The Escargoline
The Escargoline is a revolutionary little machine that completes our donkey equipment. It is a cart placed on 3 wheels, capable of transporting people with disabilities, or people with reduced mobility (elderly people) or even children, on all types of paths. It can be towed by one or two people, or by an animal (donkey, pony, mule, horse).
The Escargoline can safely transport an adult, even an overweight person, or two teenagers, or even three children, or even a mother and her two children. Or even a grandpa with her two grandchildren. She gives access to paths and nature to anyone with a disability, to the elderly. So, these people have their place among us, among everyone.
4994 € incl. VAT
Immediate delivery
To order the Escargoline, please contact us :
The Escargoline is delivered in working order, ready to operate
Depending on the degree of disability of the people transported, some additional options or spare parts may be required, described at the bottom of this page.
The Escargoline with animal traction
The Escargoline with human traction
The animal-powered Escargoline is connected to the animal by a lifting beam, equipped with an emergency separation device.
The price of the animal-drawn Escargoline includes the machine itself, the collar, the leather harness and the diapason (stretcher). The spreader bar is fitted with an emergency separation device.
The human-powered Escargoline is connected to the person(s) pulling by a rod, a sort of stretcher, fixed to a solid leather harness.
The price of the human-powered Escargoline includes the machine itself, the rod and a leather traction harness.
Learn more …
The Escargoline, a wonderful tool against disability
L’Escargoline opens walking and hiking to people with disabilities. Where the wheelchair cannot go, because of the structure of the path, the Escargoline passes without problem, thanks to its robustness. It is so comfortable, even on stony paths, that disabled people feel better in it than in their wheelchair. With the Escargoline pulled by a small donkey, disabled people were able to walk the most beautiful sections of the route to Santiago de Compostela.
Structure
Constructed from 33mm steel tubes 3mm thick, the Escargoline is virtually indestructible. We tried to destroy, without success, prototype number 1 on horrible bumpy roads, until it had to climb Mount Lozère. Then he went to Fatima, Portugal…. As for prototype number 2, it drove to Compostela…
Brakes
The Escargoline has two drum hubs on the rear wheels. The driver can act on two brake handles which actuate the two drums equally. In case of a long descent, it has a braking bar that will do the job effortlessly. Drum hubs are maintenance free and safe from rain and mud. The shoe of a drum brake lasts infinitely longer than the pad of a disc brake.
The brake handle has a “parking brake” button. This locks the machine in place while you transfer someone from their wheelchair to the Escargoline seat.
Seat and armrests
The seat allows you to sit at:
• a disabled person, even if overweight
• 2 adults
• 3 children or a mother and 2 children
The armrests are cut from solid ash and offer two positions:
• at maximum spacing they ensure the maintenance of 2 or 3 people
• at the minimum distance they ensure the maintenance of one person
Brake adjustments
All the cables arrive on a “plate” where each of them is enclosed by a slightly tiled plate fixed by 4 BTR screws. The dream of every cycle mechanic…
Each cable and each sheath is adjustable by 4 tensioners.
Everything is directly accessible. Changing a cable and adjusting its tension becomes child’s play.
Driving place
Just as he would drive a baby stroller or wheelchair, the driver stands and walks in the back of the Escargoline. He ensures the safety of the machine and passengers, particularly in the event of deep ruts or difficult terrain. He has 4 ergonomic driving positions to rest his hands on. In the event of imminent danger, he activates the Emergency Separation System (central handle E).
A – B : Push bars
C – D : Push bars with brake levers
Passing obstacles (stones, roots, steps on the path)
The operator can also push if necessary, and use two lifting handles to relieve the machine to clear a root or stone step.
Crossing a rut
When one of the wheels enters a rut, the driver can move to the left or right, on the side opposite the rut, in order to steer the machine safely during the slope.
SSU (Emergency Separation System)
In animal traction, nature is full of surprises. It could be a deer that tumbles between the animal’s legs, or a jet plane that passes close to its ears.
The Emergency Separation System, which we developed and patented in 2010, allows you to instantly separate the Escargoline from the animal at the simple press of a handle, operated by the person at the driving position, thus preserving the integrity of passengers.
The Emergency Separation System is installed on the rudder.
