[bubbleandsqueak]

It is now 8:25 p.m. here and this is the first time that I was able to get out of bed to day, this morning one of the bolts that holds the back of my chair on snapped in two!! It snapped the f*@k off!!!! Clean off this is not the first time that this has happened. And thank god it was a weekend so my mother and step father where not at work. It took all day to fix/find the right bolt at the store. (One out of five stores had the right one) and I just have to say that the company I got the chair from will not even help in the littlies way. This chair has given me nothing but trouble from day one. And it’s my first chair!!! Will all chairs be like this?

Oh my chair is a quickie GT

[kanga2433]

interesting. The same thing happened with my Quickie GPV. I don't thnk the bolts are as well tested as they should be. It was all fixed up by the wheelcahir service and nothing has happened since so perhaps there was a bad batch of bolts. Fingers crossed anyway.

[KimAndSophie]

I've been using a Quickie GT for well over a year now and have had no problems at all. And I've been really rough with it believe me! I've had one stripped screw, but that's only because the guy who put it together didn't knwo his own strength!

[bubbleandsqueak]

Thanks for the input. i just don't know what to do. Not knowing if my chair is going to make it throw the day or not it's vary frustrating.

I don't know if this is true or not but some one said something to me about being able to Wright a chair off on taxes. I’m not sure if or how you would do this but if some one here knows please share.

[kanga2433]

I think you are probably being a bit unkind to your chair. Yes, we both had a broken bolt, but it is hardly grounds to chuck the chair! Since my chair was fixed up I have not had any other problems and I suspect you won't either. We would hardly thow a car away if it got a punc ture!

I would advise you, though, to get it checked by your dealer and have the correct bolt put in and everything should be fine

[In The Wind]

I don’t know if this is normal or not but I have 3 chairs, an old clunker with a 2 X 12 for a footrest, a quickie hp2, and a Tilite that the back folds down on.

I’ve broken the SS bolts that hold the Tilite together,

The quickie has the extender package on it and it stays in my truck and I mostly only use it when I go out because my hands stay clean, I don’t trust it for much else, it was so poorly fitted that it flips up on the wheelie bars in the slightest breeze,

The clunker…well now that one gets flipped, turned over, run over with a lawn mower (I’m serious), I even drove it off the edge of the deck….Needs constant attention, had to replace the cross members this spring…

It’s just part of the experience. Any chair you get will need maintenance. But let me say this, It is worth the cost, outrageous as they are, to get the best custom made chair you can and stay away from the mass produced stuff, even the Tilites.

This post has been edited by In The Wind: 25 April 2006 - 01:01 PM

[Lucydog]

Ive never had any trouble with my RGK, but I do have it fully serviced every 6 months or so just like I would with the car. As its my main way of getting about I feel its a good investment at £40 plus any extras. I am looking at getting a Quickie sports model as a 'spare' but am not sure as Ive only heard bad things about Quickie in general. But anyway I suppose you get what you pay for. Have you thought about investing in a 2nd hand kuschall or Rgk etc? In my opinion even 2nd hand youre still getting a good chair.

Cheers
L

[kanga2433]

I think any of the usual makes ae pretty good, well the rigid ones anyway. The folding chairs, with the 'X' frame, are rather dodgy in my experience. I got a Quickie 2 in 1986, (before Sunrise took them over) and whilst it was fine, it suffered innumerable breakages, covered by the lifetime warranty, but it was hugely better that the steel chair around at the time (the usual ones weighed in at 50lb!!!!)

having had my first rigid ever last year I am sold on them even though they are rather bulky. I have an RGK trial shortly and may well have to dig in and see if I can put up the cash if they are as good as everyone else says.

[Valo]

Lucydog, on Apr 25 2006, 03:29 PM, said:

Ive never had any trouble with my RGK, but I do have it fully serviced every 6 months or so just like I would with the car. As its my main way of getting about I feel its a good investment at £40 plus any extras. I am looking at getting a Quickie sports model as a 'spare' but am not sure as Ive only heard bad things about Quickie in general. But anyway I suppose you get what you pay for. Have you thought about investing in a 2nd hand kuschall or Rgk etc? In my opinion even 2nd hand youre still getting a good chair.

Cheers
L

Out of interest Lucydog, is that done directly by RGK or a third party? I've had my RGK for almost a year and wouldn't mind getting it looked over . I was told the basics when I took delivery of it and have attempted to do them as best as I can but as it's my main chair a professional service would be a great idea.

