Buying a budget ECV - the good, bad, and the ugly

[arminnie]

A year ago I bought a Drive Scout ECV on Amazon for $600 delivered. At that time I could still walk a mile or two (slowly with rests) with no assistance at all. I bought it to use at WDW where I knew I could not do any park without help.

I've made 4 trips (3 to WDW and 1 to California) this past year. Plus I've used it locally a couple of times at a large museum. I've already gotten my money's worth in savings from rentals - even off property rentals.

Here's what I have discovered as the downsides and pluses after a year of use.

The suspension - there is none. I will feel every bump. It doesn't cause any undue problems for me, but it might with someone who has a fragile back.

Battery - good for 9 miles which is enough for me, but might not be for others. I do not find the battery guage to be very reliable. Sometimes it says it is down to one red dot, but after I turn it off and turn it back on I have about 4 more dots of power.

Wheels. They are relatively small - both in diameter and in width compared to the more heavy duty ones. I would not try to use this on grass.

Size and weight - It kind of looks like a mini compared to some of the rental units I see. It does make it easier to maneuver thru stores and crowds. It weighs 94 pounds so my DH can pick it up even without taking it apart. If I don't have room to park it right on the bus - it is easy to pick up the end and just move it in place.

I have no regrets over buying this as it has already saved me time and money vs. rentals. But I realize I will most likely have to upgrade in the future as my condition is progressively getting worse. But at this time I do not know if I will need a better ECV or a power wheelchair.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I really appreciate your review.

 

[Bete]

I think you have the right attitude about it.

I thought about doing the same, but we just don't have the room with our car and we don't fly. Also, we don't use enough right now except for places like Disney.

As far as feeling the bumps most portable scooters are the same that way.

 

[mamabunny]

A year ago I bought a Drive Scout ECV on Amazon for $600 delivered. At that time I could still walk a mile or two (slowly with rests) with no assistance at all. I bought it to use at WDW where I knew I could not do any park without help.

I've made 4 trips (3 to WDW and 1 to California) this past year. Plus I've used it locally a couple of times at a large museum. I've already gotten my money's worth in savings from rentals - even off property rentals.

Here's what I have discovered as the downsides and pluses after a year of use.

The suspension - there is none. I will feel every bump. It doesn't cause any undue problems for me, but it might with someone who has a fragile back.

Battery - good for 9 miles which is enough for me, but might not be for others. I do not find the battery guage to be very reliable. Sometimes it says it is down to one red dot, but after I turn it off and turn it back on I have about 4 more dots of power.

Wheels. They are relatively small - both in diameter and in width compared to the more heavy duty ones. I would not try to use this on grass.

Size and weight - It kind of looks like a mini compared to some of the rental units I see. It does make it easier to maneuver thru stores and crowds. It weighs 94 pounds so my DH can pick it up even without taking it apart. If I don't have room to park it right on the bus - it is easy to pick up the end and just move it in place.

I have no regrets over buying this as it has already saved me time and money vs. rentals. But I realize I will most likely have to upgrade in the future as my condition is progressively getting worse. But at this time I do not know if I will need a better ECV or a power wheelchair.

The manufacturer of my personal scooter has come out with a suspension seat post that I have seen some positive reviews on. I'm going to get one before our next WDW trip, simply because if it helps even a little...!

9 miles on a battery is great!

Do you need to be able to drive on grass on a regular basis? I can drive on grass, but find that short, dry (not dewy or recently watered) grass is easiest to drive on. Gravel is do-able (as long as it is a fairly small size, like pea gravel) but sand is basically impossible (not surprising) and sand on concrete can actually be *slippery* For the huge majority of the time, I'm on concrete or asphalt, and the occasional boardwalk.

I too will eventually be facing the need to find a replacement device; right now I'm planning on looking first at if my existing scooter can be modified (I know another owner who took her seat to an auto upholstery shop, and had them replace the foam in her seat cushion with memory foam overlaid with gel cushion, and she is ready to go for several more years.) and once I can't modify what I have, I will look first for the lightest-weight scooter with the best seat, and (hopefully) suspension. Personally, I'm hoping to push out the time when I have to use a power chair as far into the future as possible. There have already been many advancements in personal mobility tech that I believe will continue, and I hope to directly benefit from them, but not for a long time.

 

[arminnie]

We have a van so it has not been a problem to transport it. As our van is almost 13 years old it’s time to replace it.

I’m going to have a lift installed in the new one so that I can go to malls etc independently. There’s a $1000 rebate from most car manufacturers for having it installed. So it should be about $2500 out of pocket. I’m willing to forgo some other options on the van to be able to have the lift.

Our home in Arkansas is on a lake with a wonderful walking path. But I have to go through about 1/2 block of rough grass to get to it. What works now is for my dh to position it on the path. I walk out with my walker (not that easy). And he takes my walker away. It’s okay for now.

We also have a home in New Orleans. I’d love to visit my neighbors and nearby restaurants like I used to walk to - but the sidewalks are too rough for this scooter.

But those are just “wants” not needs for now.

 

[FortForever]

I found an old dinosaur of a scooter for sale online and got it for $300. It was not pretty, but I cleaned and painted it and it's built like a tank. I don't think anything could kill it. We live out in the country, in Florida, and it goes right through sand and dirt with no problem at all.

