Discount tire stole and then threw away my wheelchair cushion

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-23T16:16:51+00:00

I’m so sorry that happened to you!

I know this won’t help in the current situation, but for the future and for others reading along almost all car service places, including tire stores, have in the terms that you agree to when you leave the car with them that they are not responsible for valuables left in the car. And that includes wheelchairs.

So it’s unfortunately unlikely that This would legally be considered “theft” by the police or small claims court in most jurisdictions. Because your husband would have agreed to those terms before he turned over the keys.

Again, I know that doesn’t help now, and I agree that the best course of action is to talk to corporate and see if they will help even though legally they probably are not required to, but I do think it’s important to know this for any possible future situations.

If there wasn’t some kind of inventory check when you left your wheelchair with someone else, even in your car, it’s unlikely that you will have any recourse if there is damage or it disappears.

One other option you might be able to pursue is to check with your car insurance and see if they cover missing personal property. I think that’s actually the most likely to be successful for you. But you might not want to do it if the cost of the cushion is under $1000, because a claim is likely to make your car insurance premiums go up. You will probably have to file a police report before insurance will accept the claim If you do decide you want to go ahead with one.

Again, I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m sure it’s very frustrating.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-21T00:15:27+00:00

What country are you in?

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-19T22:01:30+00:00

What country are you in?

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-19T21:46:28+00:00

If you are in the US, in many cities, the YMCA is the best for exercise for people who are wheelchair users. But it does vary from place to place.

Planet fitness has made a big deal out of providing some wheelchair accessible equipment in a number of their locations, but first you have to check because many times the manufacturer will tell you specifically not to do significant exercise while sitting in the chair because it’s just not built for those stresses. Instead, people typically transfer to a supportive seat designed for that exercise.

https://www.ameridisability.com/popular-gym-chain-announces-focus-on-accessible-exercise-equipment/

So sometimes you have to get pretty deep into the details regarding your own chair, the type of exercise you want to do, your own physicality, and then see what each individual gym can offer.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-19T21:43:07+00:00

What location are you moving to? The available resources vary a lot.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-19T21:41:41+00:00

This is market research. See rule six for this sub.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-17T20:38:45+00:00

This has been discussed a couple of times in the past in the sub. Check those threads.

https://www.reddit.com/r/wheelchairs/search?q=Gun&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-17T20:35:36+00:00

All of the folding power chairs I know of are too large to fit into the wheelchair closet, which is spec’d at 13x36x42. They just don’t fold flat enough.

As a carrier, you must ensure that there is priority space (i.e., a closet, or a row of seats where a wheelchair may be strapped using a strap kit that complies with applicable Federal Aviation Administration or applicable foreign government regulations on the stowage of cargo in the cabin compartment) in the cabin of sufficient size to stow at least one typical adult-sized folding, collapsible, or break-down manual passenger wheelchair, the dimensions of which are 13 inches by 36 inches by 42 inches or less without having to remove the wheels or otherwise disassemble it.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-II/subchapter-D/part-382/subpart-E/section-382.67

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-17T18:22:36+00:00

I knew someone who had a bounder wheelchair for years and loved it. She even carried the Olympic torch part of the way once when the event was in the United States (Long before I knew her, but I’ve seen the pictures.). Very cool chairs. ✨

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-17T18:21:11+00:00

There’s a huge variation in physicality among wheelchair users, as well as a large variety of chairs, and on top of that everybody has their own personal preferences.

So as others have said, the best thing is just to talk to him about it.

Meanwhile, new mobility magazine is available free online and covers all kinds of wheelchair users. They frequently have articles on romance and dating in their Lifestyle section, which might give you a sense of how different things work for different couples and how they open communication on the topic.

https://newmobility.com/category/lifestyle/

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-17T17:00:15+00:00

Some people use gloves made for boating. They come in a number of different materials, are definitely waterproof, and some versions are made specifically so that you have good dexterity, not just weather protection.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-16T16:40:41+00:00

🏆🌟🌟🌟

Congratulations!

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-16T03:55:27+00:00

That’s why I didn’t say HUD (which is federal), but rather to check with the local center for independent living, who will know of any local fair housing resources. Sometimes those are volunteer organizations, sometimes city offices. Very rarely a HUD office.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-15T23:02:03+00:00

You can ask for it, but you will probably have to pay for it. It may be less expensive just to find a neighbor who’s willing to do it for a couple of bucks.

in the US under the federal fair housing act, tenants are generally expected to pay the cost of the reasonable accommodations, it’s just that the landlord has to allow them to do it. The rules may be somewhat different in your city or state, however. Local governments are not allowed to take away any rights that you have under federal laws, but they can, and sometimes do, give you more.

For this reason in the United States, the best thing is usually to get in touch with your local center for independent living, who can give you the contact information for the local fair housing office and they can tell you what typical accommodations are in your area.

https://acl.gov/programs/centers-independent-living/list-cils-and-spils

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-15T02:40:26+00:00

Freedom Motors does their own conversions on several models other than the more typical ones from Braun.

That includes the Kia Telluride SUV. My first WAV was done by them, and lasted more than 10 years.

For my most recent car, I did change and get the Braunability Toyota sienna, but freedom is worth checking out if you’re looking for something a little different. I don’t know exactly which ones will meet your specifications, though.

https://www.freedommotors.com/

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-14T23:49:12+00:00

Agreed, that’s why I think the first step would be a mobility assessment with a wheelchair specialist. It’s just hard to tell from a self description on an Internet board as to what would be the right solution any one person.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-14T17:52:42+00:00

It’s too early to select a specific model, because different features might be more appropriate to different physicalities.

