ebay tilite advice needed asap pls

[betheny]

Yeah, still stuck in the house b/c my kuschall is trashed. Have to do something quick. When my life settles down I will get a custom chair. To date have never had a chair that really fit...asshole DMEs at rehab ordered me a 21 x 21, WTF??? So the kuschall at 16 x 16 felt great to me. I have quite a bit of space I could shrink up though.

Should add, I can stand to transfer, that eliminates a lot of troubles. If at home I sit on furniture, drive from reg. car seat. Have 26" spinergy wheels, don't ask why b/c I don't remember!

To specifics:

Anyone heard of the tilite EVO? Does it have the thick or thin tubing construction? It looks odd, do you think the casters will clear curbs etc? It's a discontinued model. Except for the COG and dump, at 14 x 16 it specs out pretty well for me. I kind of hate this rolling-recliner concept, tho.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TiLite-14x16-EVO...efaultDomain_0

In the short-legged category at 14 x 14, we have a TRA. I like it except for that 14" deep seat. My kuschall is `16", too deep, makes me slouch. What are the ramifications of a seat that is too shallow though? Using roho lo-pro, will have to get new one as broken chair is 16 x 16.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TiLite-14x14-TRA...DefaultDomain_

And in the mighty-small-but-dammit-Bente-travels-the- world-in-a-chair-this-size-and-I-can-too is a ZRA at 13 x 15. Weird thing on this one is the seat-to-footrest of 14". 15-16 would be best. I could step up the cushion and do plan to order larger casters as well. I don't know how ppl get around on these little ones, I need at least 4 x 1.5. Will caster size increase the seat-to-fr measurement?

http://cgi.ebay.com/TiLite-13X15-ZRA...efaultDomain_0

[tooley]

In the short-legged category at 14 x 14, we have a TRA. I like it except for that 14" deep seat. My kuschall is `16", too deep, makes me slouch. What are the ramifications of a seat that is too shallow though? Using roho lo-pro, will have to get new one as broken chair is 16 x 16.


And in the mighty-small-but-dammit-Bente-travels-the- world-in-a-chair-this-size-and-I-can-too is a ZRA at 13 x 15. Weird thing on this one is the seat-to-footrest of 14". 15-16 would be best. I could step up the cushion and do plan to order larger casters as well. I don't know how ppl get around on these little ones, I need at least 4 x 1.5. Will caster size increase the seat-to-fr measurement?

You will probably receive alot of varying opinions here, mostly ones telling you that you require a brand-new custom built chair. I beg to differ - as long as you don't buy a completely wrong-sized chair the adjustability built into a ZRa is very forgiving. Keep in mind that this is just my opinion. I've often looked at the ebay offerings as a viable alternative- especially for those of us in-the-know about wheelchair specs (and ppl that like to keep money in our pocket)

The shallow TRa will increase pressure on your backside. Not good.


If you can fit in the 13"w ZRa it would be preferable over the other 2. Because of it's adjustable COG and RSH this chair is the best bang for the buck, especially if the 15" depth is right for you.
Considering that for either of these chairs will require you to get a new cushion - go tighter. You will feel more nimble & manueverable. Also the sideguards on the ZRa afford you an extra 1/2" - 3/4" on top of that 13" width to squeeze a 14" wide cushion into.

As far as the ZRa's footrest-to-FSH, if you look closely you'll note that the 4" casters on it are mounted in the middle hole of the forks. If you were to replace them with 5" x 1.5" softrolls mounted in the bottom hole you'll get an extra inch to drop the footrest to better suit you.

Everything else is adjustable - changing casters will increase the chairs dump, but that is easily remedied by raising the RSH.

My opinion - buy the ZRa, order a new cushion and some 5" casters, but have your phillips screwdriver, 7/16" wrench (for backrest angle) and allan keys handy. You'll save about $3000.

[Curt Leatherbee]

Betheny, might want to check out this http://cgi.ebay.com/TiLite-15x17-SX-...efaultDomain_0 Its a folding chair, I'm a real fan of folding chairs myself as they come in so handy sometimes. Kinda a odd size at 15 x 17 inch but I'd think you'd fit in it ok as your slim and the extra length I'd think would make it more comfortable for you. You could always put your 26 inch spinergies on it and possibly raise up the nose a little bit if necessary. The chair currently has 22 inch wheels which are kinda small. If you did'nt have the spinergies I would not recommend this chair. If the chair did feel a little too long you could always clip on a jay backrest and that would move you a little bit forward in the chair to allow your legs to fit on the footrests ok, can't remember if you have fairly long legs or not, if your legs are long enough the stock backrest would work fine, the only problem with a jay backrest on a folder is it has to be removed each time the chair is folded, I've seen a lot of people using them on folders though as they give you better back support. The simple way to raise up the front end of the chair so you can use your 26 inch wheels would be longer caster stems (1.5 or 2 inches depending on how much dump you want) or frogs legs.

[canuck]

21X21 omfg did they expect you to quadruple in size? You're petite, a female & a quad, you need the smallest size chair you can safely stuff yourself into. I would stick with a rigid. the ZRA is pretty compact, it can be tossed into a back seat or a trunk with room to spare.

