Nancy's American Airlines Adventure

From Nancy:

I recently flew American Airlines to and back from Oklahoma City using my travelscoot junior with the regular size 23 gram LiO, lithium ion battery. In all cases I gate checked the scooter and rolled to the airplane door. On flyout I used Hardy's method with the battery and the back up battery in a separate insulated grocery bag. It worked, but took time for take down.

In Dallas, I had to change planes and to do so I had to take a monorail. Did alright on the train, but a little hard to hold on to something and keep the brakes on. Anyhow, I ran into to the same scooter handling that that you did in Dallas. I did take a spill since I was going too fast and there was a 90 degree turn in the jet way. However, two attendends (one of which may have been "Scoot") picked me up and I continued on. I really do need to learn to slow down. At the door, the lady wanted me to leave the scooter functional and then drive it away. I was not entirely comfortable with that. When I arrived at Oklahoma City, the scooter and battery bag were waiting for me out side the airplane door. It looked like the battery, had been left on the scooter and just some paper stickers put over the red connectors. However, everything worked well and I had a wonderful visit in Oklahoma.

On flyback, I did not have to change planes and gate checked the scooter the entire way even though we did have a short stopover in Dallas. I had UPS shipped the spare battery, which I did not need, back with my luggage. I did have the charger with me, but did not need to use it. I was pleasantly surprised when the airplane steward in Oklahoma City suggested I bring the battery on the plane with me which I did. It was enclosed in original styrofoam packaging and in the insulated grocery bag and fit easily in the luggage area on the plane. Really, one of the three air travel regulations on batteries also suggested this.

I had all three (albeit inconsistent) air travel battery regulations printed out and with me but I did not have to use them. After removing the battery, I just put bubble wrap and the original handlebar bag over the right handle and battery indicator and snugged it up. I watch the cargo chief unload my travelscoot when I got to my destination since I have to wait until everyone else gets off. He just rolled it on the tar mat to the steps up to the jet way and easily carried it up to the door of the jetway with one hand. He did carry it by the tiller above the clamp, so it would have been possible for the handle to come off, but I had it clamped tight, and it did not. Don't think it would have had any damage had it come apart. Anyhow, I had quite an audience as I replaced the battery outside of the plane door including the flight captain. I told him that the inventor was a small plane pilot and that the small lightweight battery was something new that would power the electric cars of the future. I did have a little too much help and the connector was put together too tight, but otherwise, they were all quite surprised as I easily went up the little ramp in the jet way and on my way. I'll have to admit the flight back was the best airline trip yet with the travel scoot.

Fly out again this Sunday to Key West. I do plan to look for that neoprene wine cooler which will be smaller than the insulated grocery bag and easier to slip into my carry on backpack (except in Dallas). Now if somebody can invent a wheelchair version of the travel scoot (strong, lightweight aluminum, lithium ion battery,and all parts visible, repairable, upgradable and replacable) the entire world of assistive mobility technology will be changed forever more.

Elford from Helsinki

From Elford:

Enjoying your website and all the valuable information. I got my TravelScoot last February. The reason I got it is old age and arthritus caught up with me. It also comes in very handy for carrying my camera equipment around. The elevator in our apartment here in Helsinki is small and scoot just fits. My wife and I live about 12 miles from the center of Helsinki, so if I want to go downtown I just drive my Travelscoot aboard the Metro. All the Metro stations have elevators for the handicapped or mothers with baby buggies. The cobblestone streets downtown present a little problem but I go around them if I can. I have two Li-ion batteries per Hardy`s recommendation. I rotate them after every use. No battery problems yet. "knock on wood". It gets pretty cold here in Finland in the winter so I wiil take my scoot by auto to our shopping malls and use it there where it is warm. Anyway, I really like my TravelScoot glad I got it.

Welcome, Elford!

Can we help Dianne find Happy Trails?

