Hello from your newest newbie

[DennisinTexas]

Hello friends, I thought I’d tell you a little about that happened to me and how I got interested in off road wcs.

I turn 60 next month. I have had countless bouts with cancer since age 21. I could walk until 2010 when cancer started gnawing on my sacrum. They zapped the crap out of it with radiotherapy which also caused nerve damage, which is why I can’t walk. I have enough leg strength to help transferring, can use crutches for very short distances but I tend to fall when I do so it’s not a regular habit of mine.

I took up mountain biking in 1981 and it was always a great love of mine. After the early 90’s I had to use a lower leg brace to cycle thanks to an earlier bout with cancer. I almost died in 2011, after which I was too weak to transfer or dress myself. It has been a long road back. I’m somewhat better, though limited in endurance and how much time I can be active in the day due to pain and weakness, can’t work anymore and money is kinda tight. You know our health care system in the states eats up your retirement savings if you get sick. I took up the ukulele to stimulate my brain and meet people and that has gone well.

I recently saw off road wheelchairs online, including this site which got me pretty excited, though no wheelchair will ever be able to go all the places we used to go on our bikes. It would still be cool to get off road as much as possible. I have a lot of tools, but no welding rig. I have manual tools, power tools, woodworking tools, electronic and jewelry soldering equipment and experience, multimeters, a little experience tinkering on mobility scooters and power chairs, a two car garage, so I am thinking about doing a home grown mod job.

I thought I’d tell you guys what I have and hopefully get some recommendations any will offer about whether and how to use what I have and what I might find on the used market that would go well with it. I can’t afford to go out and buy new high amperage power controllers, etc.

I think I will need a new (to me) frame. I have searched a few times for a used Quickie F55s Sunrise Medical Powerchair since it seems to serve Mr Burgerman well, but no luck finding one so far. I’m hoping there will be other more readily available used frames out there that I might find.

So here are the wheelchairs and scooters I have. Some in working condition, some not so much, though they all have good motors and power controllers.

I have a couple of Golden Companion II scooters with working motors and controllers. I think the electrical coupling between front and rear sections is all that’s wrong with them, other than batteries. They both have working power modules, which are 70 Amp Dynamic Rhino DS72K08 Controller. These use two motors to power the rear wheels, they are pretty beefy. I have popped wheelies on one of those scooters! If I had a good frame and wheels, it seems to me these two controllers and four motors could make a good 4wd unit, since I only weigh about 160 lbs these days.

Permobil C500 base corpus 3G 5mph,
Expandable Controller - R-net 80 amp (PM80 613020 ?) powered by a pair of Group 24 gel sealed batteries, 73ah. This has the tilt and recline seat and is like new. I really wish I could find someone who would like to buy it for themselves. It seems a shame to cannibalize such a masterpiece. But I may need it intact one day if sacrum falls under attack again so maybe I should just keep it. The length of this base is over 4 feet long! As I got better I quit using this chair, and the batts are no doubt dead.

I have a monster of an outdoor scooter, a Pride PMV 620 that has a 200 amp Curtis controller like they put in golf carts powered by a pair of 100 ah 12 volt batteries. I guess these motors and controllers would serve, but I like having it the way it is, it is kind of a yard tractor!

I have a Jazzy Jet 3 in good conditionI recently picked up as a backup chair when my main ride broke down. It has a 50 amp PG Drives VSI power controller with a 4 key VSI joystick # D50148. This one inspired me though, it seems like these old Jazzys are well built and widely available used.

So i wonder if there are some Pride Jazzy power chairs out there with frames that make for good mods. With my weight as low as it is, I wonder if I could get away sigh using the two power controllers and four motors and make a compact 4wd unit. Or maybe there is a commonly available HD Pride or other commonly available used chair from which I could pull a 100 amp power controller and joystick, and then use it’s or another frame.....

I think you guys get the drift. I’d rather make up for lack of funds with elbow grease. I won’t really need this to double as my indoor ride, but it would be nice if it could serve as a backup. I have a Golden Alante GP206 for in the house. It is great for that, but has no parts that would help an off road build.