Downside is that it's very heavy. Thankfully, my dad gave me an electric lift that installs into the tow hitch on our van. When we camp, we do have to take it apart and lift it into the back of the van so we can tow our camper.

Since we spent two weeks at Disney in Oct/Nov, it paid for itself with what I would have paid for a rental. Best money I ever spent. Makes life accessible for me.

 

[mamabunny]

Our home in Arkansas...

Howdy neighbor! We live next door, in eastern Oklahoma!

 

[arminnie]

FortForever I remember your posts about your ECV and the pictures of your lift. I wish I could use one like that, but parking in New Orleans is quite difficult. I know most can foldup - but sometimes I like to have it with us - but I do not get out so it stays loaded while my DH goes inside for something. Also theft is quite an issue in New Orleans unfortunately. If I left it on the street not locked up I would be surprised if it was still there when I got back.

Mamabunny - we are in the Little Rock area off of I40. I lived in Tulsa in the 80s.

 

[cobright]

I just read into this post and got a chuckle, I have a scout in my workshop right now. For its pricepoint I actually like the thing.

Battery - good for 9 miles which is enough for me, but might not be for others. I do not find the battery guage to be very reliable. Sometimes it says it is down to one red dot, but after I turn it off and turn it back on I have about 4 more dots of power.

Battery gauges are notoriously bad on cheaper scooters. Really, pretty bad even on good ones. What I can wholeheartedly recommend is you install a digital odometer. They are cheap, like $10 or so on the low end. Then measure the distance you get on a full charge. Every time you charge the batt, reset the odometer and you'll have a good idea how much more distance you can expect to get before the batt dies.

One of the first things I do to any mobility device is change out the battery system for Lithium Ion. The batt system made by EGO Power+ is awesome for this. Same charge capacity. The Battery only weighs 6 lbs (instead of the 16lbs the lead acid batt weighs) and it charges from empty to full in about 50 minutes.

Wheels. They are relatively small - both in diameter and in width compared to the more heavy duty ones. I would not try to use this on grass.

The wheels on this thing are dismal. Like lawn mower tires. Cut away the fenders over the tires and upgrade them to a larger pneumatic.

The manufacturer of my personal scooter has come out with a suspension seat post that I have seen some positive reviews on. I'm going to get one before our next WDW trip, simply because if it helps even a little...!

This does help for comfort. The problem is that having a rigid frame is not just a problem for the driver. Without a real suspension system, or at least pneumatic tires, the poor scooter takes such a beating. Suspension is what usually get's left behind first at this price point and every bump is like a hammer to the frame and wheels (and then to the driver of course).

 

[arminnie]

Cobright - I think the Drive scout is a great scooter for it's price range. Lately I've even been taking into the grocery store, Sam's or Costco instead of using their's. My DH goes with me with a basket. I can go much faster and turn easier than the in store scooters and mine doesn't have back up beeps.

 

[mamabunny]

Cobright - I think the Drive scout is a great scooter for it's price range. Lately I've even been taking into the grocery store, Sam's or Costco instead of using their's. My DH goes with me with a basket. I can go much faster and turn easier than the in store scooters and mine doesn't have back up beeps.

LOL this reminds me of when I first got my personal scooter; I went on my inaugural hometown outing to Target. I started down an aisle, and there was a lady in one of the store beasties - through no fault of her own, it pretty much blocked that aisle, so I carefully started backing up. When I got almost to the main aisle, she said "Hey, that thing you have there doesn't beep when it's in reverse!" and to which I replied "Hey, I don't beep when I walk backwards... do you?" She got a big laugh out of it at least LOL.

If my personal device beeped when backing up, that nonsense wouldn't last for long - I have a pair of wire cutters, and I'm not afraid to use them!

 

[cobright]

If my personal device beeped when backing up, that nonsense wouldn't last for long - I have a pair of wire cutters, and I'm not afraid to use them!

One of my long running screeds has been a complaint about the 'visibility' of disabled using mobility devices. I watched someone walk right into my friend and she's sitting on a 200lb power chair at the time. But the forklift beeping coming from a Walmart Amigo is too much. It turns you from a person who can't walk and we don't pay attention to you to a person who can't walk and we still don't pay attention except to indicate our annoyance.

I did discover something interesting though. An ECV upgrade I like to make (its actually what I'm doing to the Scout I have now) is to put a reversing gearbox between the motor and the drive wheel. This lets the motor spin in one direction with the ECV direction selected on the transmission. It also lets the motor spin faster at lower ECV speeds which is healthier for the motor and gives it a lot more power at low speed.

Anyway, the first time I did this I find that the gearbox makes this adorable sound when it gets put into reverse. There's no clutch like in a car so it relies on a synchronize to halt the gears inside and let them mesh together. As two sets of gears mesh it makes two sort of, "Sh-chick" sounds. About as loud as normal speaking volume but the tone is low and it's not an alarming sound at all. I describe it as a mechanical cough or chuckle. Like the machine is saying, "Ahem, backing up now."

The thing is, it's such a distinct and uncommon sound, and (if I may say) an interesting sound, that it always gets the attention of people. Every time the scooter backed up near people, the people near by looked up, usually even made eye contact with the driver.

It worked so well as an unintended consequence I started adding a chuckle sound to the other two machines I work on even though neither of them use a gearbox this way. I actually added a pre-recorded chuckle that plays out a small speaker whenever these chairs back up.