[Christopher_2]

Debra,
Can you tell me the make and model of electric chair you have? Did you weigh the chair ready to use with batteries installed? The reason I am asking is very few electric chairs are that lite, and I would like to make sure you are getting the correct information.

I need to have a towing hitch put on my 2013 Cruz. I need a way to carry an electric wheelchair. The problem I have ran into is that I need a Class III, 2" hitch for the ramp/carrier, and the only size approved for the Cruz is Class I, 1.25". (or so I have been told) Is there a way to work around this problem? The chair weights 90 lbs. and the carrier weights 75 lbs.
Thank you for any help you can give.

 

[Christopher_2]

Wheelchair and Mobility Scooter Hitch Carrier - Aluminum

Guessing she is talking about a carrier with a built in ramp to drive the chair up on and park. That way you don't have to pick it up. This one weighs 25lbs less which could help, still he wrong receiver size. A
Also with an adapter as you move the platform further from the car it makes the problem worse. It adds leverage to the weight and increases the tongue weight.

If interested in a carrier here is one rated for 300 pounds.

Flat Carrier Fits 1-1/4 and 2 Inch Hitch Hitch Cargo Carrier | etrailer.com

For both 1.25 and 2" hitches.

Don't let that 1.25 inch fool you, have a hidden mounted on my Supra, rated at 350 pound tongue weight and 3,500 pounds pulling, bit more than you are looking for.

 

[Christopher_2]

Debra,
I see it is Drive scooter with really small batteries. Most scooter batteries weigh more than that entire scooter. The range is going to be limited, the batteries are 10ah batteries. If you think of AH (amp hours) as gallons it has a 10 gallon tank. The scooters I work on daily from Invacare and Pride have 35 and 55 amp hour batteries. The motor is also going to be very small.

If your use is going to be a short trip to a store or a doctors visit you should be fine. I would think a trip to Wall-Mart driving it up and down the aisles would drain the battery. The recharge time is going to take about 5 hours to charge up between uses.

Drive is not known for making a quality product in my 7 years of experience working on their equipment. If it is very lite use you should be fine. Just don't expect years of reliable service from the scooter. A lot of drive parts such as bearing in my experience are not off the shelf parts and are harder to find if broken. That is my 2 cents worth.

Drive Medical Bobcat X3 Compact Transportable Power Mobility Scooter, 3 Wheel, Red, the Actual Product Weight: 84 lbs

 

[Christopher_2]

I look more for certain traits from a service standpoint. Does it have real rubber tires that can be replaced or the hybrid hard plastic rubber things like a kids wagon would have?

Does it have batteries that are decent sized most have 35 amp hour batteries as a standard, 35 amp hour group size deep cycle batteries can be purchased easily.

Does it have wheel bearings that are standard that I can get from a local store such as Fastenal, Napa etc. Might sound funny but when you can't identify a bearing that somebodies cousin in China made with no identifying numbers. Take measurements and can't find an equivalent. Contacted the manufacturer to be told we don't use the bearing that you just took off our equipment and took a picture of. It can be frustrating for you and the customer.

I have always had good luck with Invacare and Pride products. If you look at the websites for both companies you can find parts manuals, service manuals etc. When you have a model in mind let me know and I can take a look at it online and see what it looks like and any pro's or con's.

As someone who may be in the market soon, can you recommend a quality option?