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Man Builds An Off-Road Wheelchair So His Wife Can Explore Places She Never Imagined

A man named Zack Nelson has been praised online for creating a fully electric off-road wheelchair so his wife can explore the outdoors and go places she never imagined.

Image credits: zacksjerryrig

His wife, Cambry, suffers from paralysis and has used a wheelchair to get around for most of her adult life. Like most wheelchair-users, she has always been restricted to the pavement as there are plenty of terrains not suitable for a traditional wheelchair. Besides, using a wheelchair across long distances makes her shoulders sore.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

So, in order to help her explore more places conveniently, Zack designed a fully electric off-road wheelchair for her. He spliced together two electric bikes with a seat between them, and it worked.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

Cambry said she experienced a whole new level of freedom using her new “ride, and she couldn’t be more grateful to Zack for coming up with it.

Image credits: JerryRigEverything

At the time Zack built the off-road wheelchair, Cambry was his girlfriend. Fast forward a year, they tied the knot and also began mass-production of the vehicle, which they call “Not-a-Wheelchair.”. Throughout that time, they put their heads together to try and build upon the original design, making it a more reliable off-roader. But getting it done wasn’t easy.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

“The toughest challenge when developing ‘Not-A-Wheelchair’ is the price. We wanted to create something that is affordable for everyone. Finding quality components, and a simple enough design at the cheapest price possible took quite a bit of time,” Zack told Bored Panda. “But I think we have something now that everyone will be able to enjoy, at a fraction of the cost of other ‘off-road wheelchairs’ currently on the market.”

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

‘Not-a-Wheelchair’ is definitely not an indoor machine, so Cambry still uses her normal wheelchair for inside their home but any time she and Zack go to the park, or on a hike, she jumps in The Rig. “Its silent, which means that we can all still talk and chat while she rides next to the group,” Zack explained.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

During these trips, ‘Not-a-Wheelchair’ really showed what it’s capable of. “We have taken The Rig to Hawaii twice for testing. The bike has to be shipped with a freight company before we go, but we ship The Rig about a week before we fly out ourselves, and it’s waiting there for us when we arrive. All this travel was before COVID was a thing. Luckily, we also live near mountains and snow with long wide flat trails to try the bike out on.”

Image Credits: notawheelchair

Watch the video below to see The Rig in action.

Not-a-Wheelchair is an electric adaptive off-roader

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

The bike can reach speeds of up to 12 mph

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

It has a range of 10-20 miles with one battery, and 25-35 miles with two batteries.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

It also features a rear rack mounting system to hold wheelchairs, coolers, camping gear, or a picnic basket

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

‘Not-a-Wheelchair’ was constructed using bike parts, so maintenance and repairs are really easy

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

It has an aluminum frame, detachable bumper, and four-inch off-road bike tires.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

The Rig is 5 feet long and 32 inches wide without the bumper.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

Which makes it fit in short bed pickups, Jeeps, and Subaru Outbacks.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

As The Rig is pretty narrow, it can get through most doorways

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

As any bike would, the Rig can struggle with loose sand or loose snow, but it can handle most areas pretty well.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

The recommended weight limit is 225 pounds.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything
Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

A “Not-a-Wheelchair” with no suspension and one battery costs $3,750.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

However, Zack wanted to remind everyone that ‘Not-a-Wheelchair’ “is not a fine-tuned, polished, medical device.” They are very happy with Not-a-Wheelchair’ and hope other people will also enjoy it as much as they have.

Image Credits: JerryRigEverything
Image Credits: JerryRigEverything
Image Credits: JerryRigEverything

What do you think about this off-road wheelchair? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below! Don’t forget to share this article with your friends and family members!

H/T: Boredpanda

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