CrampBuster hand pedal for the throttle

From Marlee:

I wanted to share a new gizmo I discovered for the TravelScoot. It is called the CrampBuster (http://www.crampbuster.com/). I have developed tendonitis in my right hand and twisting the throttle is really painful. The CrampBuster was developed for motorcycles, but works just perfectly on the Scoot. It is, for all intents and purposes, a hand pedal for the throttle which operates with palm pressure. The size I purchased is the CB4 with the large palm rest. You just slide it over the hand rest, and up over the chubby, throttle, and adjust. It works perfectly, does not slip and does not impede using the brake. I wish I'd had it all along.

Marlee, please take a picture of this installed on your scoot.  It sounds like a wonderful addition!

Folding the Scoot and the CrampBuster

Hello Anne (and Elizabeth),

I’ve got arthritis in my hands, knees, ankles, and feet, so I can relate.

About the folding pins – they aren’t really cotter pins (I’ve included a picture so you can see just what they look like). I have short hands (6 inches from heel of palm to tip if finger) so you can see just how big the pins are in real life. As long as they are lubricated and there is no stress on the joint (sometimes you have to actually put up on the joint a wee touch), they push in fairly well – no small thing to have to grab and then try to fit back into matching holes like with real cotter pins.

As for the throttle, I’ve taken to using a crampbuster. I’ve included a picture of the one on Vroom-Vroom and the website. They make two different sizes; I like the long skinny one best as it give more room on the handle for grabbing.
http://www.crampbuster.com/

If you are having trouble getting a TravelScoot in person, you could also try renting one for a few days. This site sounds like a good one:
http://www.scootanywhere.com/

By the way, you may find that you don’t have to fold the TS at all. My friend was taking me back to the garage to pick up my Ravi and I couldn’t get the pin in to fold it – remember what I said about lubricating the pin? Anyway, he ended up just picking it up, turning it on its side and putting it in the trunk of his Honda Civic.

Krystal

Welcome to Jugana from Croatia

Jugana is a brand new TravelScoot owner with a question.
 
I found very useful info about CrampBuster on your blog. As I am disabled and have weakness in my hands too it's very hard for me to pull the brake levers. It's not a problem when driving on even grounds as the drive is mostly defensive, but as my hometown is all in hills, it's very hard for me to go downhill as brakes should be applied for a longer time.

Maybe you or some of your friends could have a suggestion what to do. To your knowledge, is there something like CrampBuster for brakes too?

If you have a suggestion for Jugana, post it in the comments or email it to me, elizabeth@ifisher.com. 

If you'd like to see Jugana's blog about travelling with a disability, visit http://handinhappy.blogspot.com/.

Lynn Ellen's CrampBuster Review

From Lynn Ellen:

I got my CrampBuster at the end of the week and used it a bunch on Saturday. what a sweet addition to my collection of accessories. it really does make running the TravelScoot easier, and easier to use left-handed if I happen to need my right hand to open a door or something.

I got the wider black one, but I wonder if sometimes it might be nice to have the narrower one. They are so inexpensive that I might get a narrow one too.

CrampBuster Photos from Marlee

These photos are of the CrampBuster installed on Marlee's TravelScoot.

CrampBuster Reviews

From Rhonda:  The Crampbuster is really easy to install on my TravelScoot (and remove, if necessary). I used it today at Lowes and I'm not sure why but I was amazed at how little pressure it took to make the scooter go. It feels very natural. I definitely give it the "thumbs up" and would recommend it.

From Bee: Okay ours came and Sarge LOVES it, mine slips so I had to use the rubber thingy that came with it in case it slips but his didn't slip. I like it pretty good but seriously, he loves his!!! Thanks so much!

Tiny scooter test run

This wonderful post is from Liz Henry, a new TravelScoot Junior user.

Last week I got a new tiny mobility scooter. It is 35 lbs and easily disassembles and folds. Here I am out on my birthday at Pier 39 after a ferry ride with friends!

