My Mobility

Since December of 1986, I have had a good amount of luck with the purchases I have made. In the beginning we of course made mistakes. But since then, I think I have a much better idea of what works and doesn’t work. This page includes information on what products I use to “get around”.

Bellow I cover my product choices for:

My Wheelchair

… Wheelchair Seating

… Battery/Charger

… Van and

… Driving

My Wheelchair:

In the beginning I used an electric wheelchair (E-wc) made by Everest & Jennings called the Marathon. What a headache. The name meant nothing to the quality or durability. I think I had to replace belts and pulleys every 6 months. The chair did gets it’s share of abuse as it held up through 5 years of collage. The distance to and from the engineering school was a haul and the weather went from hot-cold-rain-snow-ice and etc. The chair never did fail. But boy was it a nose maker and those pulleys. You could hear me coming from a mile away.

Text Box: In 1993, I bought a new demo electric wheelchair. I opted for Sunrise Medicals Quickie P-3. What a workhorse. I don’t need or want an e-WC that has tones of functionality. I did not need a WC recline feature or lights. I need a good safe and reliable e-WC. My P-3 lasted me 10 plus years. I have worked daily for 10 years, traveled to Germany/Austria, all around the USA and even went to the Philippines. I never had a problem, until; a speedster hit us.

I would have still been using my P-3 today but in 2003 we were on the highway on our way home when we were crashed into by an asOle. My wife broke her wrist and foot (leaving a huge scar) and /I broke my ankle, elbow, shoulder. Since then my foot doesn’t rest as it did. Today, I have a decubidis breakdown on my heal. My P-3 was ruined. The whole right front fork was bent in. What a sad day. My workhorse was dead.

So, I did the next best thing. I went to United Seating and Mobility and bought another demo e-WC. Yup! The newest generation of the P-3, the P-222. So far, my P-222 is a beauty. Three years and counting, still not a problem encountered. The e-WC is much faster then my P-3 and the ride is far smoother. If need be, I can pull off my motors and rear wheel assembly and replace them with two standard WC wheels. So far my WC gets me to work, again travel to Germany and climbed the mountains in Austria. In 2005 we all went to the Philippines. This WC rocks.

Links:

Sunrise Medical: Sunrise Medical is one of the world's largest manufacturers of homecare and extended care products. Founded in 1983, the Sunrise Medical family of products has been built from many of the most popular brands in the homecare industry including Quickie, Sopur, Jay, DeVilbiss, Hoyer, Guardian, Coopers, Oxford and Joerns. See Quickie® P-222 SE

United Seating & Mobility: Power and Manual Wheelchairs, Specialized Seating Systems, Scooters and Adaptive Equipment. Free evaluations by certified seating and mobility specialists. Service and repair for mobility products.

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My Wheelchair Seating:

Text Box:

For 20 years now I have used a high-profile air cushion by ROHO. Never had a soar on my rear. Made just outside of St. Louis in Edwardsville, Illinois. Enough said.

Links:

The ROHO Group: Specializing in shape fitting technology, The ROHO Group manufactures and distributes a variety of standard and custom size wheelchair cushions and accessories, back systems, support surfaces and the full line of Xsensor â Pressure Mapping Systems. ROHO HIGH PROFILE® SINGLE COMPARTMENT CUSHION

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My Battery/Charger:

Text Box: Batteries you can get anywhere usually much cheaper then at a WC medical supplier. I only suggest people buying sealed-gel-cell deep-cycle batteries. Search for stores in your area that just sell marina and automobile batteries. So e-WC users buy a Marina battery at Wal-Mart. The bigger the better. I bought

For optimum battery life, you cannot go wrong with having a good battery charger. The Soneil charger is the only way to go. The Soniel charger is compact, light, and capable of running under 110 volt or 220 volt (which is commonly found outside the USA). The Soneil Charger also has a feature that insures the batteries get fully charged. At the end of the main charging cycle, the charger will cycle on and off making sure the both batteries get completely charged. I have used my Soneil charger for 13 years and have noticed that my battery life has doubled. Better yet, the Soneil charger costs less then the replacement factory charger.

Links:

Soneil Battery Chargers: Soneil battery chargers are designed for Marine, Boat, Golf Cart, Golf Caddies, Wheelchairs, Scooters, EV, RV and many other applications. Soneil Battery Chargers are light-weight, low-cost, small size, smart, intelligent and universal.Model No. 2412SRF, 6Amp CC, Dual Voltage Input 115/230VAC

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My Van:

In 1986 we bought a semi-new Chevy full-size van. We added a WC-lift. I could stand the van as I could not see out. But that’s what we could afford. The lift was by Braun and a good lift it was. The lift is still in use today. Twenty (20+) years after we purchased it.

In 1991 I bought a 1992 Dodge Grand Caravan by IMS. The van was great as we never had a mechanical or electrical problem all 80,000 miles. But the WC van conversion was not so. The kneeling system was always breaking down or the airlines were getting frozen in the winter. The unfolding ramp was always getting stuck as the limit switches would break off. In 2001 was looking to buy the updated version of my van. I was going to buy another IMS van, but IMS did not seem interested in my business.

Lucky for me. Instead I went to Braun Entervan and boy am I glad I did. The van and the WC van conversion or top notch. I can’t say it enough but Braun put one great conversion together. So, in 2002 we bought a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan by Braun. After less the 3700 miles we were hit on the highway (see above). Again 2002 we bought a new 2003 Dodge Grand

Caravan by Braun. At 25,000+, no problems to report or concerns to discuss with either the van or WC van conversion.

Links:

United Access: At United Access, our mission is to provide our customers with the latest in adapted vehicles, driving systems and service. We are dedicated to helping our customers enjoy an independent lifestyle.

Braun Entervan: The Entervan is a top-selling lowered-floor minivan known for Braun's superb engineering, safety and reliability. Entervans can be built on the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivan chassis' as well as the Chevy Venture and Pontiac Montana minivans.

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My Driving:

EMC Gold Series Pad In 2006, 20 years post injury; I got back on the road. In 2005 I added EMC’s driving system to my Dodge 2003 Grand Caravan. Freedom! I am free at last.

I now drive with a joystick. Just like my e-WC. Moving the joystick: Forward = Gas, Backward = Brake, Left = Turn Left, and Right = Turn Right. By voice commands, I can start the van, change from Park to Drive etc. I can turn on my lights, turn on my blinkers and hazards and wipers. Way cool. The van can somewhat easily be converted back for standard use. Just starting the van, turning off and shifting have all been changed. Me, a “one-armed” bandit driver.

Links:

EMC-digi: Electronic Mobility Controls, LLC is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was founded with the single goal of providing individuals with high level disabilities the freedom of mobility. We take great pride in knowing that we can provide unique solutions to your difficult driving control challenges.

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My Mobility

My Wheelchair

… Wheelchair Seating

… Battery/Charger

… Van and

… Driving