Take me riding in your car .. car.. take me riding in your car...

Lynn Ellen has a VW New Beetle and this weekend she is going to play with different configurations of loading it into the back. I'm sure she'll share the results with us, so look for them here next week.

I have a Toyota Camry and could put two TravelScoots in my trunk. I just remove the seat and u-bar, seat back and battery, and collapse the scoot. Instead of a second scoot I'm going to put a stool in there so I can sit if I need to to assemble and disassemble my scoot.

Cynth had this to add...

I just folded it up and put it in the trunk for the first time.

Every thing went fine and it wasn't that bad to lift into the trunk. I did not break down the basket.

It will take some practice to get the thing folded until both hinges "snap" into place quickly.

I did not need to use a stool to sit on while breaking it down, but I know if I am tired or its toward afternoon I would need one because I tend to stiffen up after noon.

I have an 04 Buick LeSabre and there is lots of extra room in the trunk.

Four ways to get on the TravelScoot

There are four ways I know of to get on the TravelScoot...

1) The traditional way: Pick a leg and use it to step across the frame then sit on the seat.

2) Lynn Ellen has been stepping thru to get on and since she has not attached the nylon triangle thingy yet she sometimes step into the middle of the triangle and then with that same foot finish stepping through. And when she is not moving forward but still sitting down she moves her feet to the triangle frame.

3) The super scoot way!: Get on like you're getting on a bike, by holding the handlebars and swinging your leg over the back of the seat. (With this method you don't use the backrest.) Resist the urge to rev the throttle and take off in a cloud of dust. :-)

4) Do not latch the seat so it will spin to one side, then you sit and spin yourself into a front facing position. (I haven't tried this one but it's listed in the manual.)

Lynn Ellen on her first day!

Now THERE is a happy woman. This is Lynn Ellen on her first day with her TravelScoot.

She was going up a ramp when this picture was taken, and she said it handled the ramp just fine.

Lynn Ellen got the lithium ion battery. If she wants to she can stack a second battery on top of the first one.

Folding, unfolding, and putting it in the car

Lynn Ellen would like to discuss folding, unfolding and putting it in the car. She says, "That thing is not light."

If anyone reading has tips and techniques they'd like to share, send them to me and I'll post them here.

Folding and Unfolding

I don't have this part working smoothly just yet. My husband does. If you watch Hardy doing it on his website, at http://www.TravelScoot.com, he's got the technique. We're smart women. I'm sure we can learn to do it just like he does, or make up our own way. I've watched Hardy do it in person and it takes him about one second to fold or unfold.

"That thing is not light."

The TravelScoot is lighter than any other scooter, and it's lighter than most wheelchairs too. I take as many pieces off as I can before I lift it. I take the seat and the u-shaped part off as one piece, although you can also do it as two pieces. I remove the battery. If I were using the seat back I would take that off too. Another trick a friend taught me is to use leverage to get it in and out of the trunk. After you've folded it, if you just lift one end of it off the ground and prop that on the trunk lip, you can then lift the other end and slide it into your trunk.

Having a small stool in your trunk could also help if you need to sit while you're dealing with your scoot.

Riding on Carpet and Walking the Dog

I don't know if you all read the comments, so I'm moving Lynn Ellen's comment to a post. Lynn Ellen got her TravelScoot two days ago. The picture is of her walking her dog.

Lynn Ellen said...

Yep. Mine arrived two days ago. I think it is just noisier on carpet. I rode down and up the ramp in front of my building with no problems and then took it home in a friend's truck, where we practiced folding and unfolding it. Yesterday I attached my dog's leash to my waist and took her uphill to the local church parking lot. We then practiced turns so she learns not to get in front of the scoot when I turn toward her. When we went back home I decided to save wear and tear on the brakes and I kept my feet on the ground and sort of walked downhill.

Shopping at Walmart

On Friday I used my TravelScoot to grocery shop at Walmart. I don't suggest trying this during the holiday rush, but I got a buggy and pulled it from the front using my left hand. I would find a place to leave it near the end of the aisle and zip down the aisle to get whatever I needed. I even bought several 2-liter drinks, but I pulled the buggy down the soft drink aisle for that.

The bathroom wasn't too much of a challenge either. The Walmart I shop at normally has a handicap/family bathroom and that's what I prefer to use, but it was out of order so I went in the regular bathroom. I was able to drive it into the handicap stall, and drive it back out when I was done. I did wait until there was no one in the bathroom in case there were problems, but it wasn't necessary.

If you've ever used a store cart in Walmart, you're going to find that it's a lot easier to open the doors on the frozen food and milk cases from the TravelScoot. I even was able to handle checkout with no problems. My total was about $120, so I had a lot in the buggy. I pulled in line with my cart behind me, then while the person in front of me was checking out I stood up and unloaded my cart. When I was finished I sat back on my scoot and pulled the cart to where it could be loaded, then I stayed on my TravelScoot and went back to pay.

It was easy to pull the cart out of the store to my car and get everything unloaded. I'll definitely use this method again. It's really nice to be able to shop by myself AND to have my own scooter so I don't have to depend on the store having one available. My scoot also goes about 20 times faster than the store one!

Will Insurance Pay for My TravelScoot?

It might.

I asked Hardy Huber about it and he says he knows of cases where Blue Cross Blue Shield and Meritain Health have reimbursed his customers. I did not attempt to get insurance to cover mine. If anyone reading this blog has and would like to share their experience, please post a comment about it.

Medicare does not reimburse for the TravelScoot. Medicare pays for an electric wheelchair or scooter only if the patient cannot walk at all, even in their own home.