It is a TravelScoot Junior Deluxe, ie, the version for short people or children, and with a lithium ion battery. About a third of the cost of the scooter is in this battery. The “Junior” size is pretty good for me. I’m 5 foot 3 which is at the top of the recommended height. I went with the smaller size figuring it would be easier to handle while I was folding it, and also because the Junior size has 2 inches less width than the regular model. So, in theory I can fit through doors 24″ wide, same as with my manual wheelchair.

Assembly of the scooter was easy. It took under 10 minutes. The assembly instructions were slightly different from the manual shipped with the TravelScoot Junior. There was a little supplement that showed how to position the battery upright in the back for the “Junior” version.

The battery fastens on with velcro and is easy to plug in and unplug if you have good dexterity. I am mostly doing this while sitting on the ground — or I can do it leaning over from the scooter seat. My only quibble with battery setup is that I can’t charge the battery without taking it out of its tray, because the charging port is blocked by the side of the tray.

I put a Crampbuster on the throttle so that I can control the scooter’s speed without constant gripping, which would be hard on my arthritic hands.

Comments on driving the TravelScoot Junior:

It coasts down hills. The brakes work fine. Easy to drive. Reverse works well, and is nice and fast. Acceleration is slow whether you are reversing or going forwards, but not too slow. This takes getting used to. My phone’s speedometer hovered around 4-5mph as I zoomed around. It is a little bit tricky to match paces with a walking person. To go slower than the max speed, I have to squeeze the throttle exactly right. If I let up the pressure the scooter slows down.

There is no parking brake so if I pause to mess with my phone, I need to park carefully. This is quite annoying on the bus, but I can still handle it. It means that in order to ride the bus with any ease I will need to rig up some kind of parking brake!

There is a slight tendency to “drift” or stutter sideways a little bit when going fast on a bumpy street or sidewalk. The undercarriage clearance is fantastic. I could probably hop a low curb in this. (Slowly)

I would like to customize or get a new back support as it is a little too high up and far back to support my low back, which needs it! It may be possible to just swap out the entire seat. It is a standard pole with clamp assembly, like for a bike seat.

So far I’ve put this in the back of cabs a few times. I like that I don’t have to ask a random taxi driver to help me lift a 95 lb machine into his trunk. Instead it is something I can easily lift myself.

It would be good if I made a special padded battery carrying case, like a battery messenger bag, for when I need to put this into a car. TravelScoot owner manual suggests a padded lunch bag, but the battery I have is too long/wide for a lunch cooler bag. Here is a good craft project for my hackerspace. If I make a battery carrying case I’ll post its design on my blog!

I have also successfully grocery shopped with two backpacks and a large bag. One backpack hung off the seat back, another from the handlebars (which is awkward and I don’t really recommend it) and the large heavy bag in the red canvas shopping tray below the seat. That thing is just fabric, and attached with velcro, but I can tell you it carried about 30 lbs of cat litter and cat food with no trouble at all.

This scooter makes people stare, and ask questions, much more than my usual mobility scooters or manual wheelchair. I need to carry small flyers with an FAQ.

For the FAQ:

* “Does Medicare pay for that” (People on the street want these for their older relatives.) My answer: Probably not. And I don’t really know. I have never yet been on Medicare.

* How much did that cost? (An awkward question. I answer by saying “You can get a mobility scooter from about $700-2500″ That way avoiding standing around at a bus stop admitting I just dropped 2K on this beast. I did not mind so much saying that I bought my old Zipr for $700. Class guilt . . . )

* Is that electric? What the hell do you think, I make it go with the power of my mind????? Oh, people.

* How far/fast/long does it go? Several miles, all day at least, 4.5 miles an hour, charge the battery by plugging it in overnight.

* Can you put that in a car? Yes you can and it easily folds up.

* How heavy is it? 35 pounds.

* Where do you get them? (Let Me Fucking Google That For You) Oh ok. *sigh* Travelscoot.com. Someday I hope these things are just in every big drugstore, Target, Walmart, etc. Or just in bike shops and you can test drive them there!!

* Yes, it has reverse. No, it does not beep. No, I really don’t want it to beep. Do you beep when you take a step backwards? Well then.

