Drive Medical Drive Medical Scout Compact Travel Power Scooter, 4 Wheel

Very nice buggy but the battery is very heavy. I thought I would be able to lift it but found it very difficult. So it's not been used much as I only have a care and put it in the trunk disassembled.

I weigh close to 300 lbs, which is the max capacity of this scooter. It hauls me around with minimal effort. It can climb a low incline, but with some difficulty, so don't go down a hill with it if you don't think it will make it back up. Inclines use a lot of battery power. The scooter does come apart and will fit in the trunk of a sedan or in the rear of an SUV. Of note: Some components of this item would be too heavy for a small or infirm person to lift out of the trunk. And I do find that attaching the rear wheels/motor to the front chassis can be tricky, as it has the capacity to become stuck in the wrong position and is nearly impossible to extricate without damage if that happens (believe me, I know), so be wary from the get-go. Apart from these caveats, the scooter is a miracle for anyone with a disability who who has a long walk to a mailbox or who wants to do their own shopping. I can put a number of small grocery items in the basket and some square, boxed items on the floor of the scooter and rest my feet on the front fenders. I have ridden it for most of a day and have yet to deplete the battery charge. For under $1000, this item is a good deal, even if it should last only a couple of years - but I think it will last longer. It gave me my life back - what's that worth to you?

We got the item in five days from Amazon Prime and it was delivered at the day they said (2:30 PM Friday). So far so good, Amazon did their part. Unpacking a heavy box was easy with little mess Styrofoam pieces with magnetic properties. The unit looks great was packed well went together without a problem. Connected the charging cord to the battery on the machine: got a red charging indication on the charger. All steps are as the company says. Got a green light on the charger indicating a full charge only five hours into the 8-12 hours told about in the owners manual. Turned on the key and no charge was indicated on the control panel. I then connected the battery to another outlet detached from the scooter, and allowed it to charge over night. The total charge time was by now 17 hours, 12 of those with a green light on the charger. I put the battery back in the scooter and still no electrical indication of any kind on the control panel i.e. horn or battery indicator. I took the battery off the machine and tested it with a electrical multitester, the battery is completely dead. I called technical support "Technical Support/Peace of Mind (866) 621 4933 8:30 am - 5:00 pm (EST). I waited on hold for thirty minutes as the recorded message said someone would be right with me. Finally in desperation I called Customer Service (866) 694-5085 8:30 am - 8:00 pm and got "no messages may be taken for this mail box.. Good by. and a hang up. As I say the machine looks well made, assembled easily, there web site needs updating as it should show they don't work weekends. My opinion because that is what this forum is about is: The product looks well made, the customer support is poor. We got this machine for my wife, and an upcoming trip to Disneyland and other SoCal POIs. I hope the company will ship anew charged battery on Monday as the timing is critical for the trip. If we are successful by getting to use the scooter In Disneyland I will posta "how long the batteries last" comment to this post.Update 11/20/15 After talking to tech support and customer care (both of which were very polite and helpful and concerned) I received a new battery in three days (shipped from NY to NV) excellent customer support. I am changing my "stars from 3 to 5. As I feel if the machine quit working in Disneyland they would probably get me "road service". Their website just needs to be updated to say they only work weekdays.If you are looking to purchase this unit, Here are some comments I could not find in the description. There is a "receiver" under the seat facing to the rear 4" long with a screw knob tightener that will accept a 1"x1" accessory post i.e. basket, or trailer. I gambled and got a basket a basket that fits.

I ordered the extended range version however the seller contacted me and said they were having trouble with getting the extended range batteries in stock and would ship the scooter to me with the standard range batteries included and they would ship the extended range batteries separately as soon as they were back in stock, this resulting in my having 2 sets of batteries for the scooter. The only thing I didn't like about this was that I was left having to take the normal range batteries out of the plastic housing on the scooter (the entire housing is removable from the scooter itself as a unit) and open it up myself to manually swap out the standard range batteries with the extended range batteries myself (good thing I'm very mechanically inclined having been a mechanic in the U.S. Army for a number of years as well as being a civilian mechanic for many more years). Additionally I was going to buy a rear basket for the scooter (which according to the last page of the scooter manual (for the Scout 4 LT) says the part number for the basket was something like SC8020 and the picture seemed to depict it as the type that slides into a 1 inch receiver (kind of like the hitch receiver on a car or truck), however on further inspection of the scooter I discovered that the LT 4 version doesn't even have the 1 inch receiver to be able to use said basket in the first place. So after a bunch of digging around online I found the exploded view parts diagrams for both the Scout 4 and the Scout 4 LT where I found the part number for the seat base for the regular Scout 4 which DOES have the 1 inch receiver on it so I ordered it figuring that I could probably just swap it out with the stock one and thus end up with the 1 inch receiver to be able to use a rear basket with. However once I got the Scout 4 seat base I discovered that the peg on the bottom of the Scout 4 seat base is a solid steel peg, while the one on the LT 4 is a piece of tube steel that is welded in place and is also larger in diameter than the solid steel one on the Scout 4. Fortunately I noticed that the LT 4 has a plastic bushing installed on the seat pedestal that is removable by removing 2 screws. So I sat down at my computer and opened up a 3D Modeling program and pieced together a completely new bushing to accommodate the smaller peg of the Scout 4 seat base. I'm still waiting on delivery of the new bushing from the 3D printing company but I'm optimistic that it'll work and I'll be able to use the basket I bought after all. The only other problem I've had is that when I first get moving with it there's an annoying rubbing sound that gradually does go away after a bit.