Mobility scooters are designed to assist those who have difficulty walking with the tasks and opportunities associated with daily living. They can be designed for indoor or outdoor use, with some models being middle of the road and designed to accommodate both indoor and outdoor use. However, there are particular construction and user needs that have to be met in order for a mobility scooter to perform outdoors at optimum levels. A good portion of what is necessary for mobility scooters to be more effective and comfortable for the rider outdoors lies within the construction and design of the base unit.
Base units are the bodies of mobility scooters and are often referred to as a platform or base plate. Typically, base units consist of a frame constructed of aluminum, steel or composite materials with a composite or fiberglass floor to support the seat, feet, battery and tiller, also known as the steering column. Base units also include the mobility scooter’s drive train. The mobility scooter’s maneuverability and its suitability for indoor or outdoor use in large part depends upon the characteristics of the base unit such as its turning radius, the size of its wheelbase, its ground clearance, and its overall dimensions.
It is important to evaluate the base for safety features, including its overall stability. A scooter should not tip easily during sharp turns or while climbing a curb. Anti-tip wheels should be included as part of the frame to help support and stabilize the scooter. Most rear wheel drive mobility scooters are intended to negotiate more rugged terrain and are usually equipped with rear anti-tips to support the scooter on hills.
The drive train is a critical part of the base unit and provides either front or rear wheel drive for the mobility scooter. Front-wheel drive is usually found on smaller scooters designed primarily to be used indoors or outdoors on flat, paved surfaces. The motor of the front wheel drive scooter is located over the front wheels and drives only those wheels. Because of the motor and wheel configuration, front wheel drive mobility scooters usually do not have chains or belts and are powered by smaller motors. The front wheels pull the weight of the rider and the scooter making them less capable of handling steep inclines, climbing curbs and managing rough terrain.
Rear wheel drive mobility scooters are powered by motors connected to the rear axle, either via a chain, a belt, a transaxle unit, or a combination of these components. Because the mobility scooter is driven by the rear wheels, they push the combined weight of the unit and the rider, rather than pull it like the front wheel drive models. The combined weight of the rider, the motor, and the batteries over the rear wheels, generally create better traction than that is usually provided by front-wheel drive models. The increased traction combined with the more powerful motors used on rear-wheel drive scooters results in better climbing ability. Rear-wheel-drive scooters also have a greater maximum speed, a longer traveling range between battery charges, and a larger rider weight capacity. These mobility scooters have a wider wheel base and a greater overall length, making some models less maneuverable and unsuitable for indoor use.
By looking at the phrase mobility scooters, many people are able to conclude that the device is an apparatus which is able to move the individual from one location to another, with limited, if any, strain and stress on the body of the individual. Upon consideration, many people may then go on to realize that they have been able to observe these apparatuses in their every day life, even if they did not realize it at the time.
There are many stores that will offer mobility scooters with baskets attached in order to make shopping at the store easier for individuals that would need that type of support and help. However, the new phrase that is standing mobility scooters may cause some individuals to pause and reflect on what this could be. The words standing and mobility would initially seem to contradict themselves, which could be confusing for someone to come to terms with when they are trying to come up with an acceptable conclusion as to what this device could be. In the end, however, individuals will understand that the words do not contradict each other, but rather that each of the terms refers to something more specific about the scooter in general, and that they in fact merely go on to help describe the scooter in more detail. The attention to detail helps individuals to more accurately and easily locate and research the types of scooters that would be most applicable to them and their situation.
While some mobility scooters will move the individual from one place to another while they are seated on the scooter, standing mobility scooters provide the same function, but with the individual in a different position. Instead of sitting, these scooters allow the individual to stand up on them and be transported in this manner and fashion.
There are actually many reasons as to why this type of scooter may be considered to be more attractive to the individual as opposed to the different types of mobility scooters that can be provided to individuals. Some people do not need to be seated which they move about. For example, an individual with one broken foot may be able to benefit from using a mobility scooter, but these can be expensive and help the individual to put on some weight as a result of not being as active. Instead, a standing mobility scooter may be used, enabling the individual to stand up and be more comfortable, but still move around much faster than if they had been on crutches. In most cases, they are also much less expensive since they are smaller. In contrast, an individual with two broken feet would not be able to use a standing mobility scooter, simply because then they would have to put pressure on their feet which cannot safely be done when the bones in the feet are broken. The individual with two broken feet would then be limited to the mobility scooter that allows them to sit down on the scooter and still be moved from one location to another location.
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