[Lucydog]

Its £40 for the basic service. You have to get your chair to them for a monday morning of the week its booked in, so best to get it there the previous friday. They keep it for about a week, so you need to allow about 10 days ish! You have to pay extra for any parts. For instance my seat is starting to look a bit tatty and although they want me to get it replaced I know it has plenty of life in it yet, just isnt pristine!!!! They basically take it apart, clean it, grease it and put it back together again. If you contact Hayley she will be able to give you full details

hayleyL@rgk-wheelchairs.co.uk

they are very helpful.

L

[kanga2433]

Sorry, Lucy but where do you have to take the chair? I don't think you mentioned. how long do they keep it?

[russ1]

£40 to look over a chair, dab some grease on the axle, take the hairs out of the castors and check the bolts are tight - nice work if you can get it - probably running at about £60/hr. Personally I do all my own maintenance, wheelchairs are such simple things that anyone with even a modicum of mechanical common sense should be able to check them over. I'll have a tinker with mine from time to time but as far as maintenance goes it's find the loose bolt when a squeak develops and take the castors out every 3 or 4 months to get all the hairs out.

I order all my parts direct from the states - costs about 2/3rds of the cost of buying from the wheelchair supplier in the UK if you need anything and have a US manufactured chair.

Having said all that I'd never ever ever want to be relying on just one wheelchair - the safety net of a spare is just too important (even if it's a real old clunker) not to have one IMHO.

[bubbleandsqueak]

Thank you all for your opinions.

I’m not going to get rid of this chair my moms heath insurance paid almost $6,000 for it. I don’t know if that’s high or low?? First chair but I thank it’s high.

There are two bolts that hold the back on and they have broke two times each. And the suppler does not want anything to do with my chair and me.

I was thanking of this chair http://www.lasherspo...roducts-bt.html and having my quickie as a “back up”

And also about wheel chairs and taxes here in the states???

[Julian]

Quickies are not built very well IMHO . Despite the fact that my girlfriend posted in April that her GTV was good, it has now, a little under a year later, in March 2007 fallen to pieces. Two weeks ago as I was loading it into the trunk of our car a bolt holding the axle onto the chair fell out!

When she tried to put it back in, the threads were stripped. Now she is hanging on (literally!) for a new chair that I have ordered custom built for her today.... just hope the Quickie holds out for 3 weeks (fingers crossed!)

[Bulky]

I'm on Russ' page: you must have a backup chair. I have a Melrose extreme that I got as a ex-demo whilst in spinal rehab. It is made out of aluminium and whilst it's not a clunker, it has been designed to take an absolute punishing. I run standard castors and standard wheels on it.

I am in the process of purchasing a quickie GT with extender pack on it. I need a push assist chair for work because the carpet is thick and the lefthand side of my body is very weak. I am now really worried with all the negative comments with quickie chairs but there is not one out there that does another decent "push assist wheel."

This post has been edited by Bulky: 27 March 2007 - 11:33 PM

[KimAndSophie]

Julian, on Mar 27 2007, 02:10 PM, said:

Quickies are not built very well IMHO . Despite the fact that my girlfriend posted in April that her GTV was good, it has now, a little under a year later, in March 2007 fallen to pieces. Two weeks ago as I was loading it into the trunk of our car a bolt holding the axle onto the chair fell out!

When she tried to put it back in, the threads were stripped. Now she is hanging on (literally!) for a new chair that I have ordered custom built for her today.... just hope the Quickie holds out for 3 weeks (fingers crossed!)

My chair did great for awhile, but then it decided to totally fall to pieces! Right now all of the scres and bolts are stripped out (except for maybe 2 on the whole chair! The frams was twisted from the beginning, the axle needs to be replaced, all of the screws and bolts holding the axle and wheels on are stripped. (Quickie don't use threads for screws anywhere inside the metal of parts of their chairs! They use a tiny bolt at the end of the screw that has wire twisted around inside it for a thread! I can pull the wire all the way out of the bolt! The part of the axle that is a small tube that fits into the larger tube is cracked and keeps coming out. Even when the screws are tightened if I move over a bump they come loose and fall out onto the ground! Quickie informed me I would have to wait 3 weeks to get a new axle for it! I told them I would have a new wheelchair by then and they tried to convince me to buy another Quickie! I don't think so!



