Power assist wheelchair rental

cate2

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Hi, has anybody had experience renting (or perhaps they might own) a power assist wheelchair that is still directed by the person 'pushing'.
I know a Mother and daughter who will be travelling together to Disney and the daughter has some mobility issues and would not be good candidate for driving a scooter or using a wheelchair joystick. (The adult daughter can walk short distances, a wheelchair would make life easier for them and allow them to see more of the parks but pushing her for a lengthy period of time could be physical challenging for the Mum).

Any advice welcome
 
I am not aware of any rentals in that space, and I shudder to think of what could happen if someone unfamiliar with how they work to be driving one in a Disney park. It could be really bad for all parties, including both the equipment users and other guests. There are big differences in how an ECV and power chair steer, and those would likely be made even more severe with a "backseat" driver.
 
I don't think that you're talking about what the OP is talking about. What I understand the OP to be asking about are (as stated) POWER ASSIST wheelchairs, not a a POWER chair/electric chairs. The power assist wheelchairs are kind of like power assist bikes- like a normal wheelchair, but with something that provides power to make pushing/turning the wheels easier. Moves/steers like a normal wheelchair. It won't move on its own - some needs to either push or self-propel it - just makes said pushing or self-propelling take less effort.

Example:

https://www.sunrisemedical.eu/wheelchairs/quickie/wheelchair-power-assist-wheeldrive
With that said, I don't know about renting one.
 
IF anybody does rent them, I would hazard a guess they would only do so to people who own one already and don’t want to travel with theirs. Just like power chairs

learning curve is just too high for a quick ten minute demo like ECVs get
 
Unfortunately, I think the point @SteveMouse was making is still a good one. These are pretty specialized devices and have a learning curve like a power chair. What is available are not like a power assist bike. That doesn’t exist as far as I know. What is out there are more like devices which add power chair like capabilities to a manual chair. Some examples include products like the SmartDrive and E-Motion wheels. I’ve never seen them rented, and they are quite pricey. Yes, you still steer the chair like a manual, but starting and stopping the power assist and controlling speed takes some skill and is not intuitive. It’s not something you can learn quickly.

My nightmare would be cruising along under power assist in an area where you think you have some open space, and someone sliding up in front of the chair. Taking that extra half second to remember how to stop because the move isn't automatic for you yet could be bad.
 
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I don't think that you're talking about what the OP is talking about. What I understand the OP to be asking about are (as stated) POWER ASSIST wheelchairs, not a a POWER chair/electric chairs. The power assist wheelchairs are kind of like power assist bikes- like a normal wheelchair, but with something that provides power to make pushing/turning the wheels easier. Moves/steers like a normal wheelchair....

I thoroughly understand the difference. We'll need the OP to clarify.

I understood part of the issue to be was that the seated person would have issues steering.

All of the power assist chairs I am familiar with don't have any controls on the handles that might be used to push the chair from behind, but are instead either on the inside of the wheels used for self-propelling or on a handlebar similar to an ecv for use by the person in the chair.
 


Neat! But not a quick learning curve, I expect. I wonder how to make it stop.

Yep, you are correct. It has some quirks. You wear something similar to a Fitbit that connects to the device by Bluetooth. It's set up so that you tap the band against your thigh to change settings. Double tap to start it moving, tap to lock in a speed as it ramps up slowly, then tap again to stop. It's not difficult to use, but those movements have to be pretty much automatic to stop or change directions quickly in an emergency.

Watching someone learn to use one of these is kind of funny if you are in an open parking lot. It's like watching a new driver get the hang of things. I would not want to see someone trying to figure one of these out at Disney.
 
I've got a Smartdrive too and it's fantastic for helping on hills. But it takes some time to get used to it. I've had it for almost a year and still have issues because I only use it once a month or so. I'll be taking it out for some practice to get myself back into knowing it by heart before my next WDW trip.

BTW, Staren. Have you used it for going up the ramps on the bus? I'm usually pretty good at it without the Smartdrive but sometimes I start to tip back near the top. I figure put it on low and just slowly power up the ramp.
 
