swalker
Very helpful member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2014
- Messages
- 1,580
- Reason
- DX MND
- Diagnosis
- 07/2014
- Country
- US
- State
- CO
- City
- Vail
I have not posted much lately. The reason is that in August I was under the weather (lung infection, but not pneumonia). We were travelling for almost all of September and October. I have been resting trying to recover from all the travel and am finally starting to feel a bit better.
When I was diagnosed I started researching wheelchairs. This led me to an Australian company called Magic Mobility and their X8 Extreme wheelchair, which is imported in the US by Innovation in Motion. It is a 4 wheel drive wheelchair with large ATV tires. It is relatively slow, but has good torque and has the ability to traverse rugged terrain. I realized that such a chair would be impractical as a primary chair and would not be covered by insurance. We got a Permobil C500 VS as my primary chair and I have been regularly searching for an X8 Extreme since.
Just before we started our intense travelling in September and October, I found a listing for an X8 Extreme on craigslist for an attractive price. It was more of a carcass than a wheelchair, but we decided to buy it as a project for my friend and me to work on (he is a mechanical engineer with a great aptitude for figuring out mechanical things).
When I got the chair home, I started doing intensive research and discovered that according to its serial number it was not an X8 Extreme. Instead, it was the previous model, which was the X4. The X4 is slower, prone to motor overheating and brake failure, and has a more limited range. I believe I can deal with all those issues, and was very excited that I wound up with this chair.
There are many things wrong with the chair.
I have now had the chair for over 2 months. During that time, we have repaired all 4 tires (each had about 100 thorns in them). We replaced 1 tube and were able to patch the others. Picking out the thorns was beyond tedious and took several days of sustained effort.
Once that was done, we transferred the batteries from my backup chair (which, fortunately, fit in the X4). I was able to power the chair up and demonstrate that it basically functioned during a several hundred yard ride. It amazed me with the terrain it could go over. My Permobil C500 would have just stalled out.
I purchased replacement legrest canes (fortunately they are still available). I have also repaired the fiberglass shroud. I purchased a new set of MK batteries for it.
Yesterday, we tore apart the left rear brake and discovered the disk and brake pad are missing (it uses electromagnetic disk brakes). That most likely means the brake coil failed and the previous owner removed the disk and pad to permanently disable the brake.
Today, I ordered a new brake (they don't sell the disk and pad separately).
After a lot of investigation, I believe (hope?) that the electrical problems are due to the addition of after-market switches. I plan to remove those switches and reprogram the controller to resolve the major electrical problems. Today I also ordered a programmer for the X4's controller.
Hopefully, those items will arrive shortly after thanksgiving so that we can finish repairing the chair and start putting it back together.
The chair is easy to work on. I am so excited to have it and am quite impressed with its abilities demonstrated by my short test ride. It has already started snowing here (we have had over 20 inches in the last 2 weeks
. I can hardly wait to get this thing out on the snow.
I have signed up for the adaptive ski program again and am looking forward to using the X4 to get me to the slopes
Steve
When I was diagnosed I started researching wheelchairs. This led me to an Australian company called Magic Mobility and their X8 Extreme wheelchair, which is imported in the US by Innovation in Motion. It is a 4 wheel drive wheelchair with large ATV tires. It is relatively slow, but has good torque and has the ability to traverse rugged terrain. I realized that such a chair would be impractical as a primary chair and would not be covered by insurance. We got a Permobil C500 VS as my primary chair and I have been regularly searching for an X8 Extreme since.
Just before we started our intense travelling in September and October, I found a listing for an X8 Extreme on craigslist for an attractive price. It was more of a carcass than a wheelchair, but we decided to buy it as a project for my friend and me to work on (he is a mechanical engineer with a great aptitude for figuring out mechanical things).
When I got the chair home, I started doing intensive research and discovered that according to its serial number it was not an X8 Extreme. Instead, it was the previous model, which was the X4. The X4 is slower, prone to motor overheating and brake failure, and has a more limited range. I believe I can deal with all those issues, and was very excited that I wound up with this chair.
There are many things wrong with the chair.
- All 4 tires were flat (they are pneumatic)
- The leg canes were hopelessly bent
- The headlights stay on even when the chair is powered off.
- The seat elevate function works even when the chair is powered off.
- The fiberglass shroud was cracked
- There were no batteries.
- The wiring is a spaghetti mess
- The left rear brake does not work
I have now had the chair for over 2 months. During that time, we have repaired all 4 tires (each had about 100 thorns in them). We replaced 1 tube and were able to patch the others. Picking out the thorns was beyond tedious and took several days of sustained effort.
Once that was done, we transferred the batteries from my backup chair (which, fortunately, fit in the X4). I was able to power the chair up and demonstrate that it basically functioned during a several hundred yard ride. It amazed me with the terrain it could go over. My Permobil C500 would have just stalled out.
I purchased replacement legrest canes (fortunately they are still available). I have also repaired the fiberglass shroud. I purchased a new set of MK batteries for it.
Yesterday, we tore apart the left rear brake and discovered the disk and brake pad are missing (it uses electromagnetic disk brakes). That most likely means the brake coil failed and the previous owner removed the disk and pad to permanently disable the brake.
Today, I ordered a new brake (they don't sell the disk and pad separately).
After a lot of investigation, I believe (hope?) that the electrical problems are due to the addition of after-market switches. I plan to remove those switches and reprogram the controller to resolve the major electrical problems. Today I also ordered a programmer for the X4's controller.
Hopefully, those items will arrive shortly after thanksgiving so that we can finish repairing the chair and start putting it back together.
The chair is easy to work on. I am so excited to have it and am quite impressed with its abilities demonstrated by my short test ride. It has already started snowing here (we have had over 20 inches in the last 2 weeks
. I can hardly wait to get this thing out on the snow.I have signed up for the adaptive ski program again and am looking forward to using the X4 to get me to the slopes
Steve
