Carrying a mobility scooter (1 Viewer)

[Rapido925M]

We are looking to buy a Quingo Ultra (demountable, 4mph) scooter which will fit in the boot of the car easily.
However, it may be awkward in the MH as all we have is "under the table" or "in the shower". Does anyone know the weight capability for an old (2002) Rapido 9 Series with a 4-gang OMNI Bike.plus carrier? We have had 2 adult and 2 kids bike on it without any problem.
In total the scooter is 71kg and the heaviest component is 17.8kg, with the rear end at 12.6kg. 4 batteries are 4.5kg each (I guess they could travel inside).

ALSO please: is it possible to charge these batteries (presumably 12V seeing as the motor is 24V and needs two of them) from the leisure battery OR the alternator while on the move? The charger (240V) is quoted as "off board, 2Ah" and the batteries as 15Ah.
Any suggestions gratefully received (we like to be FLTs but those days may be coming to a close!)

TIA - Gordon

 

[StillGoing]

You could use a pure sine wave inverter for your 230V battery charger. I often charge my eBike this way while driving.

 

[TinaLes]

You should have a weight plate on the van showing max front & rear axel weights, then if you don't know the net payload figure your best bet is to get the van to weighbridge (if you can find one these days) then you will know how much if any payload you have left to store the scooter.

We have been looking at foldable mobility scooters for a while now, and haven't made up our mind which one to go and see in the flesh.
Can I ask why you have chosen the Quingo Ultra?
It looks very big, its very heavy at 71Kgs, and is quite expensive IMHO.
It runs on 2 15AH batteries at 12V each, yet it carries 4 of them which pushes the weight up.
The 5 wheel set up at the front may offer more stability, yet its a strange set up, and I imagine may struggle across a grass rally field, the larger the wheels the better for gravel & off road paths.
Is balance a major consideration for you?, have you tried out any other scooters yet?

A couple of Funsters have purchased E Foldy Scooters,(also expensive)but they are remarkably light at 15Kgs, they only have 3 wheels but are very stable allegedly, if you search previous Scooter threads, you may get some ideas that may help.
I would only look at scooters with modern LifePo4 Lithium Batteries as I don't want any fire risks while on charge in the van or house.
If your leisure battery set up is large enough you can use a 240-12V inverter, then plug you scooter charger into that to charge the scooter. I doubt whether the vans standard mains charger or a B2B charging profile will match the scooter battery, but that would need to be clarified when you see the scooter battery type & charging requirements.

Good Luck, keep us posted, happy travels.
LES

 

[Rapido925M]

We already have a large 8mph Quingo and it’s really good. The 5wheel setup allows it to turn in a small length and climb kerbs at an angle. We hired a normal 4wheel scooter when on holiday and it just didn’t compare. So after some research we decided to get their “boot sized” machine despite the weight (and price).

We’ve tried little portable ones but they feel like toys and seem uncomfortable. Fingers crossed that this works.

My question about weight related to the ability of the bike rack to carry it and the rear wall to support it: I don’t want the bike rack falling to pieces as I drive over a bump nor the rear wall detaching from the sides! I imagine that this sort of load should be ok but I hoped that someone might know.

Gordon

 

[TinaLes]

Thanks for the clarification Rapido925M, there is no substitute for experience, and as you have that with The Quingo 8 mph with 5 wheel set up, then the foldable 4mph with the same wheel set up should work well for you.
I may be wrong but The Fiamma Bike Rack I have seen quoted a max weight even for two bikes at arround 60 Kgs, maybe they do a higher rated one, don't honestly know, but you should be able to find out as The Quingo at 71Kgs will be heavy, but I guess you could remove all 4 batteries and store them seperately.
4 batteries at 4.5Kgs each =18Kgs, so the scooter net weight would be 51Kgs should be OK if the rack fixings are man enough.
Might be worth considering the Vans overall rear axel weight with that much stuck on the back also, even with semi air suspension we would be limited to 2225gs on the rear axel and with a large Garage thats easily reached.
LES

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[Cush]

Have you got a tow bar? Might be easier to put it on a bike rack that fits on that. 51kg is a heavy load to lift up high on to a high level bike rack. Just a thought. Hope you get sorted.

 

[Rapido925M]

The point about it coming apart is that I don’t have to lift the full weight in one go. As I stated in #1, the heaviest component is 17.8kg.

On reflection, the batteries can stand under the table and the seat will rest on one of the benches, probably held in place by a seatbelt. That would then transfer to the side bench when we need to use the dinette.

One of the first purchases I made 18y ago when we bought the van was a 300W inverter but it’s not pure sine. Toothbrushes and other items which charge by induction are harmed by voltage spikes when the ac changes direction suddenly but I think these batteries should not be affected. But do I take the risk? The charger is rated at 2Ah (not sure what that means: 2A at 12V would be 24W) so not a big draw on the alternator.

Gordon

 

[autorouter]

One of the first purchases I made 18y ago when we bought the van was a 300W inverter but it’s not pure sine. Toothbrushes and other items which charge by induction are harmed by voltage spikes when the ac changes direction suddenly but I think these batteries should not be affected. But do I take the risk? The charger is rated at 2Ah (not sure what that means: 2A at 12V would be 24W) so not a big draw on the alternator.

There seems to be very limited electrical information on the website. The figure of '2Ah' for the charger is meaningless. If it was '2A' then that could be the 240V mains input amps (chargers can have a high starting surge) or the 12V DC output amps. But that would be rather low, because a 2A charger charging a 15Ah battery would take at least 15 / 2 = 7.5 hours to charge from flat. Presumably it charges two 15A batteries at once, so I very much hope that means 2A into each battery.

