Question about portable scooters that you assemble/disassemble. Update: I've booked, now question about fitting into van. Post #8 Thank you all!

[karensi]

I've rented a scooter, from an outside company, many times when at Disney. This time we will be staying off site and I'm thinking of renting a scooter that we can put in the back of our rental van to bring to the parks. I've never done this before and am just concerned about the complexity this would, or hopefully would not, involve. I just spoke to Gold Mobility, a company I've used before and they say they don't have a folding/collapsible scooter but have one that can be "easily" disassembled and then assembled.
Can anyone please give me some information about renting one of these scooters?
Should I look for a scooter rental company that has scooters that fold instead of having to assemble and disassemble? Would that be better?
Any other information would be much appreciated.
Just as an aside, my weight is OK for one of these scooters so I don't have to worry about that, I'm just worried about everything else it might entail.
Hoping some Dissers might be able to put my mind at ease.
Oh, and my son in law would be doing this for me, so I don't have to worry about lifting it myself.
Thanks so much for any information you can give me.

 

[Evita_W]

They are generally very easy to disassemble.

There are lots of YouTube videos on how to disassemble and assemble them.

Generally you lift the seat off, then remove the batteries (go go sport is a pack you lift), then the front and back come apart.

But if you have a van and two people (or one very strong person) that can lift it, you may find that you don't need to take it apart other than maybe removing the seat if it is too tall. If you are getting the GoGo sport, one person can generally lift it in and out without disassembling it or at most with removing the battery pack and seat first.

But even if you need to fully disassemble it, it won't be hard and Gold will show you how.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I've rented a scooter, from an outside company, many times when at Disney. This time we will be staying off site and I'm thinking of renting a scooter that we can put in the back of our rental van to bring to the parks. I've never done this before and am just concerned about the complexity this would, or hopefully would not, involve. I just spoke to Gold Mobility, a company I've used before and they say they don't have a folding/collapsible scooter but have one that can be "easily" disassembled and then assembled.
Can anyone please give me some information about renting one of these scooters?
Should I look for a scooter rental company that has scooters that fold instead of having to assemble and disassemble? Would that be better?
Any other information would be much appreciated.
Just as an aside, my weight is OK for one of these scooters so I don't have to worry about that, I'm just worried about everything else it might entail.
Hoping some Dissers might be able to put my mind at ease.
Oh, and my son in law would be doing this for me, so I don't have to worry about lifting it myself.
Thanks so much for any information you can give me.

granted this a personal scooter but a coworker uses a take apart scooter all the time. she is a small sized woman and she takes hers part by herself and puts in trunk of her small car all the time. a folding scooter would be heavier to lift to back of van

 

[Simba's Mom]

Yes, they are easy to disassemble/reassemble. DH does it for me all the time. The only reason I don't do it myself is that my neurologic condition makes anything over about 5-10 pounds too heavy. But DH is almost 71, and the Gold Mobility one (the Go-Go sport model is what they had last time I rented) is fine.

 

[Selket]

I've rented the portable scooter type that Gold uses (and most companies use) and with your SIL to help it shouldn't be a problem. My husband could do it easily and it didn't take long once you got the hang of it. I wouldn't hesitate to use this type again under your circumstances. The only downside POSSIBLY is the battery of the one I had seemed to not last a full days - YMMV

 

[MS_Warrior]

I have a pride go-go elite that breaks down. It is very simple. The battery pops out, the rear assembly comes off with a lift of a lever, and the seat lifts off.

