«Previous    Next»
All Terrain Rover Powered By Electric Wheelchair
Anyone who's confined to a wheelchair will be interested in this new Mobili-T-Rover, which is driven by the wheels of any heavy-duty, electric-operated wheelchair. No auxiliary power is required. The machine works with both front and rear wheel drive powered wheelchairs.
  "It lets you go over rough terrain where a conventional powered wheelchair can't go, including farmyards, fields, trails, beaches, golf courses and more. It'll even go through mud and snow," says Gary Morgan, president and CEO of Dixie Chopper, Coatesville, Ind.
  The Mobili-T-Rover was conceived by Travis Watkins, a former engineering student at the University of South Florida (USF). He came up with the idea because he wanted to help his dad take his motorized wheelchair on the beach. Rehab Ideas, a company formed in part by the USF's center for rehabilitation and technology, developed the machine and now Dixie Chopper is in the process of refining, testing, and manufacturing it.
  The machine is equipped with a fold-up ramp on back and a rollbar and two sets of large rubber rollers in the middle. The operator drives the wheelchair up the ramp until the wheels are between the rollers. The friction of the wheelchair's wheels turns the rollers, which transfer power to the Mobili-T-Rover's drive wheels.
  "What's great about the idea is that you can stay in your wheelchair without having to transfer into anything else," says Morgan. "You do need an assistant to let the ramp down and to strap the wheelchair down. Once the assistant folds the ramp back up and releases a brake, you're ready to go. The operator uses the wheelchair's controls to steer and speed up or slow down.  
  "The Mobili-T-Rover is still in the development stage so we haven't perfected everything on it yet. One problem is that the machine weighs about 500 lbs., so you're pushing a lot of weight. That's hard on the wheelchair's batteries and can cause them to run down quickly."
  The Mobili-T-Rover will have a suggested retail price of $8,995.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dixie Chopper, 6302 East Co. Rt. 100 N., Coatesville, Ind. 46121 (ph 765 721-0441; gary.morgan@dixiechopper.com; www.rehabideas.com; www.dixiechopper.com).


  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2011 - Volume #35, Issue #3