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"Stand Up Wheelchair" Great For Active Farm Life
When his legs were paralyzed after a car accident two years ago, Chad Hermanson did not intend to stay cooped up in the house. He loves to hunt, fish and help out on his uncle’s farm. Thanks to his stand up wheelchair called the Action Trackstander, he continues to do all those things.
  “My friends saw it at a hunting show and brought me a brochure,” Hermanson says. “I got on the website, and it looked like it would take me wherever I wanted to go.”
  With heavy-duty tracks, the U.S.-made Trackstander is built rugged for the outdoors. Knee supports, seatbelts and shoulder harnesses allow users to sit or stand in it and keeps them safely strapped in when they travel at up to 3 to 5 mph.
  “The beauty of it is that I can operate it with one hand on the joystick and carry buckets and feedbags. Opening gates is a big thing, too,” Hermanson explains.
  The 26-year-old lives with his uncle and helps him feed calves and steers and do other chores around the farm.
  “The stander is great for doing mechanic work, because you have a greater reach. And it’s handy for filling gas tanks,” Hermanson says.
  He’s owned his Trackstander since Sept. 2011 when friends held a fundraiser, and people donated money to purchase the $15,000 unit. (Insurance doesn’t cover the unit, though low interest loans are available.)
  Considering wheeled power chairs cost $10,000 to $30,000, the price is reasonable, especially since it’s a quality built U.S. product, Hermanson says. It has an onboard battery charger that provides 4 to 6 hrs. of continuous use with the 24-volt DC, 24:1 ratio high torque motor. With sealed bearings, the only maintenance he’s had to do is tighten the tracks one time.
  Tim Swenson of Marshall, Minn., designed and started manufacturing the Action Trackchair in 2009, after his 16-year-old son was paralyzed in a car accident. To give his son even more mobility, his company introduced the Trackstander in 2012 (ph 507 532-9649; www.actiontrackchair.com).
  The chair and stander work well for a variety of people who have muscular and other degenerative conditions, as well as older people and even children.
  “Our main goal in life is to help get people outdoors,” Swenson says. Customers have included everyone from a 5-year-old girl with a disability to an 80-year-old man.
  With four different size seats, the Trackstander (and chair) fit most anyone, and Action Manufacturing offers a variety of accessories including lights, gun racks and fishing rod holders.
  Hermanson has a toolbox that fits in the unit and a ramp so that he can load the Trackstander in the back of his pickup by himself. He bowhunts for deer, ice fishes, and has hunted turkeys and wild boar with it. He also takes it to trade shows since he became a dealer for the southwest Wisconsin area, and has discovered how the Trackstander helps people with a variety of conditions.
  “I can’t imagine what my life would be like without it,” Hermanson says.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Chad Hermanson, 9004 West Wheeler Rd., Evansville, Wis. 53536 (ph 608 921-0960; chad@tssatcsales.com).


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2013 - Volume #37, Issue #1