Power wheelchair trailer attachment for twins

Tim is a father with paralysed legs who looks after his 18-month-old twins on his own during the day. Frustrated that he could only take the twins out in his car, rather than to the park or along local footpaths, he bought a bicycle trailer to be towed using his powered wheelchair.

However, the trailer tow bar was designed to attach to one side of the rear wheel of the bike and was curved to allow a bike to turn freely. To fit the trailer to the wheelchair required a straight pivoting tow bar, which is where Remap came in.  We designed and fitted an “upside down” tow hitch at the back of the wheelchair using a quick-release axle pin to lock the tow bar in position. Tim positions his wheelchair so that the trailer tow bar is on his right side, and then has to manoeuvre the tow bar into the socket behind him, which he cannot see. To make this task easier, a golf ball is used as a handle because it is quite tactile and gives good control over the tow bar. Having attached the trailer by feel, Tim clips on a safety strap and away they all go!