From Dianne:

OK, everyone has such wonderful things to say about the Travelscoot...so, it's up to me to bring realism to this "party". So, I'm headed to work for a meeting (usually, I work from home, YEAH!); which is 75 miles away. It's raining; so that means it takes almost two hours to get there. But, I'm excited to use my Travelscoot for the first time. I haul this puppy out of my car (it's pretty high up there), but mostly it isn't too hard to unload. I bring the handlebars up, and the seat. I put the back on--easy right? I have had the baskets installed earlier; so my "brief case" goes in the back and my purse in the front. I hop on turn it on and....nothing happens! No lights; which means no power, so I hop off...juggle the battery wires and still...nothing. Did I mention it's raining?! I guess this means I'm not going into the building--can't walk that far these days. So, I load the scoot back into the car (REALLY heavy--(have you girls done this yourselves--or has hubby dear been there?) and the wheels don't slide; so pushing it in to clear the door is hard work, oh, I've also had to lower the handlebars and remove the seat back. The seat is fine where it is. I re-load myself; call into to work and advise them I won't be able to make the meeting and I head home. What else could I do; I was depending on the travelscoot. So one warning out of all this. MAKE SURE YOUR BATTERY IS CHARGED before you start out. AND, each time you use your travelscoot; make sure the power is turned off. (I think that's what happened to me--when hubby dear re-loaded it the switch got bumped or was left on and that drained the battery.) So, maybe NEXT time I'll have happier news to report.. Happy trails to all of you who have had successful runs.

Dianne,

I'm sorry to hear you had a problem on your first run. That must have been upsetting. Hopefully you've already figured out the problem, or contacted Hardy to get some assistance from him.

Had you ever ridden your TravelScoot before this trip? What several of us have suggested to new users is that they take their scoot out on the sidewalk in front of their house, or up and down the hallways of their apartment building, or on a quiet neighborhood street and spend time getting to know how it operates. As with any battery-powered mobility aid, there are some things you have to familiarize yourself with in order to operate it successfully. Of course before you do this you should read any manuals that came with it.

It's also important to plug the battery in correctly to charge it. With the lithium ion battery you plug the charger into the wall and then plug the charger into the battery. With the SLA battery you plug the charger into the battery first, and then into the wall. If you don't do it in this specific order, the battery will not charge. The manual tells you which lights should light up when.

With my scoot, and I'm assuming yours is just like mine, if I forget and leave it turned on it will shut itself off within a couple of minutes. I don't think it's possible to leave it turned on and run the battery down with it not being in motion.

It is also helpful to spend time just putting it together and breaking it down. Some of us have to take ours almost completely apart to put them in our cars, and others can load them fully assembled, depending on the vehicle. It was important for me to be able to fully handle my scoot by myself, so yes, I do lift mine in and out of the car. Without the battery it's only 29 lbs.

Educate yourself, practice, practice, practice, and you'll get familiar enough with your TravelScoot to understand how to get rolling again when something unexpected happens.

Keep us updated on how things are going. I hope everyone will post their most helpful tips for you. Also, would you please send me an email (elizabeth@ifisher.com) and let me know where you live? Thanks!

Denise in Palma De Mallorca, Spain

From Denise:

Hi from Barcelona and the Carnival Dream

Hello to Elizabeth and all her Blog followers from a beautiful day at Sea. The Mediterranean today is calm and the weather is just delightful. Life is good. I’ve taken a number of spins around the outside deck with my Scoot today. As I sat out on the deck enjoying the sea air I’ve had a number of my fellow travelers stop and ask questions about the Travelscoot. Everyone is impressed with my “Chariot”. I only wish I had a bunch of Hardy’s business cards to hand out LOL.

Yesterday we had a wonderful excursion in Palma De Mallorca Spain. We took the tour to Soller, Dei and Valdemossa. From Palma we took the Tren de Soller, an old fashioned electric train that is preserved and 100 years old. The station had a steep ramp but I was able to get up good speed and make it up without overloading the battery. The train runs on narrow gauge track so the cars are not very wide so the scoot did not fit in the car without folding it up. But it would fit up with the engineer so they took care of it while we enjoyed he hour ride to Soller.