[TexasWheelz]

Hmm where in Okla did you order that thing? The last one I got in Okla, was a DME out of Tulsa ordered me a 21x21 also. currently in 18x18 with 17x17 on the way.

[Patrick Madsen]

I'd stay away from the Evo. It's their lower priced chair and no difference in price than the TRa.
For length, I usually look at the seat sling length being around 2 fingers shorter from the back of my knees. For width, it should be narrow if possible. How much room is there in the Kushall? Solid sideguards really help in allowing for a narrower chair. Without 'em, I use an 18; with, I use a 17.

Both the Tra and the Zra are good chairs. They will both need major adjusting to fit your 26" wheels. No big deal just will take time. The ZRa has larger diameter frame tubing than the Tra.

You could always contact the seller, probably Tilite, and see what othr chairs they have up for sale.

[addiesue]

I like my Zra I am in a 14 by 16 but need to be in a 14 by 15.
I didn't look at the links I'm too lazy right now, just wanted you to know I really like the ZRa I got it in Nov. I wish you were closer you could borrow my old Quickie until you could sort out getting a new one. If you can wait a week my grandma is coming here for a few days. She lives in Arkansas and would bring it most of the way to you. It's 14 by 15; the one I was in last time I saw you. Let me know.

[LindaT]

No advice Bethany, but some commiseration in being in chair hell.
Dave's still in the shop-long story of what has been happening. We have a rental that is not for a high quad. We are making it work and the power tilt saving my back.
Good luck!

[DaveD]

21 x 21 wow, I have a 21 x21 and I'm 250 can't imagine what they were thinking there. I personally don't know about the EVO. Doesn't look to me to be a very user friendly chair when it comes to obstacles. I will vouch for the Ti lite ZRA or ZR (the "A" simply means its more adjustable). I have a ZRA series 2 and aside from initial caster wobble, which was just a matter of adjusting the COG and dump slightly to correct, have had no problems with it. They're light, quick, and the titanium frame absorbs ALOT of vibration.

[Curt Leatherbee]

I guess I must be old school in recommending a folding chair, at least for me it just seems to make life so much easier, I can't imagine using a rigid chair. Even getting my folder in the car I just remove the wheels, fold it and pull it over me and put it in the passenger seat beside me, folded it is much more compact and easier to handle. Getting in and out of my truck I don't even have to remove the wheels, just fold it and put it behind the seat. That 17 inch chair I recommend though may be a little to long, although the width sounds about right, kinda oddball dimenensions though, maybe thats why the person who bought it got rid of it. With the right tuning though it could be made to work and for 700 bucks it seems like a pretty good deal considering the chair would be over 2 grand new.

[amyk]

tilite is selling it themselves as a returned demo or whatever, so that zra looks good. ask them to confirm the footrest is specced at 14" - that will mean you have enough downward adjustment to get it to at least 16". also confirm that the casters are specced for the middle hole, so you would then get plus/minus 0.5" on the fsh. it says the casters are 4" polys (which are 1" wide), so you would need them to specify that they are the newer forks, and will accept 1.5" casters. if so, if you just switch to 4x1.5s, theres no change to the fsh. if you get 5x1.5s, you cant put them in the top hole (actually im not sure about that, youll have to check) so you would end up with a 17.5" fsh. the rsh is worked out with a 24" tire, so if you want a certain amount of dump you will need to check the possible range with 26" and see how you can get the fsh to where you need it. what i mean is that if the lowest 26" will allow in the rsh is 15" (for example) and you want 3" dump, then you will want to put the fsh at 18", which means an extra inch - if you get 5" casters and put them in the lowest holes, theres your inch.

all in all, the zra seems a good option if you can do the 13 x 15 seat. theres quite a lot of adjustment, so you could fairly easily get it just right for you...

[canuck]

Kurt take a roll in a rigid and you'll never go back. I've spent half my life in folders and the last half in rigids. You would have to drag me kicking and screaming back into a folder. Ok they'll be somewhat feeble kicks

[Curt Leatherbee]

Kurt take a roll in a rigid and you'll never go back. I've spent half my life in folders and the last half in rigids. You would have to drag me kicking and screaming back into a folder. Ok they'll be somewhat feeble kicks

I'd agree with you on the old style folders that had all kinds of flex like the Quickie 2's which I used half my Paraplegic life, but the new folders to me feel as good as a rigid, I did actually use a rigid for a while long before most others were using them the first 5 years of my SCI life, it was called a quadra, not very easy loading it and unloading it from my 1981 chevy monte carlo at the time.

[betheny]

The 21 x 21 behemoth is a folder. Scarred me for life! Have you tried a rigid this decade, Curt? This kuschall made a believe of me.

[Curt Leatherbee]

The 21 x 21 behemoth is a folder. Scarred me for life! Have you tried a rigid this decade, Curt? This kuschall made a believe of me.

Yes, I've tried lots of rigids. I really can't tell any difference in feel between my Quickie GTX folder and most rigids. Too bad they stopped selling the GTX in the USA, it is a great chair.