So, should you choose a powered wheelchair or a mobility scooter? Put simply, if you have limited upper body strength or extensive accessibility needs, a powered wheelchair is usually the best option for you. If you can get around quite well, but struggle walking long distances, a mobility scooter is probably right for you.

Now that you’ve determined that an electric mobility scooter is best for you, how do you choose what type of scooter is right for you and your needs? With so many mobility scooters on the market, it can be difficult to weight the pros and cons of each type. Do you want one for more indoor use? Are you able to get around indoors well and need a scooter for outdoor use? Do you need a mobility scooter that is easy to transport and travel with? Start answering these questions when first determining what type of mobility scooter is right for you.

Mobility scooters typically come in three- and four-wheel varieties. Though they both drive like cars and provide the user increased mobility, they differ in a couple of big ways:

• Three-wheel scooters are more agile and have tighter turning. When looking for a mobility scooter that will primarily used indoors, three-wheel models are best. Due to the tight space constraints that indoor driving has, three-wheel scooters offer much smaller turning radiuses.
• Four-wheel scooters offer more stability and power. While four-wheel mobility scooters can do well indoors, such as in large spaces like malls and grocery stores, they excel outside. They have larger turning radiuses and tend to be able to power over more obstacles than a three-wheel scooter. Plus, four-wheel scooters generally offer higher weight capacities than three-wheel, for both the rider and what they bring with them.

While choosing your mobility scooter, you also need to consider whether you need a more portable scooter, a standard scooter, or a heavy-duty scooter.

• For those who want easy transportation in the trunk of a car or cargo area of a vehicle, there is the portable mobility scooter class. As their name implies, these scooters offer easy and convenient breakdown for traveling short trips or long. Because these scooters are often lightweight to increase their portability, these types of mobility scooters also typically have the lowest weight capacity.
• Moving up from the portable mobility scooters, there are the category known as standard scooters. These are generally the scooters you see in on a normal basis. With a larger seat and more storage space, standard scooters give their users more options for daily living. These scooters come with larger battery capacities than portable mobility scooters, allowing users to travel further or longer on a single charge. The main drawback to standard scooters is that they are more difficult to transport because of their increased weight and size.
• At the top of the mobility scooter categories are the heavy-duty scooters. As you can guess, these scooters have larger weight capacities (typically up to 500 pounds or more) but are much larger than their portable and standard scooter counterparts. Heavy-duty scooters come with even larger batteries providing even further travel distances or longer travel times on one charge. For users who are looking for a highly durable and tough mobility scooter, heavy-duty scooters are the way to go. They even offer higher ground clearance than smaller scooters, making outdoor travel easier and more enjoyable.

Each type of scooter offers its own benefits while also bringing drawbacks. Consider whether you need a more portable and lightweight option for convenient travel, a heavy-duty option for more weight capacity and offroad ability, or a standard option for everyday usage that combines the best of portable and heavy-duty scooters. No matter your needs, Sun Medical Equipment can help you find the mobility scooter that is right for you. Call us now at 248-280-2020 or visit our website at https://www.sunmedicalstore.com/ to view the brands and options we have available.