Rack and Roll Lift with or without a Swingaway

The Rack and Roll Lift was the second of the two lifts we sold when I first started. You could install one on any vehicle, car, van or truck, that would accept a class three hitch.  At that time and for many years of begging by the VA sales team, they were not available in class two, only in class three, because the engineering dept, we were told, didn't feel that class two was safe. In recent years we now have them in class two also, and they are as safe as the class three.
During the time that we were not offering class two Rack & Rolls, they were offered by several other companies, who had determined they were safe and warrantied them. But, as a salesperson, I am glad that Rascal took their time and had the engineers determine that they were safe before offering them. I'd much rather work with that kind of a company, that is concerned with their customers safety, than one that doesn't care and just throws something out there,  to hell with the consequences. End of commercial.  Also to be fair some pictures I'm using in this post came from Top Mobility dot com, as they're better than the ones from Rascal, I hope they don't mind.

The Rack N' Roll Lift can transport your fully assembled Rascal Scooter or PowerChair anywhere. Made of  strong welded steel, they are easy to remove/install, and adjust, once installed the first time by a qualified technician to make sure they're installed and wired correctly..  

An interesting story is a veteran I delivered to, who used his truck to tow his trailers and boat. He called me back a few months after the delivery to show me a very clever invention. He and his son owned a welding shop, and had designed and built a contraption, for lack of a better word, that allowed this guy to install and remove his Rack and Roll by himself. It was build of mild steel in a vee shape, one side long enough to support the lift and the other short enough to slide under the car. It had a floor jack in the middle and large castors on each end that allowed it to swivel. They had built a handle in the middle that allowed him to pull or push it without touching the jack handle. They had also welded a connector on the handle and the rear bumper of his scooter that let him tow it in his garage.  They were very proud of it, and should have been. He could push it under the lift, jack it up to take the weight off the hitch, pull the pin, disconnect the wiring, and using his scooter, or not, pull the Rack and Roll out and move it out of the way, or push it back in place when ready. 
This is not something that everybody can, or would want to, do. For pretty much everybody else, to take off or install the lift is a two or three  person job, not hard, or heavy, just a little awkward.  

The lift is powered by your vehicle's battery, it's never connected to your cars electrical system by trailer light connectors or rear cigarette lighter. Well they shouldn't be anyhow, although I've had people ask or suggest it when delivering.    If you want to change to a new vehicle, it can be reinstalled but call us or the technician, so it can be done correctly. The new vehicle needs to be wired. This applies to all electric lifts, not just the Rack and Roll.

It adapts to 3 or 4 wheel scooters without scooter modifications. One thing I mention when delivering, is that here in the northeast, the roads aren't always clean. Boy is that an understatement. Anyway, I suggest that it's a good idea to get a sheet of 1/4 inch plywood then cut and mount it under the Rack & Roll platform to keep the winter slush, dirt and mud off your scooter. Not everybody bothers, but those who did thanked me the next time they saw me. 

There is a swingaway for use on trucks, vans, and any vehicle where you need access to a rear door. You don't need it with a car trunk, since it swings up.  This does add a few pounds to the weight of the lift, but if you need to get to the back doors or tailgate, you'll want it. 

The platform automatically folds up against the back of the car, truck, van when lifted without scooter. You can drive in forward or reverse from platform. Platform depressions make sure of correct scooter positioning on the platform. Lighted license plate bracket and courtesy lights illuminate lift and trunk areas. Keyed operation for added security. Single rocker switch control. Manual crank in case of power failure. Attractive and durable metallic gray powder coated finish. Fits on most vehicles. Automatically folds up when not in use.

Features:

Attaches to a trailer hitch and lifts a fully assembled Rascal Scooter or Powerchair off the ground for transport

Platform folds up and out of the way when not in use

Robust welded steel construction and weatherproofing for durable, dependable operation

Scooter or powerchair locks into place when lift is raised; no straps or tie downs necessary, Although cable or chain locks aren't a bad idea when traveling.

You must have a Class II (1.25") or Class III (2") trailer hitch installed on your vehicle to utilize a Rack N' Roll.

Lee Murray

A Scooter Is A Scooter Is A Scooter, Or Is It???

