Incredible 'Trackchair' Helps Wheelchair-Bound Go Off-Roading

A motorized wheelchair is nothing new, but even with increased speed and mobility some confined to a wheelchair were still limited to where they could go. Enter the "Action Trackchair".

Action Manufacturing, based in Marshall, Minn., has designed a chair with caterpillar tracks instead of wheels: a trackchair. With the Action Trackchair, the manufacturer touts, "you'll go places you didn't think possible", which includes the woods, the beach, in mud, on snow, etc.

Watch how the chair works:

The chair runs up to 5 miles per hour and cost starts at $8,800. The chair has optional accessories, such as a gun rack and a rod holder, for those interested in these outdoor sports.

According to user testimonials, those with the Action Trackchair have said they feel liberated and able to do things they used to before an accident or had never been able to do before. Jeff Holdahl of Woodland, Wash., said:

The track chair has allowed me to get back on the sand next to the Columbia River, my favorite local destination. I used to have at least two people carry me and my wheelchair across the soft sand. The track chair has allowed me to be independent in the places I love. I get to help carry stuff out the beach instead of the other way around. I don’t feel so disabled when using my off road electric wheelchair. Once again I can join my wife and kids for a stroll down the beach, without being pushed in my wheelchair! ps: I get to “stomp” in the mud puddles with my boys.

The Daily Mail reports Tim Swenson as saying he decided to invent the all-terrain chair after his son was in an accident that left him wheelchair bound:

He said: "Looking at Jeff and the challenges of being in a wheelchair, and of course me being in the motorsports business, I started putting two and two together. How can we put tracks on a wheelchair? How can we make something go where Jeff would like to go?"

And coming up with the name was straightforward.

"It’s a chair, it’s got tracks on it. And we always like action," said Mr Swenson.

"The Action Trackchair is by far the biggest change in my life since my accident 11 years ago," Jeff Swenson, the creator's son said in a user testimonial. "It has enabled me to be able to go hiking, camping, gardening, and hunting! This off-road wheelchair has definitely been life changing. I have not had so much mobility and freedom in a long time."