 

[Lewisc]

The battery life will a hit if total weight gets over 200 lbs.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCLnj61dmicy3vxc1kKFtwmw/videos
gold has some 2 minute videos. Gogo unit is a piece of cake

 

[karensi]

Hi, OP here. Thanks so much for all your help. After reading the posts above I've decided to rent from Gold Mobility.
So, I guess because I'm a worrier, I have 2 more questions.
We will be renting a 7 passenger van for this trip. I've spoken to the guy at Gold Mobility and he says that the Go GO scooter will only give me 3-4 hours of battery life so that won't work. He said the Victory Scooter will have much better battery life and says that it should fit in the back of the van. Even so, I'm just kind of worried that it will really fit. We have 6 in our family so will need to use the 3 rows of seats. My son in law and 3 teen grandsons will be able to disassemble/assemble it but
1) just how much of a task is it to disassemble/assemble
and 2) more importantly, do you know if it will actually fit in the back part of the van with the 3 rows of seats being used?
Thanks so very much for your help!

 

[MS_Warrior]

All for the measurements of the scooter, then look at the dimensions of the cargo area for the van. I think it will probably fit easily.

Your son-in-law and grandsons can probably lift it in and out without disassembling it and that would make it easier on you.

 

[mamabunny]

Hi, OP here. Thanks so much for all your help. After reading the posts above I've decided to rent from Gold Mobility.
So, I guess because I'm a worrier, I have 2 more questions.
We will be renting a 7 passenger van for this trip. I've spoken to the guy at Gold Mobility and he says that the Go GO scooter will only give me 3-4 hours of battery life so that won't work. He said the Victory Scooter will have much better battery life and says that it should fit in the back of the van. Even so, I'm just kind of worried that it will really fit. We have 6 in our family so will need to use the 3 rows of seats. My son in law and 3 teen grandsons will be able to disassemble/assemble it but
1) just how much of a task is it to disassemble/assemble
and 2) more importantly, do you know if it will actually fit in the back part of the van with the 3 rows of seats being used?
Thanks so very much for your help!

If you know which model you are renting from Gold, search YouTube for videos that show how it assembles/disassembles - and then share those with your family helpers! I'm sure they will appreciate seeing in advance what to expect.

 

[JenLT]

Hi, OP here. Thanks so much for all your help. After reading the posts above I've decided to rent from Gold Mobility.
So, I guess because I'm a worrier, I have 2 more questions.
We will be renting a 7 passenger van for this trip. I've spoken to the guy at Gold Mobility and he says that the Go GO scooter will only give me 3-4 hours of battery life so that won't work. He said the Victory Scooter will have much better battery life and says that it should fit in the back of the van. Even so, I'm just kind of worried that it will really fit. We have 6 in our family so will need to use the 3 rows of seats. My son in law and 3 teen grandsons will be able to disassemble/assemble it but
1) just how much of a task is it to disassemble/assemble
and 2) more importantly, do you know if it will actually fit in the back part of the van with the 3 rows of seats being used?
Thanks so very much for your help!

At the top of the Gold Mobility website is a tab called Helpful Videos. Click on this. There are two links to videos for the Victory scooter - How to take apart and how to put it together. The videos are pretty short so it looks like its not too hard!

 

[ZellyB]

Hi, OP here. Thanks so much for all your help. After reading the posts above I've decided to rent from Gold Mobility.
So, I guess because I'm a worrier, I have 2 more questions.
We will be renting a 7 passenger van for this trip. I've spoken to the guy at Gold Mobility and he says that the Go GO scooter will only give me 3-4 hours of battery life so that won't work. He said the Victory Scooter will have much better battery life and says that it should fit in the back of the van. Even so, I'm just kind of worried that it will really fit. We have 6 in our family so will need to use the 3 rows of seats. My son in law and 3 teen grandsons will be able to disassemble/assemble it but
1) just how much of a task is it to disassemble/assemble
and 2) more importantly, do you know if it will actually fit in the back part of the van with the 3 rows of seats being used?
Thanks so very much for your help!

We rented the Victory 3-wheel scooter from Gold on our last trip and were able to haul it in our rental minivan even with the 3rd row up. It was a relatively tight fit though and you do have to disassemble it fully.