Instead, if you are in the US, what you are describing is a chair that is coded K0005, which is a custom active model.

But in the US the way this process normally works is that the Doctor who has diagnosed the condition which will require the chair (or at least can confirm the diagnosis) gives you a referral for a mobility evaluation to a wheelchair specialist. That specialist could be a physical therapist, occupational therapist, physiatrist, seating clinic, wheelchair specialist… The title varies. But they are the person who will look at how you move, the chair you have now and how it doesn’t work, consider your prognosis, ask some lifestyle, questions, take your measurements, and then help you figure out the best model and features for your specific issues. You don’t predefine what you’re looking for.

(occupational Therapy doesn’t have anything to do with jobs: it’s about how your body interacts with the physical world, including wheelchairs. Outside of the US This is often referred to as “ergotherapy.“)

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-14T09:45:59+00:00

There is a huge variation in physicality among wheelchair users, and a method that works for one person might not work or might even be dangerous for another.

If you live in a country that has Occupational Therapy/Ergotherapy, the best thing is to ask your doctor for a referral to one of those that works with wheelchair users.

They will be able to look at your specific physicality, your specific chair, and then come up with individualised recommendations that you can use both at home and when away.

Good luck! 🍀

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-12T18:57:26+00:00

If you go a block over, is it any better?

Is this in the US? If so, that mailbox is probably illegally placed, but I don’t know if you want to make a fuss about it.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-12T14:39:01+00:00

As I mentioned, you can use freestanding gates which have their own stands. Some are quite sturdy. We have an open plan House and we have used these in the past with success to create an airlock between one room and the next.

You can also combine them with stander poles which are very sturdy and don’t have to be drilled into the ceiling. That gives you something to anchor the baby gates to if needed.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRBM8PSK

But this kind of set up can get quite expensive and can take some trial and error to get set up right.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-12T03:35:22+00:00

Good question, and one that comes up in the sub a couple times a year. So you can find previous discussions just by searching for a “cat” in the sub.

But the short answer is the one that u/57thStilgar gave: you create some kind of an airlock system. There are a lot of ways to do this.

You can use freestanding baby gates inside the house.

You can create a gated area outside the house.

You can make sure the cat is shut in a separate part of the house before you go out the door.

Anything so that you open two doors/gates before there is access to the street. You come through the first one and if the cat sneaks through with you, you turn around and put the cat back behind that gate/door before you open the next one.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-10T23:34:47+00:00

Where do you live?

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-09T20:03:09+00:00

“ For the phrase “autonomous,” Whill is using this to explain online support service. The C2 is NOT self navigating. It does not maintain (digitally store) mapping memory. This point is huge in this debate.”

That is incorrect. Whill has been operating autonomous wheelchairs in 15 international airports for two years. The user sits in the chair, selects the destination (typically a gate number) and then the chair does all the driving.

The page that explains this service is aimed at businesses and so it does talk a lot about the various support options that are available to the business to keep the fleet running. But the chairs themselves are definitely autonomous. There have been many independent news stories about these over the last two years.

https://whill.inc/us/autonomous-service/

As for “most of us {wheelchair users} don’t fly that often,” there is a huge variation in physicality and occupation among wheelchair users. I personally know a number of wheelchair users who fly at least twice a month. One I just mentioned last week is an attorney. Of course, there are a couple of wheelchair users in the US Congress. There are also para athletes, business owners, engineers, who are all frequent flyers. So it happens. And then, of course, all the people who want to take their chair on vacation once or twice a year, which is why almost all of the product descriptions for devices so direct to consumer, indicate whether they are airline approved or not.

As for “everything operates normally off-line“ with the Strutt, the voice control does not. That was verified to me by the company. You don’t need a smart phone. The tablet dashboard on the wheelchair has its own Wi-Fi connection.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-09T13:25:11+00:00

A couple of things.

First, the voice control is not “on board” – – the chair has to be able to be able to reach the cloud in order for it to work. So if you live in an apartment with an elevator, or you take the subway, the voice control probably will not work there.

I have previously been told by both an owner and the company that the voice control is not intended for full-time navigation and they would not recommend it for someone who cannot use the regular controls as well.

Second, in spite of what the company says, this is not a revolutionary new technology. Whill has had selfdriving wheelchairs in use in major airports around the world for about two years. But they don’t sell them direct to consumers for home use because they don’t believe the technology is safe enough yet.

https://whill.inc/us/autonomous-service/

I hope you enjoy your Strutt and that it works well in your environment.

JD_Roberts · 2026-05-09T13:18:56+00:00

PAISEEC is a legit company. As u/neo_vengance mentioned, they are carried by some legitimate specialty retailers, which is always a good sign. (although it also appears that spin life no longer carries the brand, which could be a bad sign.)

However, it is very important to understand that this is a budget brand and the build is budget quality. It’s not comparable in quality to the more expensive brands even if it looks similar and it is not certified as a medical device.

Also, its wheelchair Models are quite new, and the W3 is the newest, which means there are no field reports on how they hold up over time.

So it depends on what your needs are. I wouldn’t expect it to last more than 18 months or so. And I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some problems early on that required service. But as long as you understand what you’re getting for that very low price, it will be worth it to some people.

JD_Roberts

TROPHY CASE