All-terrain wheelchair?

[sixdogs]

My 92 year-old in-laws may wind up living with us and my father-in-law needs a wheelchair from polio as a child. When he last visited we got him a wheelchair and pushed him around the yard so he could get out.
He would like to be a little more independant so I was thinking of buying him some sort of electric whelchair that would go over rough terrain in the back and front yards. I could build one too.
There is not much to go on searching the net and ai was wondering if anyone had any ideas or info about this. Thanks in advance.

 

[charlz]

Chris Blais is desert racer who raced Baja, Dakar etc. He sustained spinal injury in 2007 that left him a paraplegic. When he was up here for the National Hare and Hound earlier this year he was sporting a wheelchair made from a Segway. It has balloon type tires and a seat. I have a pic somewhere. Might be a little $$$ but maybe you could find an old Segway :thumbsup:

 

[RobertN]

I would have to ask; we have a Scout in our Troop that is wheel chair bound. He has a motorized one. He went to two week long camps this year; and to some other events. He went everywhere with that thing.

From what the boys Dad says though, be ready for the $$$ signs...

Might also check to see what Danny Magoo Chandler uses. I have never seen him in a motorized chair, but may be worth looking. He crashed in Frnace at a motocross race, and lost use of his legs.

 

[aczlan]

Are you thinking of a powered wheelchair, or a unpowered one?
Does he have the use of his legs, or would hand controls be needed?
You might get a golf cart to start with and modify it to have a bucket seat (with a rops/seatbelt?) and hand controls (if needed).

If you need hand controls, try a Stunt bike brake control ("Gyro Brake") mounted on the steering wheel for throttle and a hand operated ebrake from a forklift for the brakes.

Aaron Z

 

[schmism]

without more info on why he is in a wheelchair....


atv? if its automatic then its all handcontrols.

 

[tallyho8]

My buddy's wife who is 300 pounds+ has an electric wheelchair that goes over pretty rough ground. It can easily handle parks and gravel driveways and my front and back yard.

No, it isn't 4wd and can't handle mud or deep sand but I don't suspect that is what you want.

She has another smaller one that she uses inside her home. I don't know the brand but I am sure if you Google electric wheelchairs you can find some that will handle moderately rough terrain.

I have always wondered about these TV commercials that say that can supply one to someone on social security for little or no cost.

There are some here that can do practically anything. http://deputydog.wordpress.com/2007/12/04/hi-tech-wheelchairs/

 

[Travelover]

My father in law had an electric wheel chair that he got free from Medicare. Since he died I have been trying to sell it to no avail, as the government gives them away for free. So, if you want to modify one, you can pick up one on Craigslist for peanuts.

 

[darrowco]

I have a relative that fits chairs to individuals. She has always raved about the Jazzy power chair. It looks normal but if you look up some vids you can see it going up/down over curbs, lawns and mild off-roading. Worth a look.

 

[Redbug]

I am not disabled...but just thinking about it...If they can make a lunar rover...why do we not see any 4wd off road use wheel chairs? Electric or gas?

 

[dcyrilc]

Hoveround Power Chairs

 

[sixdogs]

Good comments so far. Thank you.
He is 92 and from polio as a child has a foot that is nearl "clubbed" over. Not a pretty sight and it has made him use a walker to even get around in a pretty clumsy fashion. On top of that, he has been house bound because he lives in a hilly area and cannot get outside without help. So he's pretty weak right now.
He and his 90 year old ife will likely come live with us on our flat ground. Our immediate yard is maybe 3 acres and that's what he would need to travel over. Nothing too dramatic--just trying to help him get out.

He would have to use electric contols of some sort and likey something electric. The modified golf cart is an idea I could maybe do something with.

 

[milkman]

My neighbor, 85 yrs. old has one of these Discount Pride Jazzy Select GT Power Chairs: Like New Pride Mobility Jazzy Select GT Power Wheelchair, Used Jazzy Powerchair and he goes all over his front and back yard, out to the barn, and down the road to the neighbors house. He ran it for 5 yrs. and they called him and said he was eligible for a new one, he now has two. Medicare paid fully for both of them, all it took was a phone call.

 

[eepete]

My dad got polio in the mid 50's. I had it as an infant. He never walked again, I just walked a few years late.

So here's a shot of him in 1982 on his ElecTrac after Wheel Horse bought it from GE. He had one of the original GE ElecTrac when it came out in the 70's.
Before that we had Wheel Horse tractors, that's what I grew up with. Off topic, but it's a picture of a tractor !

