ALL-TERRAIN WHEEL CHAIRS

Hi, anyone who knows me will know i support clients with learning disabilities . I support these clients to access the outdoors taking them on walks mainly on forest paths and on some uneven tracks . The thing is i keep having to leave one client at home doing shopping and walking round town or being pushed in his wheelchair from charity shop to charity shop . Down to the chippy or upto the promanade , this has gotta be boring for him as i know he likes holding plant life in his hand and likes excitment in his life the closet i think he comes to this is swimming . So what i' asking of the forum is can you help me find somewere that sells wheelchairs that can be taken off road long wheel base wide and be able to be steered or towed or pushed all of the above .

I'm filling in my log book for ml /summer at the mo, have been told by mlta that the leading i'm doing is ok for summer leader . So i'm trying to extend the use of the skills i will be learning to use with the cclients i support now and the possability of supporting clients who are wheelchair bound in the future . I know there are people out  there who once stood on top of our mountains and with out support will never do it again and i dont see why they shouldn't get the opportunity to do it again .

just cant find anyone who is doing this sort of thing locally , so i'm supporting the guys i know .....

so its a 4x4 all-terrain off road all singing all dancing wheelchair i'm after can anyone help.

                 cheers RIC

Don't know about the wheelchair, but know there's moves in the Cairngorms to make some of the lower level walks in the national park buggy and wheelchair friendly. 

Last time we were there they were working pretty hard on the path out to the Green Lochan which is a beautiful low level walk.  I don't know where you're based and I don't know if anywhere else has similar schemes in progress but that's one area perhaps that might be suitable depending on transport to get there etc.

I would be quite surprised if the Cairngorms is the only place with this sort of idea. 

RIC

It might be worth getting in touch with this place - The Calvert Trust 

http://www.calvert-trust.org.uk/tabid/1723/Default.aspx

They run 3 centres for outdoor activities for people with disabilities - a (now lost touch with) friend of mine used to run the Lakes one (may still do). Anyway, I've seen them abseil in wheelchairs, as well as a load of other full-on outdoor activity.

So if anyone knows where to get the type of wheelchair you're looking for, I expect they will! 

quick google for off-road wheelchairs brings up a few links.

 for instance...

http://www.apparelyzed.com/support/sport/xtreme_wheelchair_sports.html

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350048700180&mpt=1209469148578&tGUID=9f43dc631160a041b4234723ffff208f

http://www.trekinetic.com/  bit pricey but looks fantastic....

steve

cheers kate and everyone , steve i will checkout those links and as for the tank chair its a manual handling style buggy we're after but hey thanks anyway .

my lads go to the calvert trust and we haven't come across these sorts of buggy but cheers too . right i'll let you know how i go on ok ...

hi i've been and had a loo at the trekinetic site WOW AMAZING , great chair for para's but my guys need more manual handling and although they sit up they only hang on and do not wheel theirselves so its more the buggy style .The type that can be pushed from behind and roped up in front i think they are more like the down hill chairs .