Invacare Tracer IV Wheelchair Review

Edmond Wheelchair Repair and Supply

Rick's review of the Invacare Tracer IV heavy duty wheelchair.

Invacare Tracer IV Heavy Duty Wheelchair.  Rating,
Recommended use,  Everyday

The Invacare Tracer IV is a very popular heavy duty wheelchair with both professional and individual users. 

The new model blends features from the Tracer IV and 9000 series to give a heavy duty chair with adjustable seat height and a more standardized front rigging among Invacare chairs.

The frame of the Tracer IV is one of the strongest in the business and will last for many years under normal conditions.

Upholstery is the standard blue vinyl with heavy duty inner liners to prevent stretching. Some older models had a problem with the seat stretching and sagging but the newest model has dual liners to prevent this problem.

Rear wheels are a standard 24 x 1" with urethane tire, or a 24 x 1-3/8" pneumatic with flat free inserts as part of the 450 lbs weight option. If you are going to give the chair heavy use or weigh close to the standard 350 pound weight limit, I would highly recommend adding the 450 pound weight option. The wider and stronger rear wheels will last longer and be a big improvement.

With the 450 pound weight option you also get wider front casters which does away with the one real problem the Tracer IV has. With the standard 8 x 1" front casters there have been reports of the tire jumping off the rim and even bending the front fork. This does not happen with the 8 x 1-3/4" casters included in the 450 lbs option.

Why Invacare does not offer the 8 x 1-3/4" casters as a separate option or even as standard I do not know. They offer an 8 x 2" as standard on their cheaper Careguard series heavy duty chair and it seems they should on the slightly more expensive Tracer IV. Luckily there are 8 x 2" aftermarket casters available at reasonable prices.

Arm options include removable Full and Desk length and height adjustable in Full and Desk length. I would like to see them add offset fixed arms as found on the Tracer EX2. I feel this would be a help to those who need a very sturdy support while rising from the chair.

All arm have composite side panels and while I am not crazy about composite side panels on a heavy duty chair, I do understand they save weight and cost.

To summarize, a good chair that could use some improvements. 

PROS

Good reliability.
Parts are readily available.
Dual axle positions.
The 450 lbs option makes the chair close to the perfect heavy duty chair.
Stronger front frame.


CONS

Needs wider front casters as standard.
 

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12/30/2005