I’m interested in the Smart Drive conversation. My insurance company just approved it, and I should have it in about 2 weeks. I will be going to OT at hospital for some training with it. I’m excited and nervous.

Bill, is it enough to help with ramp going into The Land? What about monorail ramps?
 
I actually haven't made it to WDW with my Smartdrive yet. My last trip was March 2019 and I got the Smartdrive in April 2019. But I did take it on a long cross-country road trip and did lots of National Parks and Disneyland. I'm certain it'll easily go up the ramp at The Land and at the MK monorail station. It's even going to handle the ramp up to FOP with no troubles. But if you're talking about the actual ramp to get onto the monorail I'm not sure whether I will use it there. It's a short ramp with people inside sometimes and I might want more control.
 
I have not used it on any public transportation ramps. I prefer to have full control in tight spaces like that. I was tempted to try it with the older Disney buses, but the slope of the ramp on the new character buses makes it unnecessary in my case.
 
Yea, I understand that. The newer buses are easier but some of those old ones where they would lower onto the road instead of a sidewalk were tough.
 
I actually haven't made it to WDW with my Smartdrive yet. My last trip was March 2019 and I got the Smartdrive in April 2019. But I did take it on a long cross-country road trip and did lots of National Parks and Disneyland. I'm certain it'll easily go up the ramp at The Land and at the MK monorail station. It's even going to handle the ramp up to FOP with no troubles. But if you're talking about the actual ramp to get onto the monorail I'm not sure whether I will use it there. It's a short ramp with people inside sometimes and I might want more control.
Thank you!
 
Hi, has anybody had experience renting (or perhaps they might own) a power assist wheelchair that is still directed by the person 'pushing'.
I know a Mother and daughter who will be travelling together to Disney and the daughter has some mobility issues and would not be good candidate for driving a scooter or using a wheelchair joystick. (The adult daughter can walk short distances, a wheelchair would make life easier for them and allow them to see more of the parks but pushing her for a lengthy period of time could be physical challenging for the Mum).

Any advice welcome
When you call rental offices, ask for a power chair with 'Attendant Control'. I know Jazzy makes this an option and I suspect a rental agent somewhere has one.

What would be better but less likely to find is a manual chair with attendant controlled or adaptive power assist. Adaptive power assist registers input from the wheels or indirectly from the handles on the back of the chair and applies energy to the motors only under that condition. So there's no runaway situation and it essentially controls like an unpowered chair. I've played with a couple of these setups and it honestly feels like pushing an empty chair around even with a 230 pound guy in the seat.

I am not aware of any rentals in that space, and I shudder to think of what could happen if someone unfamiliar with how they work to be driving one in a Disney park. It could be really bad for all parties, including both the equipment users and other guests. There are big differences in how an ECV and power chair steer, and those would likely be made even more severe with a "backseat" driver.
I tend to agree, and yet if we're talking about control by someone of ... dang, how to put it... ok, someone who's generally sharp when it comes to spatial reasoning, then I think most people get the hang of it pretty quickly. If the OP can navigate a shopping cart through a crowded store she can likely figure out a wheelchair. And it really depends on the particulars of the mobility tech.

For instance, I don't like the SmartDrive system for something like this because it has the ability to run away. Any system that doesn't require direct input has that risk. Imagine an ECV where the throttle stayed locked in the on position and required you to push a different control to release it.

On the plus side, there is some amazing tech coming down the pike for people who can afford it. I was politely shot down by Whil when I requested developer access. They were super cool about it but the projects I would like to integrate into their platform are things they are already working on and the last thing they need is someone like coming back claiming they took my IP. By 2030, self driving power chairs will be commonplace. For people with $60k to spend on a chair anyway.
 
There is the Efix which makes a manual wheelchair a power chair by adding a joy stick and battery onto it. You can also get an attendant control for it as well as put it in push mode. But like the Smartdrive it would definately take training to learn it.
 
I have the same issue. I want to take my mom, 81, but she has bad vision. I pushed my mother-in-law around before in a wheelchair and it nearly killed us! The parks are hillier than you think! So thinking about my mom, she can't control an ECV.
 

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