I have severe back injury, have a manual wheelchair of my own that I use at local fairs shopping malls, department stores, etc. I can purchase a drive medical spitfire scout on
Amazon for $800 using my medical flex account, we travel each year th either Disney or cruise. I feel like a burden having my family push me around
, if we rent in Disney it's $200 for the week about. So the big question, since I am 56 years young and will not get better, is the purchase wise or waste, we anticipate no major medical needs, it is already August , and I have $1400 left in the account, but agin , I feel guilty about spending the money, what if it is needed for. Medical issue that insur does not cover hubby sys I am nuts just buy it
I need your expert device Please ......
I'll give you what personal experience I can. First, I have owned a Go-Go Ultra (by Pride), and now have a (Pacesaver) Plus III Jr, which is more like a full-size Pride Victory 9 or 10.
The place to purchase your
scooter is Spinlife.com. They sell durable medical equipment, not as a side-line. They have people you can speak to, ask questions. Their product pages spell out features, details, reviews, warranties, manuals, options. SpinLife.com delivers free. Amazon has a listing for the Drive 3-wheel scooter you're interested in, and a listing for the Go-Go Elite Traveller 3-Wheel scooter. There's no info about battery options. There's no info about optional extras.
I chose the Pride Go-Go because Pride is probably the best-known name in scooters. If you look at scooter rentals in Orlando, most carry Pride equipment. Even in our Ohio Valley area, there are a few places that I could take my Pride scooter for repair (if needed). The scooter has never needed repair, however. I used it for about 4 years before I bought the larger scooter.
One regret I had about my Pride Go-Go was something I didn't learn until I had the scooter awhile. The standard 3-wheel small scooters of different brands, mostly come with 12V 12AH batteries (2). You need to replace them at least yearly. (Same for my bigger scooter.) The problem lies in the power and strength of 12AH batteries. If you're going uphill, it uses a ton of battery power, and your daily charge could deplete before the end of the day. I was glad to have a scooter at WDW, and on a Caribbean cruise with a stop at Key West and Cozumel. But the battery was severely tested just re-boarding the ship (gangway) at both ports. During our WDW trip, the battery didn't last the entire day at Epcot. Challenges such as the steep ramp up to the Monorail, and the steep ramp up to The Land building, plus miles of ins-and-outs at Epcot, multiplied by many hours of use, wore the battery out. Next trip, I brought my scooter, but at Epcot I rented one of those Disney scooters.
Guess this is what I've been leading to: The Go-Go Elite Traveller 3-Wheel scooter comes with 12V 12AH batteries, but there is the option at Spinlife.com to get the scooter with 12V 18AH batteries for $100 extra. As a veteran scooter user, I'm stating that the bigger batteries will be golden. The Achilles heel of scooters is battery life. You won't "tax" these 18AH batteries nearly as much as the 12AH batteries, and they'll be stronger and last longer between charges. (Charge daily when using your scooter, keep charged between uses.) Spinlife.com also lists an extra battery box you can buy and keep charged and handy. When I had the 12AH scooter, I eventually bought the extra 12AH battery box, and it came in handy.
Another thing I didn't like about the small scooter was, it was low to the ground. Tough to use it on grass. My bigger scooter is higher, more leg room, bigger tires, more cushy seat, better suspension, and powerful U-1 batteries (in case you're wondering why I moved up).
My DH used to put the Go-Go scooter in our mini-van. He just took the seat off and removed the battery pack. The rest of the scooter was small enough for DH to lift and fit with no further dis-assembly. However, my DH passed away a few years ago, and I had a scooter lift installed where the 3rd row of seats is. With me alone, I can handle the scooter in/out, and get my shopping and traveling done without needing assistance. I'm taking myself and my scooter to WDW in September!
Spinlife - Drive Medical Spitfire Scout:
http://www.spinlife.com/Drive-Medic...cooter/spec.cfm?productID=103739#.U-BhV0jDykg
Spinlife - Pride Go-Go Elite Traveller Model SC40E:
http://www.spinlife.com/Pride-Go-Go...Scooter/spec.cfm?productID=78301#.U-Bhy0jDyki