More on traveling with the iBOT, + no gel in tires!

I spoke with IT about traveling with the iBOT. She said
they recommend removing the UCP and replacing it myself.
She said I should keep the UCP with me so that no one has
the opportunity to try to hook it up themselves. If it gets
plugged back in the wrong way, it's toast. She said to
remove the footrest. She said it's a good idea to bubble
wrap the armrests and seat to protect the vinyl. (She said
"leather" but I'm going to let my vegetarian self believe
that she meant to say vinyl. If anyone knows that it's
leather, don't tell me. I don't want to know.) She
said to bring along a spare set of tires and tubes. She
said it is okay to put the iBOT on it's side so that they
can get it in the airplane. She said that some airlines
tie it down, some don't. She said even if they do tie it
down, something could slam into it.

As for damage that they've seen, the biggest problem was
when someone goofed by plugging in the UCP the wrong way.
She said there has been some damage to the lights. The
power base was scratched in one case. Some flat tires.
Mostly easy stuff to fix. She said some people fly weekly
with it and haven't had any problems, and others have had
their entire vacation ruined because the BOT was unusable
due to getting damaged.

While it would be really nice to have the iBOT when I go to
Disney, I certainly don't need it there. If I took the iBOT,
I'd also have to take the charger, spare tires and tubes, and
my manual chair. What a pain in the ass. Also, the cost of a
wheelchair taxi is more expensive than renting a car. I can't
get my iBOT in a rental car, but I can get my manual in one.

So, I'm not taking the iBOT when I go. Although it's doable,
it's not worth it.

I'm bummed.

Now regarding putting gel in the tires. I posted the other
day about getting a flat. An anonymous person left me a
message asking why my tires were not filled with gel. They
also said something like, "Don't be so stupid next time idiot".
I talked to IT about this today. They said "DO NOT PUT GEL
IN THE TIRES!" If I were to do that, it would mess with the
balance and stair climbing functions. So there, person
who called me an idiot! Who's the idiot? Hmmmmm?