Sunday, January 11, 2009

Mobility Scooters

By Mark Roberts

Mobility scooters, there are so many brands and models to chose from that researching and reading reviews can be confusing. An electric scooter can offer you freedom and pride without having to relie on help with others. Mobility scooters come in many capacities, colors or styles such as 3 wheel or 4 wheel. It pays to do your research and review you options before making that purchase.

Most lightweight mobility scooters have a maximum weight of 250lbs. A few lightweight models can be disassembled or folded for easy transport in a vehicle. Most of your high capacity scooters may require a lift. In most cases it may be by insurance but the lift may not. It is best to check with your insurance when deciding on a purchase.

Many lightweight models are of 3 wheel design. These models are usually more maneuverable and are great around the house or in tight areas. 4 wheel models are usually of more rugged design and have a higher capacity and are less prone to tipping. They also are more likely to have a further range but don't forget that range is dependent on several factors. These factors are, weight capacity, battery capacity, age of battery and temperature.

You should take into account range and charging if you have a short range you may be spending more time charging batteries. After a few years you may need to change batteries. After several years a battery will loose its ability to take a full charge thus reducing you range.

With range on the 3 wheel lightweight mobility scooters you can expect about 10 mile range. On 4 wheel higher capacity models you may be looking at a range of about 25 miles or more. It all depends on the brand and model.

When you buy a mobility scooters you will need to decide how and where it will be used. Will you be using it indoors or outdoors? Will you be using it to get around indoors or to get around outdoors such as walking the dog or running errands down to the local grocery store or post office. Will you be carrying extra weigh on the scooter and need extra range? Things you have to ask yourself is how does a scooter make your life easier.

Tires are another consideration, pneumatic tires may be prone to punctures but are lighter than solid core tires and have more shock absorbency. The solid core tires are heavier and do not have the shock adsorbing ability of air filled tires and may give a stiffer ride but newer electric mobility scooters may have suspensions that compensate and alleviate the knocks and bumps of uneven surfaces. Pneumatic tires will need to be checked more often for the correct air pressure. Regardless at some point depending on how often you travel or use your scooter you will probably need to change tires and of course this will be determined also on the type of surfaces you travel on.

There are many things to consider when you buy a scooter for mobility. Always check with Medicare or your medical insurance to make sure your purchase is covered. Just make sure you have reviewed all your options and done your research before making that purchase. - 16928

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