Puma 40 versus very steep slopes

[Ciara]

Hi all, hope its OK as a new user to jump in with a specific question. Have been reading a lot of very helpful posts and reviews of the Puma 40 here, but have a precise question. Does anyone who uses an Invacare Puma 40 know whether it normally skids on very steep slopes?
I have just booked a second test drive instead of going ahead with an order, as I want to make sure that something that will cost me this much really is the right piece of equipment. This will be my first power chair.
I live in a house with an idiotically steep driveway with some potholes in it. I need a chair with lift so that when I'm at the top of the classroom I can rise to standing height (or above when the students are unruly, would be even better). Something with a long battery life so I can head out to work early in the morning, and stay out for general meetings/politics/pub until the small hours of the next morning. It must be able to go on public transport easily, both buses and underground. Going in a car doesn't matter as I don't drive. Handling a limited amount of rough terrain is also essential as there is a park slap bang in the middle of the campus I teach on, and part of the idea of getting a chair is generally just so I'm not so housebound anymore. I'll be using it out and about and at work only, and pottering around at home on my zimmerframe/sticks for as long as I can.
The salesperson strongly recommended a Puma 40 as the only chair in the price range that can do all that, other than the Jive M which he and everyone else warned me off. However, on the day I test drove it it was pelting down with very heavy rain, and it skidded badly on every attempt to bring it down my incredibly steep driveway, which the sales guy said it absolutely would not do. So I've asked to try it again under more normal weather conditions before committing. Anyone who uses/has used this chair, would be great to hear if anyone else has found issues with it not managing steep slopes.
Thanks

[Burgerman]

This isn't a bad chair, there is another Handycare chair with better suspension however for serious outdoor use.

You will need the best range possible. That means that you definitely will be wanting the biggest of the 4 battery sizes offered. That means 70+Ah or group 24. Don't be fobbed off with the smaller ones. Batteries are the chairs (all chairs) weakest point

This comes as front drive (skids going uphill, and steers more terribly the faster you go. They have 1 redeeming feature. Curbs. Everything else is worse. At least if you go faster than walking pace.

And rear drive. Wont skid going uphill. Stable at speed. And the only layout I would consider.

And these things come with either really weedy controllers, or just weedy. Make sure you get the biggest 120 Amp r-net controller. And if you expect it to steer and drive correctly you will need the OEM level programmer. They wont sell you that, so get the closest thing you can built into the joystick, as a OBP (On Board Programming). There are several levels, don't be fobbed of with a dealer or end user level as its a waste of time...

Avoid puncture free tyres (harsh ride, eats batteries faster)

If you DO have to have smaller batteries due to riser, then get Odyssey group 34, PC1500 as they will perform better than the nominally bigger group 24s anyway...

6mph (10kph) is too slow. 4mph (6kph) is worse still. But the faster you choose, the less range you will get. And the less torque for ramps, curbs and control you have. The 6kph one does 36 miles, compared to 26 for the 10kph one. This is why... Faster chairs eat more power even when you go slow.

Now...

Get a 12Amp charger, and use it while you eat, as you are sat in a class at any opportune moments. And you will have a battery that lasts years rather than about 10 months. And you will have enough range to complete every day without worry. And charge fully overnight every night too.

Or better still a bigger charger, like 20 or 30 amps, and fit better charging connectors so you can safely use it. There are pages here showing how.

Any help?

[Burgerman]

I need a chair with lift so that when I'm at the top of the classroom I can rise to standing height (or above when the students are unruly, would be even better).

Use a baseball bat, scrap the lift! My ex is a teacher. She says they are all little b******s...

[Ciara]

Much help, many thanks. Will make a note of all this, and have it handy during my test drive next week.

And believe it or not, I teach adults, not kids. Still, it can be like managing a box of bouncing baby goats at times.

[falco peregrinus]

Another solution to your traction problem might be to change the tyres for ones with better traction in the wet, or perhaps to lower the tyre pressure when you have to negotiate that slope in the wet. Or the solution might even be as simple as getting someone to pressure-clean your driveway really thoroughly to remove any low-level plant life growing there. I have a steep slope in the path leading to my footpath, and after every wet year, at the onset of the dry season, I have to pressure clean that path or else the wheelchairs slips and slides as I approach the footpath. If pressure-cleaning doesn't get it absolutely as-new in appearance, then put some bleach down on it and pressure clean it again.
Falco.

[Mechniki]

looking at this vid on you tube I realised there are several set ups for the Puma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr9TrOr8sK0
maybe it was in front wheel drive mode

[Mechniki]

and a spare charger for the classroom, and meals etc

[Mechniki]

http://www.handicare.co.uk/1/Products/P ... 1/Puma-40/

Nice chair, easily explained there, too wide for my flat (wouldn't get through my bedroom door.)