The other pix is him in an electric wheel chair in the early 90's near the end. Not one to be slowed down by mishaps, you can see the mud on the tires . He used this chair to go out into the fields and around the house. Lots of batteries, and the low center of gravity was a win. It was controlled by a joystick. It also had a feature where you could tilt the chair (back goes down, foot rest comes up) for a nap. And you could also raise the height of the chair by about a foot to help get things down from the counter top. It even had headlights and a horn. He looks worse in the picture than he was at the time, just caught him mid-sentance.

Anyway, that chair made a big difference in his last years. It strikes me as being a bit more beefy than a lot of the chairs I see advertised today. Hopefully, 20 years of chair technology haven't cost reduced the device to the point where it's worthless.

JDL538 posted the name invacare, and that rings a bell. I hope the descriptions of the features and a little 1st hand report on it will help and spur you on to find a full featured chair like this. It's what you want, and if you can swing the cost you'll never regret it :thumbsup:. When we are too old to ride our tractors, may we all find a wheel chair like this.

Pete

 

[aczlan]

Do a search for Golf Cart Hand Controls, it looks like there are lots of people who have them. Several companies are selling them in the $400-600 range and it looks like they go for $200ish used.
You might even get lucky and find a cart with them already installed.

Aaron Z

 

[TBDonnelly]

We have this EV rider mobility scooter in our family. It has the larger all terrian wheels and travels over grassy areas no problem. 5" ground clearance. It moves along at a pretty fair clip (8 mph). Quickly disassembles with no tools for easy transport.

Gusto Portable Scooter - Mid Range Electric battery Vehicle by EV Rider

Don

 

[JDL538]

The best Chair for him would be an.
Invacare or everest jennings, invacare is the best.
You need to fit him to it they come in 3 or 4 different widths.
You can just about steel them on e-bay, look under wheelchairs.
My wife has been paralyzed from the neck down for 30 years, the cheap ones like the Jazzy are not what you want.

The invacare arrow storm series or very good chairs and can go just about anywhere they are about $9000. new but hard to sell, I have given 2 away they last a long time.
Look on ebay they or not always there but they come and go, Gregslist is also good.

 

[Taylortractornut]

One of the old timers that got me started in building things was in a wheel and power chair. He had one of the older black power chairs from medicade. It went all over but occasionally got hung up. He got stuck on we gress and one time in loose sandy gravel. He sent me to the junk yard to find an old cheap rear tine MTD tiller. When I found it I carried them back. He me set it i nthe floor next to tthe metal pile and welder. He made the tiller tires go next to the chairs tires which were a bit smaller. THis gave it clearance and extra traction with the chevron tires. With the inner tires still on it helped with ground pressure to. Farm show has a wheel chair on tracks in the edition thats out now. Im looking at them now bec ause my neighbors stepsone was paralyzed from the shoulders down last Friday night.

 

[Dmace]

I vote for TANK CHAIR! That thing is Awesome! :thumbsup:

 

[The Dougster]

I too am a polio survivor. My left leg has little or no muscles... I am so very fortunate that I am able to walk. Most of my life without the aid of crutches or a cane, but not that I've reached "Old Fart" status, Post Polio Syndrome has become a major problem. Severe muscle fatigue, etc... I can still walk upright but cannot walk very far. Most of the time I now use a cane and or crutches.

I have an electric wheelchair and a small three-wheel scooter (Jazzy)... there are few places I cannot go in the chair. I use the Jazzy because it is smaller. One problem you may not have considered are door widths and the lack of ramps. One major problem with both devices is the width and height of the wheels. Soft ground or loose gravel is a problem. One caution about the Jazzy is that having only three wheels, they will turn over! Not often and not easily, but it does happen.

A few months ago I needed to replace the Jazzy. The medical supply that I use had one for $1,200... I asked about letting Medicare help pay for it ... I was told that if I went that route, the price went up to $1,700, plus I'd have to have a physical therapist come to my house to measure door widths, etc.. Needing the scooter right away and not wanting to deal with the BS, I paid the lower price out of pocket...

From the little information you have provided, I'd suggest trying to get a chair thru Medicare... They require a lot of details but that may be exactly what your FIL needs... Good luck to all of you.

 

[Redbug]

The TankChair...Now you are getting somewhere!

However...For real life...It needs more shielding around the occupant, a strap in system to keep the person in place, room for storage and water, possibly a sunshade, rain screening, etc. And needs a ROPS! Just for starters...