Special Needs Bike Trailer
Recently, we went to the beach and wanted to take Macayla on a bike ride, but the only way that would be possible is with a special needs bike trailer. They cost thousands of dollars and we could not spend that. Fortunately, Macayla's wheelchair is more like a stroller where the seat comes off of the base and is held on by two rails that it slides onto. I was able to get two additional rails from Palmetto Seating who supplied the chair for us. I picked up a regular bike trailer meant for carrying small kids with a capacity of 100 lbs. I took all of the fabric off of it and with some scrap lumber I had around the house, I made a platform that Macayla's seat could latch onto. I spent $85 on the bike trailer, $10 on a trifold lounge chair (I used the middle section of it for the platform) and another $15 in hardware. Her chair fit right on it and it worked great. It was not as hard to pull as I thought it might be. She enjoyed the ride and we have a piece of equipment that we can keep for just over $100 that would have cost us thousands otherwise. I think I can also 
make a platform for her seating system from her Zippie wheelchair that we keep as back-up. The great thing about the kid carrier trailers is that they have a ready made attachment to convert them into a stroller. So when we got somewhere, the trailer quickly disconnected from the bike and we simply attached a front dolly wheel to the trailer tongue. The trailer was made by In-Step which is a Schwinn product. This has been a pretty good success so far and with a few modifications, it could be even better.
Recently, we went to the beach and wanted to take Macayla on a bike ride, but the only way that would be possible is with a special needs bike trailer. They cost thousands of dollars and we could not spend that. Fortunately, Macayla's wheelchair is more like a stroller where the seat comes off of the base and is held on by two rails that it slides onto. I was able to get two additional rails from Palmetto Seating who supplied the chair for us. I picked up a regular bike trailer meant for carrying small kids with a capacity of 100 lbs. I took all of the fabric off of it and with some scrap lumber I had around the house, I made a platform that Macayla's seat could latch onto. I spent $85 on the bike trailer, $10 on a trifold lounge chair (I used the middle section of it for the platform) and another $15 in hardware. Her chair fit right on it and it worked great. It was not as hard to pull as I thought it might be. She enjoyed the ride and we have a piece of equipment that we can keep for just over $100 that would have cost us thousands otherwise. I think I can also
is it possibe to email me for some questions ?
ReplyDeletei have a disabled son.
fmdenath@hotmail.com
Thanks what an excellent post. we were trying to convert our son's old special needs joggimg stroller into something we could haul behind a bike this gives us ideas and hope :D
ReplyDeleteThat is a really great idea! I am looking for ideas for a bike trailer for my son and came across your post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the photo. We have two special needs 5 year olds and are looking for trailers, strollers etc. Good information.
ReplyDeleteCO
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ReplyDeleteJust Great!!!!!
ReplyDelete