Oh, I drive a 2010 Honda Odyssey with dropped floor and side access ramp. I transfer to the driver’ seat and use hand controls. I can get the Permobil into the car, but it is so stinking long and has such a wide turning radius it isn’t very versatile. I assume those four casters would catch on everything I tried to roll over.

I hope you guys have some good suggestions to help guide my research. Thanks to any who read this long intro, and doubly so to any with advice!

Dennis

[martin007]

Welcome DennisinTexas!

[Burgerman]

I have a monster of an outdoor scooter, a Pride PMV 620 that has a 200 amp Curtis controller like they put in golf carts powered by a pair of 100 ah 12 volt batteries. I guess these motors and controllers would serve, but I like having it the way it is, it is kind of a yard tractor!

I suspect that this, as it is, will always be better outdoors than any powerchair designed to be short and narror to work as an indoor or in van powerchair.

[DennisinTexas]

I have a monster of an outdoor scooter, a Pride PMV 620 that has a 200 amp Curtis controller like they put in golf carts powered by a pair of 100 ah 12 volt batteries. I guess these motors and controllers would serve, but I like having it the way it is, it is kind of a yard tractor!

I suspect that this, as it is, will always be better outdoors than any powerchair designed to be short and narror to work as an indoor or in van powerchair.

Yes, I think so too, having ridden it. The 10 mph speed can be quite exhilarating as well. I have thought about putting some slicks on it to see how much faster it would ride. I could also try larger rear wheels to change the gearing for more speed. It has tons of torque as is.

Here in Austin we have an urban park that is about 8 miles long and several miles wide called Zilker Park. It is mostly wild, with a 7.5 mile hiking/ biking trail running down the middle. It is beautiful and fun to explore. Back before mountain bikes it was mostly untraveled. Then mountain bikes increased usage and sort of flattened the trail. So more people started using it. I suspect my Wrangler could manage many parts of it, but I can’t get it there.

The problem is the won’t fit into my Honda Odyssey van. So I can only use it near my home. Also, because of it’s size and turning radius I don’t think I would be welcome riding it into any shops. It is an uncivilized beast. I would dearly love to have a wheelchair that could go in my van and my house and on parts of those trails.

I am sure this site keeps you very busy. So I’m not going to keep asking for much of your time. But I wonder if there are any write-ups here or elsewhere you know of about alternative power chair frames to the F55? I have been searching unsuccessfully for a used one in the states. I notice that the Quickie S6 model frames look kinda similar but they are all pretty new and pricey. If I keep looking I might encounter a bargain. I assume it will be easier for me if I have a complete chair rather than just a frame to start but if you have suggestions about that I am all ears. Though I know I won’t want to make major fabrication changes to a frame, I am not afraid of taking up welding to make minor changes. I have most of the other skills necessary for a custom chair build. I hope you can guide me in my search for a good build platform.

Have you or other members here found out other models with similar frame dimensions, etc that would be good for this?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I saw a recent post you made. I turn 60 this month, and also don’t expect much more than ten more years. I am making the best of it that I can in the mean time.

[Burgerman]

Buy yourself a magic mobility X5 or V6 powerchair, reprogram it, fit lithium batteries. It will JUST work in a van, bit tight. It will be the closest you are going to get to off road in a powerchair.

[DennisinTexas]

Buy yourself a magic mobility X5 or V6 powerchair, reprogram it, fit lithium batteries. It will JUST work in a van, bit tight. It will be the closest you are going to get to off road in a powerchair.

Thank you for the tip! I will look into those.

[DennisinTexas]

Buy yourself a magic mobility X5 or V6 powerchair, reprogram it, fit lithium batteries. It will JUST work in a van, bit tight. It will be the closest you are going to get to off road in a powerchair.

Thank you for the tip! I will look into those, though I don’t see my budget stretching that far, unfortunately. I have the perhaps naive hope of building something more affordable with parts from used chairs. I intend to scour every bit of your site either way. If I can’t ride one at least I can read about them!

D

[Arima]

This guy might have an F55 frame.
https://www.wheelchairdriver.com/board/ ... re#p151108

Here is another good thread
https://www.wheelchairdriver.com/board/ ... f=2&t=4305

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