It would seem to be true. After all they all have a seat, a handlebar, three or four wheels, a motor and transmission and one or two batteries, (usually two).  So it would seem to be true, if you don't look too deep. It's just like saying a bicycle is a bicycle, or a car is a car, or a guitar is a guitar, or a girl is a girl, or a friend is a friend, on and on and on. But, unless you're the person that thinks a Timex is no different than a Rolex, (they both keep time, right?), or there's no difference between a Playboy Bunny and the girl you see at the Walmart checkout, (she may be good looking, but...), still it's just not true.  There are similarities, and while it would appear that one is pretty much the same as another, if you've ever found one car or bicycle better than another, or you're a guitar player that prefers a Martin over a Taylor,  you just know that it's not true.  You may prefer a different scooter than I do, or than that person over there does, which in itself pretty much proves that I'm right.  If I wasn't, there'd only be one kind. Instead there's dozens. Each brand has it's strong points and weak points. For instance an example of one for me is the actuator, on a Rascal they are finger actuators meaning you pull back with your fingers which is easy, on a Pride they're thumb controlled, meaning you push with your thumbs, which when turning sharply is difficult. Another example is the front basket, on most Rascals it's mounted to the frame and has no effect on steering, on most other scooters it's mounted on the handlbar and can if you put too much in it make the scooter hard or dangerous to steer. So you have to look at the various features and specs to make sure your scooter is right, right for you that is.
Another way to look at it is that any scooter will get you around, and yes, that happens to be true. If you can put up with or ignore the negatives. A 350 lb man can ride a small scooter, even though the weight limit is 250-300 lbs or so,  he might get away with that, at least for awhile, but most are 20-21 inches wide with 9" or smaller tires. But, is him being squeezed into a small seat, uncomfortable, the handlebar right in his chest or belly, or that he would constantly be in danger of tipping over  a real concern?  The other side of the coin is the little 90 lb lady who gets a bariatric scooter with a weight limit of 500-550 lbs. Yes it's unlikely she'll ever wear it out, or stress it too highly, but frankly it's just too much scooter. Too big, too hard to get around in, she'd be more suited to the smaller or ultra-light scooter in the pevious example. 
There are many things to consider, among them are: what you want it for, indoors/outdoors/or both, weight capacity, losing weight or gaining weight, scooter length and width, anti-tip wheels, correct seat width/depth, how wide are your doors, turning circle, stability, speed, how tall or short are you, where will you store it, travel distance per charge, battery life, tire size, rural home or in city, tippiness or likliness to tip over, carrying capacity, does the basket interfere with steering, power, ability to go up a hill, acceleration,  break down for transport, need a lift for vehicle, need a ramp for your home, and more, any of which can make one machine better than another....for you.
So yes, if you look just at the surface, it can look like a scooter is a scooter. But if you go into it in depth, make your salesman do his job right, and get the one that's right for you, you'll quickly see that it's not true.

Lee Murray

Trunk Lift - Outside Trunk Lift One of the Two Original Lifts for Scooters

When I first started selling Rascals in 1998 there were only two lifts available, and the Trunk Lift was one. The other was the Rack & Roll which I'll talk about later. At that time the Outside Trunk Lift was not available yet.

The Outside version came about in the early 2000's and was invented by one of us sales rep's, not by the company. It consists of an L shaped bar.  One end, the small L extention that would slide into either a class II or class III hitch,  the bar itself is about thirty inches or so, runs  parallel to the passenger side of the bumper, and on the end is a socket that the Standard Trunk Lift upright fits into. The bar is what makes a Standard Trunk Lift an Outside Trunk Lift. The Trunk Lift itself  consists three parts, an L shaped bracket with a socket for the upright in the middle, it bolts to the floor of the car trunk, van, or pickup bed. The upright is round pipe about 30 inches or so, and the socket of the lift boom slides down onto it at the top. The lift boom is adjustable for length, and the electric motor is attached to it. A strap that has a hook on the end runs from the pully along the boom through a slot down to where it attaches by the hook to either the seatpost of the scooter or powerchair after removing the seat, or the Seat On Lift Bracket, which allows picking up the scooter or powerchair without removing the seat. This lift picks the scooter or powerchair up electrically, but requires the user to push it in and pull it out manually, as well as manuvering the unit in the air to clear anything that may be in the way, or turn it for clearance, so it does require some strength and co-ordination to use it.  It requires the most work by the user, but it is also the least expensive, and that's the trade off. It works very well for a person with the required strength and dexterity. There is also a fold-down model, which allows laying the lift down without taking it apart, I try to avoid selling that one because the Standard Trunk Lift comes apart easily and is stronger, and less likely to collapse under load. Our Standard Trunk Lift has a weight capacity of 250 pounds, the Fold Down and Outside Trunk Lifts have a weight capacity of either 200 or 250 pounds, and we also have a Heavy Duty Unit that has a weight capacity of 400 pounds for heavier or barriatric units. 