* What if it breaks? Yes. What if. That’s the million dollar question. You better learn some things about electronics or cultivate a relationship with your local electric bike/scooter repair shop. The thing has a warranty, which I will probably be exploring at some point . . .

* Not asked but should be on the FAQ: You need to have good balance, ability to squeeze the hand brakes, and be able to transfer independently to use this. 3 wheels is not usually a good option for an elderly person as you can easily tip over.

There is room for competition for scooters like this that have a few more features but are still stripped-down, lightweight, and easy to understand for maintenance and repair!

In short: this is a GREAT scooter if you have 2K lying around and you are a very nimble person who for one reason or another can’t walk very well. To drive it, you need good balance and good hand control (brake squeezing especially). It could be possible to modify a travelscoot with a custom seat to meet your particular seating needs!

Assembled TravelScoot Junior

TravelScoot Junior in the shipping box

TravelScoot Junior Bag

TravelScoot Junior Charger and Owner's Manual

Folded TravelScoot Junior

TravelScoot Junior Lithium-ion Battery and Instillation Instructions

Liz Henry's blog is at http://bookmaniac.org/

Getting on the Carnival Ecstasy

Once we arrived at the Galveston port for the first day of our Carnival Ecstasy cruise, we loaded our scoots with tote bags and a small case each, and got a porter to take the big luggage from the car and get it checked in. I left my Peterboro basket at home (a good decision), had my CrampBuster in place (another good decision), and off we went to start our adventure.

The embarkation process amounted to waiting in long lines to jump through the necessary hoops to get on the ship. There were lots of employees around to help us from one place to the other, and because we were on mobility scooters our party of 4 was taken to different (and much shorter) lines. There is a LOT of walking and standing in line involved before you're on the ship. This was a case where having a scoot (or a wheelchair, walker, or cane) gets you extra assistance.

A side note: If you are in the process of deciding if you need a TravelScoot for your cruise or not, please know that in addition to the walking, there really is a lot of standing in lines involved in checking in.  The scoot gives you an instant place to sit. 

The last thing you have to do before you're on board the Ecstasy is make it up the final ramp. It's not a long or particularly steep ramp but it is narrow and the beginning and the end parts aren't connected firmly to the middle. Melissa, daring woman that she is, tried to drive her scoot on. Uh... no. We both ended up getting off the scoots and walking on and getting the scoots on separately.

Our rooms weren't immediately ready, but we were able to get into them within about an hour of boarding. The narrow hallway leading to our room was carpeted but it was easy on my scoot. I mention this because hotel carpet is often plush and causes the motor to have to work harder and the battery to drain quicker. If there was no luggage, carts, or people in the hallways, two TravelScoots could probably sit side-by-side, but that is RARELY the case so there's a constant need to dodge, drive around, and avoid people who open doors and run out without looking.

We had an outside cabin, which means it had a view of the water, but it was not a handicap accessible cabin. I really hoped we'd be able to get my scoot in without a lot of trouble, but it just did not fit through the narrow doorway without being folded. This meant that every time we entered or left the room we had to assemble or unassemble it. I was under the misconception that handicap room had wide doors, roll in showers, and lots of other cool things for folks on wheels, and I didn't want to deprive anyone who truly needed those features of the room. I was able to actually go in a handicap cabin and found that yes, the door was a few inches wider and there wasn't as high a step up into the bathroom, but other than that things were the same, including the size of the room. I will most definitely request a handicap cabin the next time I travel.

Once we were in the room we unpacked, got the batteries set up to charge, and parked my scoot in the corner. Our cabin only had ONE place to plug in a single item, so put a power strip on your list of items you MUST pack for your cruise.

The messy picture shows the counter where we charged the batteries. The other shows the corner we used to store my scoot. This picture was taken after one of the times when we were able to get it just right and tilt the scoot in a way where we could get it in without breaking it down. We gave up on being able to do that consistently and just folded it each time. There was plenty of room to walk by the scoot and walk around the bed. If you need every inch of floor space you could also fold the scoot and put it under the bed. That's also where we put our empty suitcases.