Q) What’s the square hole for at the back of the scooter?

A) This is a universal accessory socket that is fitted to the back of all of our scooters. This socket caters for a variety of different accessories such as pull along trolleys, Oxygen bottle holders, crutch holders, lockable rear storage compartments etc…

Visit us online for further information.

Where do I put my walking stick?

A lot of our customers use either one or two walking sticks & need a place to store them when riding their scooter. There are several solutions to this: 1) Foldable walking sticks are available that fold up and are stored in either the basket at the front or the Bag at the behind the seat. 2) All our carry Bags also include detachable walking stick holders on each side. The stick is then stored vertically or 3) a Velcro stick holder can be fitted to the each armrest to store the stick horizontally. Crutches are generally more awkward to carry as they are top heavy.

http://www.mobilitynation.co.uk/

What accessories are available for my scooter?

The most popular selling accessories are the Puncture Prevention Sealant for the tyres, the carry Bag for the back of the seat, the ride-on zip-up Cape in case of an unexpected shower of rain & the elasticated scooter cover. The larger Class 3 scooters also have the option of a fully enclosed canopy. These come with a specially designed metal frame with a PVC canopy covering. These are designed to keep the wind and rain out in the winter and have roll back sides and zip up windows. These canopies are not generally available for the smaller car transportable (Boot) scooters as they may get blown over in a strong gust of wind. Visit us online to find out more.

Q) Can I bring my Scooter on an Airplane with me?

A) Most airlines will allow people to bring mobility scooters on the plane free of charge provided that they have enough advanced notice. Each airline’s policy varies, but most allocate a certain amount of space for scooters. Our scooters come with sealed, maintenance-free, airplane friendly batteries. Another advantage of being able to bring your scooter abroad is avoiding hire charges. Some hire companies abroad can charge as much as £80 a week to hire a scooter. Compare the cost of buying a small scooter to hiring one locally for a fortnight & it doesn’t take long to pay for itself!

Mobility Scooter Batteries

There are two main types of mobility scooter battery:

AGM: This stands for Absorbed Glass Mat. These are the most popular type of battery as they are the most cost effective. These batteries offer a high rate of discharge current for their size. So for the same performance, the package size can be smaller than Gel types.

Gel: Gel batteries are more expensive than AGM, but offer the ability to fully recover from a deep discharge (completely flat) condition. They also last longer than AGM, but that needs to be balanced against the higher initial cost.

Capacity: Battery capacity is measured in Ampere Hours or AH. For example, if a battery has a capacity of 12AH, that means that the battery can supply 12 Amps (a measure of current) for one hour. Nearly all mobility scooter batteries are 12 Volt and nearly all mobility scooters have 24 Volt electrical systems. Therefore most scooters have two batteries (connected in series) providing the 24 Volt supply. The smallest batteries used in mobility scooters start at 10AH ranging all the way up to over 100AH for the largest scooters. As you would expect - the bigger the capacity your battery has, the further that you will be able to travel on your scooter.

Brand New Capacity: When you first receive batteries that are brand new, they will only have be able to provide approximately 80% of their specified capacity. So a 10AH battery will only be able provide 8 Amps for an Hour when it is brand new. Full capacity is reached after 4 or 5 charge and discharge cycles.

Charging: Batteries like to be charged regularly. Every time that you use your scooter, put it on charge overnight. Once the charger has turned green, disconnect the charger from your battery. Don’t leave your charger continually charging your battery once the light has turned green as most chargers pulse charge from that point on. If you leave it continually plugged in you risk cooking your batteries. As a minimum, charge your batteries at least once a fortnight whether you have used your scooter or not. One of the worst things that people do to mobility scooters is to leave it for the whole of the winter period without charging. All batteries will “sulphate” up and they will lose all of their capacity to hold charge.

Testing: If you suspect that you are losing range from your scooter after a few years, it may be that your batteries are on their way out. Most mobility scooter shops have a battery tester that they can check your batteries performance with. This works by “loading” the batteries at three times their stated AH capacity for a short period of time (approx 20 seconds). The voltage at the end of the test is measured and if it is below a certain value (temperature dependant) then they are deemed to have failed.

http://www.mobilitynation.co.uk/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=32&cat=Mobility+Scooter+Batteries

Mobility Scooters - Do I need insurance?

It is not a legal requirement to have insurance for a mobility scooter, but from a common sense point of view it is highly advisable, especially for the more powerful Class 3 scooters that we supply. The most important thing about insurance is to have third party liability cover, you see nowadays, if you were to catch someone’s ankle as you were driving, the first instinct that a lot of people have is to call a “Blame Claim” lawyer.

It is you as the rider of the scooter that is personally liable for any damages. If you research this subject on the internet, you will find lots of horror stories about people losing their homes over this. Therefore, at Mobility Nation we feel that insurance is so important that we give three months free with every mobility scooter we sell.

If you have any questions regarding this topic, please give us a call on 02476 713 913. We will be more than happy to help.

Insurance for Mobility Scooters:

Why get insurance? 

Insurance is not a legal requirement for mobility scooters in the
UK, but nowadays it has never been more important to cover yourself when riding
your mobility scooter by obtaining an insurance policy. If you were to have an
accident on your scooter whereby you injured a member of the public, the first thing
that most people tend to do is contact a “Blame Claim” lawyer to process a claim for
compensation on their behalf. A whole industry has sprung up based around these
claims which you may have seen with the myriad of TV and radio advertisements.
Scooter Insurance Companies: There are a wide range of insurance policies
available to protect against these claims on the market today. Two of the main
providers of mobility scooter insurance in the UK are Fish Insurance and Premiercare
(run by Mark Bates Insurance Ltd).

Risks Covered: Policies are available covering a wide range of risks such as
Accidental Damage, Theft, Recovery, Key loss, Personal Effects and Injury, but the
most important risk to cover is public liability. Policies start at around £79 for basic
cover and vary upwards according to the risks that you wish to cover.

Exclusions: Be aware of common exclusion clauses that some of these policies have.
Payouts in the event of theft may not be covered if the scooter is not physically
secured to street furniture (lamp posts, railings etc…). Breakdown recovery may not
be available in the event of punctures or flat batteries. Your partner or friend may not
be covered if they have an accident whilst riding your scooter. If in doubt, you would
do well to check your policy, or to clarify it directly with your insurance company.
Not all countries are covered by scooter insurance policies so if you are planning to
take your scooter abroad with you, check the small print first.

Recovery Methods: Breakdown cover can be provided in two main ways 1) One of
the National Automotive Breakdown schemes may come and recover you in the event
of a breakdown (such as the AA or the RAC) or 2) You may be recovered by taxi and
have to reclaim the fare from your insurance company. If in doubt, ask.

Discount schemes: One of the ways of reducing the cost of these policies is to ask the
insurance company if they offer a “Free” period of insurance. For example, if you buy
a scooter from a dealer, a lot of dealers offer a free period of insurance (such as 1
moth or 3 months free) so that you are covered from the minute you buy the scooter.
Others may offer such deals as “Buy 12 months, get cover for 15”.

Public Liability: Whatever policy you decide to go for, always ensure that it covers
you for Public liability. Remember that you are personally liable for any accidents or
injury that occurs whilst riding your scooter. This is even more important when riding
the larger Class 3 scooters as they have more mass and speed and can potentially
cause more injury.

If you have any more questions regarding insurance for mobility scooters, please feel free to contact us on 02476 713 913 or visit us at http://www.mobilitynation.co.uk/shopcustcontact.asp