The mains power requirement for a charger like that, charging two batteries at once, would be 48 watts plus any conversion losses, so probably 60 to 70 watts max. You could buy a 150 watt Pure Sine Wave inverter that would easily cope with one battery box. In fact, it would probably do for two battery boxes so you could charge all four batteries at once.

However I would want some more solid info on the batteries and the charger before I could say that would all definitely work. It would be printed on the batteries and also on the charger somewhere.

 

[Rapido925M]

We are now in possession of the scooter and it is impressively solid in it's build quality. That's a euphemistic way of saying it's BL@@DY HEAVY!

Putting it in the boot of the car (Toyota RAV4) is not a real problem: there's even space for a couple of shopping bags.

The MH is a different problem. Lifting it through the door whilst climbing a couple of steps is a problem. I placed the motor/rear end in the shower, where it occupied quite a lot of space. The front end, seat and basket all fit on the side bench but will probably need to be tied down somehow. We can probably get away with this BUT my wife worries that I may have a heart attack lifting it in and out. I have decided not to use the bike rack.

So it's back to the drawing board (and the bank manager ).

The output of the battery charger is rated 24V 4A so presumably the batteries are organised in series.

Gordon

 

[Rapido925M]

Never give up!
I've tried again today and I can get into the MH easier than I thought. The front section can fit on the forward-facing dinette seat and be held secure by the seatbelts. the rear section fits width-wise under the table, with the seat wedging it in place so there is no opportunity for motion. The batteries wedge between the rear unit and the table leg and will be strapped in place with a bungee cord which holds the cover on when the scooter is outside.

View attachment 910386


Clearly we will be unable to use the table while the scooter is inside, so we will have to utilise the front seats and side bench which is no great problem. While there are just the two of us we don't need to turn the dinette into a bed: in 18y of owning this van we've only done this once so it's another non-problem. Hopefully we can give this a try-out next week with a Britstops, THS plus a campsite for a couple of nights.

Gordon

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[corconx]

Have sold our motorhome but used the Travelscoot www.mytravelscot.co.uk. It’s the lightest there is at I think 14kg.

I lift it in and out of our Honda jazz without problem. If needs be the yoke and seat separate independently.

Here is the story https://www.travelscoot.com/timeline/ and the developer responds to problems There are three Facebook groups. I was recommended it by a friend who had a mh and was terminally ill, he’d had one for @15 years at the time.

Always happy to show anyone if they want to mi live in Cornwall. I now have the newer Escape which is lighter too. You can fly with it too

 

[Baggydave]

Hi
I’m a bit late adding my input but here goes.
We had a similar problem of carrying a mobility scooter. Wife already had an elite go traveller plus & spare battery unit. It fitted fine into our last van a Rohill conversion, but was a bit tricky when we changed to current 2001 integra.
However it’s now sorted.
I place one battery in each front footwell, (a class & two doors) We normally only use the hab door.
The other three bits, once taken apart, fit through the external storage locker door behind the water tank. Heaviest bit is the batteries @17kg each.
We recharge using a 12v-24v charger on the move or on good days if stopped on the solar. Can take several hours depending on use. This charger is fixed behind the passenger seat & hard wired to the leisure batteries via a 10a fuse.
It is a bit of a faff putting the scooter together/taking apart etc but is the best solution for us. Patience & calm being the order of the day. If we are staying more than one night somewhere then the scooter gets parked & chained to the bike rack & covered with a spare bike cover. As we discovered they don’t like moisture!
She is now on the second scooter in 9 years. Cobbled streets & lack of ramps took a toll!
Batteries get renewed on average every 2 years.

 

[Baggydave]

Also forgot to mention we also take the scooter on flights as it’s all aircraft friendly. Usually easyJet & they are great & make life so easy.

 

[corconx]

Hi
I’m a bit late adding my input but here goes.
We had a similar problem of carrying a mobility scooter. Wife already had an elite go traveller plus & spare battery unit. It fitted fine into our last van a Rohill conversion, but was a bit tricky when we changed to current 2001 integra.
However it’s now sorted.
I place one battery in each front footwell, (a class & two doors) We normally only use the hab door.
The other three bits, once taken apart, fit through the external storage locker door behind the water tank. Heaviest bit is the batteries @17kg each.
We recharge using a 12v-24v charger on the move or on good days if stopped on the solar. Can take several hours depending on use. This charger is fixed behind the passenger seat & hard wired to the leisure batteries via a 10a fuse.
It is a bit of a faff putting the scooter together/taking apart etc but is the best solution for us. Patience & calm being the order of the day. If we are staying more than one night somewhere then the scooter gets parked & chained to the bike rack & covered with a spare bike cover. As we discovered they don’t like moisture!
She is now on the second scooter in 9 years. Cobbled streets & lack of ramps took a toll!
Batteries get renewed on average every 2 years.

17kg each? Mine are 4kg. Payload needs to be thought of

Carol

 

[TheBig1]

the carrier is rated at 60kg. I would keep the batteries inside anyway and maybe the seat? to get it under weight

I used to charge the wife's pavement crawler via the inverter no problem, especially when driving. Never had a problem.

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[Baggydave]

17kg each? Mine are 4kg. Payload needs to be thought of

Carol

You’re right although they felt like 17kg they are only 12.5kg. 2x22ah 12v batteries in each.
Still heavy though

 

[corconx]

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