Now the downside, or upside if you have a van or pickup, is what vehicles will they work in.  If you have a car, unless it's a large one, ie older Lincoln Town Car,  Mercury or Ford with the same body/chassis, or a similar size older Chevy, Olds, Buick, etc. (for instance I had a 1983 Olds 98 that I could literally carry two scooters in the trunk), or a station wagon, forget it, it won't work. The newer cars either have too small a trunk, or too small an opening into the trunk, or both. An exception to this is if you can put a Class II or III hitch on your car, AND the trunk opening is large enough, AND the lift over height is not too high,  you can use an Outside Trunk Lift.
If you have a pickup, or van (either mini, or full sized), the Trunk Lift will work fine. SUV's are somewhere in the middle, sometimes it works, sometimes not, again you're better off with an Outside Trunk Lift, but measure first or email me and if you're not too far away I can do it, if you are I can possibly get a local rep to do it for you.  As I tell everybody my job is to make your life easier.

Lee Murray

Lifts - How You Take Your Scooter or Powerchair With You - Intro

A question that comes up all the time and is easy to answer. Of course it depends on what you drive, whether it's a small car or big one, a van or pickup, maybe even a motorhome or converted bus.
Believe it or not I have worked with the VA to get scooters to Vets who were driving those, two motorhomes, and one bus that the vet had done himself. He said he had about $300k in it, and I'd have to say if not a palace on wheels, it was close. As good or better than that of any rock/country stars or Amway upline no matter how many Diamonds they have...you people in Amway will understand. For those not in Amway, uplines, Direct Distributors and above, put another way the ones making money, love those huge converted buses to travel around in, to conventions and visiting their downlines...just like Country and Rock music stars.  Looking at the other side, when still selling in home, I had an appointment with a guy in Rome, I think. He had three young kids, bought a scooter a Rascal 245 three wheeler as I remember. What was his car? A Ford Festiva. It's the smallest car I ever got a scooter in. Is there a smaller car out there, if there is not by much. But I did get it in. The front, and rear sections in the trunk, the seat, batteries, handlebar and front basket in the back seat. He and the wife had to decide if they were taking the scooter or their kids.  Too small for a Rack and Roll lift, the trunk already full, so lifts were out of the picture. So, what did he do?  He went to Cole Muffler and got a class I hitch installed, then bought a small trailer with a lid, like you'd use with a lawn tractor or snowmobile, and would just drive the scooter in, drop the lid, keeping it clean, and take everybody and the scooter. In addition it worked great if he was staying home because the wife could leave the trailer and there was nothing hanging off the car.
Anyway, lets get to lifts. There are several different types. Inside lifts are the Trunk Lift, the Equalizer 2 & 3, and Tailgater Lifts, and the Tracker Lift. Outside lifts are the Outside Trunk Lift, and the Rack and Roll Lift class II and III. I'm going to do each lift as a post to keep this from going on forever.

Lee Murray

Do you need a scooter, or powerchair, or know someone who does?

I've received several questions as to if this is my personal blog. Yes it is. I do sell Rascals, and the blog is here to talk scooters, selling scooters, owners of scooters, and anything else I want to talk about.  Even more important to introduce myself and give you the opportunity to contact me IF YOU NEED, OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO NEEDS a scooter, powerchair, lift, or anything else that Rascal and I can sell you. I've, for some unknown reason, been tiptoeing around the fact that I'm a salesman, and sell for a living. So, now it's out of the bag let me put it plainly, if you need a scooter, powerchair, or anything else, email me at lmurray@citlink.net...

Lee Murray

PS if you're curious about what else other than Rascals I'm interested in, check out my other blog at: http://stillanotherlife.blogspot.com/