That day Julian mentioned I spent the whole drive home sitting there holding the screw in my hand because we just couldn't figure out where it had came from! When he got my chair out of the car the camber ont he wheel was actually almost upside down and it was very wobbly! That's when we figured out where it came from. (Up until that point the screw was stuck solid because the bolt was stripped out and there was no way to tighten or loosen that screw. I swear I'm never buying another Quickie again! Anything with that many bolts and screws and adjustments is not good!

Bulky, on Mar 27 2007, 06:24 PM, said:

I'm on Russ' page: you must have a backup chair. I have a Melrose extreme that I got as a ex-demo whilst in spinal rehab. It is made out of aluminium and whilst it's not a clunker, it has been designed to take an absolute punishing. I run standard castors and standard wheels on it.

I am in the process of purchasing a quickie GT with extender pack on it. I need a push assist chair for work because the carpet is thick and the lefthand side of my body is very weak. I am now really worried with all the negative comments with quickie chairs but there is not one out there that does another decent "push assist wheel."

I agree that it is best to have a spare chair, but the fact is not a lot of people can afford that. Sure they can keep their old chair, but when you get your first chair there is a good chance you just can't afford an extra "spare".



I seriously think you should try your best to find another option instead of the Quickie GT or in about a year (if your lucky) you will be in desperate need of a new chair!

[Bulky]

Quote

I seriously think you should try your best to find another option instead of the Quickie GT or in about a year (if your lucky) you will be in desperate need of a new chair!

Thanks for that.

I think I might be ok in that the GT will be my "work chair" and is government funded for purchase and repairs. I'm looking to get another Melrose (Titanium Piranah or Extreme) in 12 months or so. This one will be part funded.

This post has been edited by Bulky: 28 March 2007 - 04:57 AM

[margaret]

bubbleandsqueak, on Apr 25 2006, 06:59 PM, said:

Thank you all for your opinions.

I’m not going to get rid of this chair my moms heath insurance paid almost $6,000 for it. I don’t know if that’s high or low?? First chair but I thank it’s high.

There are two bolts that hold the back on and they have broke two times each. And the suppler does not want anything to do with my chair and me.

I was thanking of this chair http://www.lasherspo...roducts-bt.html and having my quickie as a “back up”

And also about wheel chairs and taxes here in the states???

Yes, you can deduct the cost of your wheelchair, but only if you itemize your deductions. It is in the medical part. We utilize this part every year!

[Texaswheelz]

Hmm I've broken those off on the backs of every chair I've had. My first chair was a quickie and those bolts are not very strong and I broke em every 4-6 months. Then the plate that holds the chair to the back got warped out so i took em to a metal shop and had them make me new plates out of metal since the ones on it were aluminum. The metal ones were much stronger but to much stress on the back bar and I had it completely snap on me one day while jumping off a curb. But regardless of brand i haven't found one that makes the area connecting the back to the frame to be very durable(this is rigid chairs with
folding back). I have my first tilite ordered now, hoping for good things as my current chair has duck tape holding the feet rest and strips of pull strapts holding the seat bucket up. I'll have to take a picture of it.

The worse break I had was the Barracuda( I think E&J made it, but not sure) that I got during college. It was supposed to have these little rubber shocks on the back to make for a better ride and it looked cool as hell i thought. It was a good chair, but after about 3 weeks I broke the main bar coming down to the footrest, not just a crack, but a complete break. Luckly the replaced the whole chair but it took them 2 months to. Other then that though it was the best chair I had. The discontinued it though soon after, so others must not have had that good of a time with it.

This post has been edited by Texaswheelz: 02 April 2007 - 06:15 AM

[Big Valley]

I have had two Invocare Top End chairs and have been happy with them. Nothing is maintenance free and things do break. But misc. bolts and nuts should be easy to find at a hardware store and cheap to have spares on hand.



Anybody should be able to take apart a manual chair and reassemble it with basic tools. As mentioned before removing the casters to clean out collected hair or to clean. Wheel bearings are sealed and if need to be replaced are just knock out and new one pushed back in. I find wiping my axles with some paper towels then a quick sanding with a fine grit sand paper made for metal every couple of months does wonders for how easy they are to slide in out when removing wheels. Grease should not be need on these. It will just get wiped off, collect dirt, and get you messy.



No reason to pay someone for this type of work unless you don't have good hand function or someone to help you.