Art -

Most of the tractor style mowers have a detachable "mower deck" that has the blades underneath. If you remove the mower parts, they can be used like a small tractor just to ride around on. The problems are mainly size (a bit bulkier than most scooters, and a lot heavier), noise (not really equipped for using amongst fellow shoppers), and since they're mostly gasoline powered you've got all the hazards of fueling, and some smog from the exhaust. In the event you have to take one in for repair, most of the mowers are a "barely fit" into a small pickup truck, and certainly can't be tossed into the trunk of a passenger car or in the back of a station wagon.

I actually did some looking for a "beater" lawnmower I could convert to something Lin could use to get around the campground at WVA, and generally found that anything that would run was about as expensive as just buying a new one - close to $2,000 locally now is about minimum. The "mower parts" that you'd take off show at about $400 for replacements, but local dealers probably would have to special order to get one shipped in without the mower - if they can.

That's close to what you'd likely pay to replace yours with a new "real" handicap transport.

I almost by accident came upon a no-name Chinese scooter at Tractor Supply recently for "only" $700 that I got for Lin; but we haven't used it enough to know if it will stand up to actually going places. (And TSC seems to have stopped carrying them, there are no "authorized service shops," no other known dealers, and the factory is in China and doesn't even have a web site.) TSC does have an "interesting" selection of go-cart and ATV type vehicles that might be of interest, but they're generally in the $2000+ range, and the stuff at the low end of the price range is all so low to the ground I'd have to carry an engine hoist (at least) to get Lin OUT of one of them.

Most of the transport scooters I've seen use 2 12V batteries. They're connected in series to run (they call it a 30V system). They have to be disconnected and re-connected in parallel for charging from a 12 volt charger in the simpler ones.

The "internal circuits" are supposed to take care of the reconnections automatically when you switch between running and charging modes, but a bad switch or two could mess things up. Most of them have some sort of "controller" that does something or other when the scooter is running, but they're "modular" so replacing the box is usually about all that can be done, if you find that a controller has gone bad.

The batteries do wear out eventually, and probably are the most likely cause of "unreliable" operation. You probably should follow the common instructions and replace them both at the same time, since a significant difference between the two will make charging unreliable. You do need the gel type batteries because of the spill hazard with regular auto types, but suitable ones should be easy enough to find unless they're something really odd. If the auto parts houses don't have them, try a motorcycle dealer, since most cycles use them - or are supposed to.

My basic answer is that I've looked at a "mower without a blade" for a situation similar to yours, and found it "less than practical" based on what's generally available in my local market, and on some real study of what you can - and can't - expect to actually do with one. They might be more suitable in your situation, but a go-cart/ATV style (kid car type) vehicle might be a lot easier to find. (I can't really offer anything on how reliable the kid cars may be in daily use.)

Another possible factor might be that a complete overhaul of the one you've got, or replacement with a like kind, might be at least partially covered by insurance/Medicare etc, while any "alternative" style likely won't be.

John