mobility scooter in winter

Has anyone taken a mobility scooter to Norway in the winter? Did it work well or did you have problems with the battery due to the cold. I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you

Has anyone taken a mobility scooter to Norway in the winter? Did it work well or did you have problems with the battery due to the cold. I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you

Have only been to Norway in the summer but do live in the Midwest were winters can be very cold, snowy and wet. The cold isn't so much the problem as is the snow and or standing water due to melting snow. Reason being the undercarriage of the motor is exposed to the elements and most motor scooters have a low under clearance. Therefore the motor can be damaged driving it through the snow and or standing water. Scooter manufacturers advise against it being driven in the snow , standing water and or rain.

I live in Minnesota, our temps drop to the minus side and my scooter stays in the van the year around. However, When it gets close to freezing, the batteries come in the house. Cold weather is not good for this type of battery, so I do not take any chances. For me to carry them in and out is a struggle and my son normally carries them for me.

As far as riding in the rain, snow, ice or whatever, you would be exposed to it all. While in operation the freezing temps should not cause harm to the batteries, but I would not keep the scooter out very long. Driving would be the same as any thing else, except with the driver being exposed to the elements. For rain, we wear ponchos and put a plastic garbage over the tiller and aim for shelter or get back to the ship asap.

If the wiring/control system is under the floor board on your scooter, you could expose it to water. That happened in Key West and the scooter quit running for a while. Not good.

Also take into consideration your health situation. Would the exposure to the elements have an effect?

Excluding winter activities or visiting, I really doubt that there would be that much to do. In May, we went to an open air museum and many of the exhibits were not open yet. Fortunately a couple of the fjords tour boats had started operating so we were able to see those fjords.

I can appreciate your concern for the scooter, but please remember that you will be exposed to the weather also, so please take care of yourself.

Have a wonderful trip,

Betty

Thank you so much for your reply, very useful information. We are actually going to Norway to hopefully see the Northern Lights. I am not expecting much in the way of excursions. As you say it will be very cold so plenty of thermals.

We have been to Norway on a cruise in June and loved it. I also sometimes use a mobility scooter, but didn't take it on the Norway trip, I had a manual wheelchair. Apart from torrential rain in Bergen we had good weather.

I have looked at cruises in the winter to see the northern lights, but am always put off by the weather. I would be concerned about snowy conditions under foot. I too would worry about using the scooter. I find even in the south if England where we don't really have extreme winter weather, I get cold riding the scooter in winter even wearing a warm, long padded coat with hood.

Depending how far north you go you may need special protective clothing. Personally, I wouldn't choose Norway in the winter with my limited mobility, but everyone is different.

If I were making that trip with my scooter I would be sure to have my AAA policy current if I get stuck. I would also have a set of snow chains mounted on my scooter and I would certainly be wearing my electrically heated socks.

And don't forget a set of jumper cables! :D

Snow, ice, water and the salt/ melt in the ground are all very bad for the scooter. It will also drain faster in the cold. I've used my scooter at the zoo in winter to see the lights and it did go down quicker.

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Haven't taken a mobility scooter to Norway in winter but DH did take one along on our trip to Iceland in February. The cold didn't present any problems, we just made sure to bring the battery indoors at night. Icy ground was a bigger challenge as the tires really didn't have enough traction and a fuse would blow every time he tried to go uphill.

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I have yet to use mine in winter (just got mine this spring) but I am expecting decreased battery life. Definitely do not leave the battery outside unless of course you are using it. Bring a warm blanket for your knees because they will get cold. Our winters get below -40 regularly but thankfully not for too long and we have winter clothing made for the weather. Dress in layers to keep warm. You haven't said when you are planning to go but wet sloppy snow (when it is close to melting) will likely be a larger problem than colder temperatures when the snow can be lighter and fluffier. Also the colder it is the less likely you will get more snow (cloud cover keeps you warmer but brings snow, no clouds means no snow but it's s lot colder).

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Thank you so much for your reply, very useful information. We are actually going to Norway to hopefully see the Northern Lights. I am not expecting much in the way of excursions. As you say it will be very cold so plenty of thermals.

As you say you are going in search of the Northern Lights, I assume you are going to the Northern Cape in winter? We are doing this cruise with P+O in February 2017, I know they are running it in March too.

I don't use a scooter but my pain is exacerbated by the cold. However, it was still an easy decision as the aurora is on my bucket list and my condition is not going to improve.

Hubby keeps insisting that I don't need anything special clothes-wise just for a few days :confused: I just remind him of how miserable it was in Copenhagen in January and that it will be a total waste of the cruise fare if I can't get outside once we are there!