Soller is a quiet picturesque town between the mountains of the rugged north coast of Mallorca. We had free time to explore the village square and all the small streets leading off of it. The Travelscoot had no problem on the cobbled inclines of the streets. After our free time we had quite a hilly hike to where a motor coach was parked to take us on the rest of our journey. This was a walk I would have never been able to make without my Scoot. I had many looks of envy from my fellow travelers who were walking with canes. The drive over the mountains, through Deia to Valdemossa was just breathtaking over winding roads with spectacular views of the Mediterranean below….and hair raising in some spots. I am amazed on how the motor coach took the hairpin curves to find a car zipping around the other side and no crash resulting.

When we arrived in Valdemossa we had an hour of free time to explore the shops and visit the La Carteja Monastery. Once again the Travelscoot proved she was made of the right stuff and handled extremely well. It’s wonderful that when steps are required that my husband can carry the scoot up for me. After exploring the village we met up with the group at Restaurante Can Pedro for a wonderful late lunch. Lunch was served family style and we had so many wonderful dishes…..bruchettta with chicken, tomato and capers; friend calamari and sardines; baked squash, eggplant, thin sliced potatoes and mushrooms with tomato puree; another baked veggie dish that had bread in it; and a delicious slow cooked pork. This was served with baskets of fresh homemade bread and wonderful garlic butter and lots of wine. Dessert was sponge cake and ice cream which were both homemade. The meal was a true feast which we really enjoyed. We still had some free time after lunch but we relaxed and enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurante and the wine with our tablemates.

The drive back to Palma and the ship was only about a 35 minute drive. We chose to board the ship after the long day. It has been a memorable day.

Debbie and Silver Belle at the Cincinnati Zoo

From Debbie:

I went on my first real TravelScoot adventure today, to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens. I was a bit concerned that the battery would have enough charge (the SLA) to get me through the day. I had heard the Cincinnati zoo was hilly, so I knew I would consume a lot of energy. We were there for about six hours and most of it was being on the move. I am happy to say that my battery light did not even budge from the green light.

The terrain of the zoo had a lot of paths leading through the different regions which all had pretty good size inclines. I was able to climb all but one, my sister had to give me a little push to get up it. I don't think I would have had the problem if I would have had a run for it. If I would have been by myself, I would have just turned around to get the run I needed. Of course with the inclines you also have the downhill sides, my brakes are not very effective, so I think I left some of the rubber from the bottom of my shoes throughout the zoo. The scoot does go down the hills with a lot of speed, most of the time, I just coasted down because there weren't that many people there.

I have read entries on the blog about riding through gravel, rain, snow and grass, but today I had leaves to contend with. Being autumn, there are leaves on the ground everywhere, I had some difficulty going up the inclines in places because my scooter was spinning out over all the leaves on the pavement.

All in all, my scoot, which I have named "Silver Belle" after my little silver Persian cat, deserves an A+++++ for the day! I can't wait to find some place to go just to have fun with it again.

Climbing inclines in Washington, DC

This picture is of an incline Kay encountered in Washington, DC. She has 'Leo the L'ion' (the large lithium ion battery) and she says she had "no stalls and no problems."

Kay is 5'9" and between me and Rhonda in size.  I don't think I could climb these inclines, even with Leo, but I have better results with Leo than I do with the cub (the smaller lithium ion battery).

Kay also says that she has the larger seat and when she sits on it and uses the backrest that she has plenty of room for her legs.   

A Bag for the Cub (the smaller lithium ion battery)

From B'racha:

I got this insulated wine bag for $4.99 at a TJ Maxx, hoping it would work for the cub (the smaller lithium ion battery), which I had been carrying in an ugly, and cumbersome, "camelback" carrier.

As you can see from the pix, it is great. I believe the Company makes other, larger varieties, but whether there are any Leo shaped I don't know.

A close watch at places like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and even Tuesday Morning (if one has them in their area) might unearth a larger neoprene, for a reasonable price, capable of holding LEO (the larger lithium ion battery).