arrow. Well, this day it all of a sudden dropped from an arrow at one half to empty or zero. I found out that my battery was dead. I had used up all of my cells. I was able to recharge it at the park for an hour and I was able to get back to my resort. But I called
Buena Vista Scooters and they changed out my batteries. Very expensive for me at the time. I owned and still have this mobility scooter for over a decade. I later learned to order my batteries online for a lot less and change them out myself. So after this very long explanation, mobility scooter batteries do wear out and lose the ability to recharge dead cells. They will still recharge live cells. You may have a scooter that has older batteries. That is another reason why some guests may say their mobility scooter doesn't last as long. A person that only rents mobility scooter may not know this and the only way to tell is by experience over time and notice the time it takes to recharge and how long it lasts each day.
6. Some mobility scooters may save battery life when they idle and you are not moving, but a lot of savvy mobility scooter users turn off their key to the power when not moving. Over time this might save more power.
Gold Mobility Scooters, LLC company changes out all of their mobility scooter every six months and then sells them to the public at a discount. Before this company, many companies just kept their scooter for years until they looked worn out and then they sold them.
So if you are a newbie, this may help you understand why some guests say different things about the exact same device use from their personal experience. They aren't wrong, just their experience. Some scooter may be newer with newer batteries, or some may be older with older end of use batteries. Most companies will help with an older battery if you feel this is happening to you.
Has anyone rented a go-go sport scooter from gold mobility? I rented one for my husband who will be going to Disney post surgery. just curious about batter life for the parks. When I called and asked fro go-go sport the customer service rep, at gold mobility, suggested the victory 10. After talking to him and telling him our situation, he told me that we would probably be fine with the go-go sport. we only need it for 3 days, so I would rather not pay more for the bigger scooter. So mainly Im just curious about experiences with the battery life. Thanks!
I use a Go Go Sport all the time. I live close to
Disneyland and use it there. I travel with my Go Go Sport and use it at WDW. Battery life is pretty good, I usually get at least 4 to 6 miles, depending on hills (yes, there are hills in the parks). For me this equates to 4 to 6 hours of use time. I am heavy, so it takes more battery power for me than someone much lighter weight.
I really like the Sport because it is small and manoverable, a real plus for me in the parks and stores and for bus loading, unloading.
IHTH
Andy D