my report of how the iBOT did on the beach at the Oregon
Coast.
First off, I wasn't the only one rolling on the beach. :D
Nor was I the only one sticking my nose in the sand.
While I would have preferred to make these tracks,
at least I got to make tracks.
Getting on the beach was a breeze. The iBOT plowed right
through the sand.
Getting OFF the beach wasn't so easy. There was a slight incline
to get off the beach, and THE BOT couldn't manange it.
I tried and tried to get through the sand on my own.
Finally at about 5 feet from the gravel, I became
completely stuck. I couldn't go forward or backward.
A lady came by and asked if I needed help. She gave me
a tiny push, and it went through the rest of the sand
easily.
What I learned is that I should find an access place that
is as level as I can find.
Overall, it was a great day. I do have one complaint though.
4-Wheel Drive sucks the batteries. I was in 4-Wheel the entire
time I was on the beach, which was only a couple of hours, and
it totally sucked the batteries. We actually were not ready to
leave, but we had to because I was running out of power.
4 comments:
Looks like you caught the last of the good weather at the beach. We haven't been out there for 2 years but used to love it.
That's a great picture of Gus with the sand on his schnozz!
Oh, I am so happy you used that window of good weather to explore the beach. I am so impressed that the iBOT churned down that slope in deep sand. Wow! And kudos to the woman for being brave enough to offer a helping push. (It is hard sometimes to know if you are doing the right thing by offering help. ) I am glad it was so easy to become un-stuck. So do you bring your manual chair on these adventures in case the iBOT runs out of juice? How much of a warning do you get before the iBOT just stops moving?
Thanks fellow Oregonians! I hope you both enjoyed your (probably) last weekend of good weather too.
H, I think generally people don't mind if you offer to help. I know that many of us wheelers do mind if you don't ask if we need help and just do it, or if you ask and we say no thanks, but you do it anyway. It doesn't happen very often, but I have had complete strangers come up behind me and start pushing me when I'm in my manual. That's not appreciated! Now if they ask if I'd like a push, that is appreciated.
Back when I had a car - instead of my van - and I had to take the wheels off my chair to load it in the car, people used to always stop and ask if they could help. I always told them thank you, but no, it's actually easier for me to just do it myself than to explain to them what needs to be done. Sometimes they insisted on helping anyway. Hello? Did you hear a word of what I just said?
I can't speak for all wheelers, but from what I've heard and from what I know from my own personal experience, asking is definitely okay and appreciated.
No, I didn't bring my manual. That would have been the smart thing to do! It made me realize that I should carry a old manual with me in the back of my van at all times.
I'm not sure how much time is left when the batteries are nearing the end. A lot depends on what function I am in. I do know though that when it gets down to 2 bars, they recommend doing nothing more than getting home and charging it. I have gotten all the way down to 1 bar, just cuz I like living on the edge... or something. :D
There is an alarm that goes off when it gets down to 2 bars. You have to push a button to turn it off. That's happened to me four times already. Once at Pizzacato, once at Target, at the beach on Friday, and then at the party on Saturday night. The party one came in quite handy actually! Not that I didn't enjoy the party.
When it happened at Pizzacato, the alarm went off when I was placing the order. I turned the alarm off, talked to a couple of people about the iBOT while my take-out order was being prepared, stopped at Starbucks to get G something to drink, and then went straight home. When I got home, there was only one bar.
When it happened at Target, I was on my way out anyway and I was going straight home so it was fine. There were still two bars when I got home.
And when it happened at the beach, we had to leave before we wanted to. Oh, I just had a good idea! They should make a charger that can be plugged into the cigarette lighter! Better yet, just get a better battery. I really think that it should last longer than it currently does.
Hey Shannon, looks like you had a great outing at the beach. The photo of your dog with sand on his nose is absolutely classic. Really, the composition is brilliant. Looks like you've got quite a buddy there, dogs are good souls...
I'm impressed that the iBot was able to handle the beach so well. Not sure that the Wheelchair Kamikaze machine could do the same. Matter of fact, I'm sure it couldn't...
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