1) It wasn't really hard to disassemble/assemble once you did it a couple of times. We did try to fit it in without disassembly but with the 3rd row up in the minivan it wouldn't fit.
2) It does fit but it's a bit tight. You definitely want to take the batteries out as that makes it much lighter to lift and adjust while loading. I had 2 pretty strong men with me who did all the lifting, so it was relatively easy once they figured out how best to load it.

 

[JenLT]

We rented the Victory 3-wheel scooter from Gold on our last trip and were able to haul it in our rental minivan even with the 3rd row up. It was a relatively tight fit though and you do have to disassemble it fully.

How was the Victory 3-wheel scooter as far as feeling like you could tip over? We’re debating the 3-wheel vs the 4-wheel. I think the 3-wheel looks like it has a more comfortable spot for your feet but I’ve heard the 4-wheel is more stable.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I felt absolutely NO instability-never felt like I'd tip over-when I rented the Victory 3 wheel.
When I bought my scooter recently (a GoGo), the salesman told me that although the 3 wheel used to be less stable, they're much more stable now, similar to the 4 wheel.

 

[Lewisc]

I haven't read a single post regarding stability issues with 3 wheeled scooters

 

[Selket]

How was the Victory 3-wheel scooter as far as feeling like you could tip over? We’re debating the 3-wheel vs the 4-wheel. I think the 3-wheel looks like it has a more comfortable spot for your feet but I’ve heard the 4-wheel is more stable.

I was accidentally brought a 4 wheel rental once - hopped on and went to the MK - and didn't realize it until I drove it a few hours and wondered why I disliked it so much. It was like comparing a Lamborghini to a 20 foot U-Haul box truck in the way it handles when making turns - like in the ride lines. (not talking about speed here). I never had trouble in ride lines before so it didn't make sense - then I looked at it when I was off of it and was like ...ooooooh. I had it swapped out ASAP. I've never felt unstable on a 3 wheel. The only place I'm careful is with the "train tracks" that go down Main Street in the MK. I make sure to not try to drive on them (like I'm the train) because the wheel sort of gets down in there. I actually don't think it would matter - but I don't want to find out lol.

 

[karensi]

We rented the Victory 3-wheel scooter from Gold on our last trip and were able to haul it in our rental minivan even with the 3rd row up. It was a relatively tight fit though and you do have to disassemble it fully.

1) It wasn't really hard to disassemble/assemble once you did it a couple of times. We did try to fit it in without disassembly but with the 3rd row up in the minivan it wouldn't fit.
2) It does fit but it's a bit tight. You definitely want to take the batteries out as that makes it much lighter to lift and adjust while loading. I had 2 pretty strong men with me who did all the lifting, so it was relatively easy once they figured out how best to load it.

ZellyB, thanks so much, this is exactly what I was wondering about. I was thinking/hoping, just for ease, that we wouldn't have to take the batteries out, but do you feel that it fit better without the batteries? Did you have to remove the back of the scooter from the front?
Thanks again

 

[Evita_W]

ZellyB, thanks so much, this is exactly what I was wondering about. I was thinking/hoping, just for ease, that we wouldn't have to take the batteries out, but do you feel that it fit better without the batteries? Did you have to remove the back of the scooter from the front?
Thanks again

Taking the batteries out will only make it lighter, not smaller for the Victory 10.

To make it smaller,you would have to take the back and front apart.

 

[Lewisc]

A lighter scooter, without batteries, is easier to handle and place in a smaller space. Van with 3 seat in use..break apart the scooter.

 

[ZellyB]

ZellyB, thanks so much, this is exactly what I was wondering about. I was thinking/hoping, just for ease, that we wouldn't have to take the batteries out, but do you feel that it fit better without the batteries? Did you have to remove the back of the scooter from the front?
Thanks again

Exactly what @Evita_W said. The size is the same, but the batteries are surprisingly heavy and so my guys figured out it was easier to take them out since it made adjusting the scooter once in the van much easier. But, you certainly can leave them in if you want.