• In position 1, the rudder is connected to the stretcher by a steel carabiner. The tension of the chain is ensured by the metal ring at the end of the spreader, itself blocked by a counter-ring.
• In position 2, the SSU has been activated, the plate where the chain is attached has pivoted downwards, the chain has detached from the rudder and remains attached to the animal’s stretcher. The Escargoline stopped there…
To re-engage the system, simply hook the last ring of the chain under the rudder and click the plate into its latch.
The SSU, a devilishly simple system, which works by simple gravity. No pins or belts that could get stuck.
Rudder for animal traction
The rudder is a complex mechanical part, which connects the front wheel of the Escargoline and the animal’s stretcher. It transfers the movements of the animal’s chest, where the collar is located (alternately to the right and left depending on the step), on the axis of the front wheel. This specificity prevents any muscle blockage and risk of injury by friction in the chest area.
The emergency separation system installed on the rudder has been patented by the INPI (french patent office) since 2010.
1 – steering stem
2 – arrival of the separation cable
3 – latch box: will release a latch when the separation is activated
4 – plate: it pivots downwards once released from the latch
5 – attachment chain: when the plate falls, the chain is no longer held by the hook of the plate
6 – adjustment ring: allows you to adjust the tension of the attachment chain
7 – stretcher attachment ring. When the plate falls, the ring and chain remain attached to the stretcher, the animal moves away and the Escargoline stops
Stretcher-harness for animal traction
The leather harness is in one piece, it is installed in a single operation once the straps have been adjusted to the dimensions of the animal, thus avoiding the risk of injury due to poor tension. No need to be a hitch specialist.
1 – collar
2 – traction belt
3 – towing hook
4 – belly band (tightens the harness)
5 – stiffener belt
6 – stretcher
7 – breeching
8 – stretcher holding strap
9 – harness
10 – harness-collar retaining strap
11 – spider
12 – rudder
Measure the collar and the stretcher
To acquire an Escargoline and harness it behind your animal, you need to take 2 measures:
1) the size of the collar
2) the width of the animal’s belly at its widest point, which will give the size of the stretcher.
To do this, follow the instructions in the 2 thumbnails opposite:
Animal
You can use a donkey, a pony or a small horse, as long as it is trained in traction. With an Escargoline, there are two solutions:
• Either the animal is “under orders”, that is to say obeys the voice of the driver located behind. So a single person can guide the Escargoline.
• Either the animal is not yet trained to harness. So you need someone to guide him and show him the path to take. And of course always a driver in the back.
The rod for human traction
The rod is a metal stretcher which forms the connection between the person who pulls and the chassis of the machine. It is fixed on the fork of the front wheel.
Its width is adjustable so that it adapts to the puller’s build.
The rod attaches to the leather harness of the person pulling. And possibly to the second puller’s harness, with a rope.
Human traction harness
The harness allows one person to tow the Escargoline. It is made from a double piece of padded leather, 20 cm high, as artisans once wore. It distributes the forces over a wide back and stomach height. The shoulder harness is connected to the front wheel axle by a metal linkage.
You can add a second person a little ahead, equipped with the same harness, to facilitate traction, especially in hilly areas. In this case, this second harness is connected to the Escargoline chassis by 2 ropes. To prevent the ropes from dangling and the shooters from tripping over them, the ropes are suspended from an intermediate ring fixed at the head of the rod.
Given the weight of the machine (73 kg), which is mounted on three wheels, the force required to tow it on a flat surface is almost zero. If there is a slight slope, we count a few kilos. With two pullers, the machine moves without problem. This advantage allows a woman to tow with ease.
Some pictures of an Escargoline in human traction…
Transport with a shell
On the Escargoline you can also place a disabled person in his shell.
Simply place a 10 mm plywood board on the seat, so as not to tear the leatherette. The straps of the shell, like a child’s car seat, are then attached to the different tubes.
The disabled person then retains the safety of their shell, and the joy of walking at a donkey’s pace.
Price and VAT (french VAT)
The price of Escargoline is very low. Manufacturing has been optimized to make its price as affordable as possible. In addition, the machine is presented with options, so that each structure chooses its type of material.
• Those who have an animal will take the chassis, the collar, the tuning fork-harness and the rudder. All these elements are included in the price.
Bonus: VAT on the sale of equipment for disabled people is in France 5.5%. The Escargoline falls into this category. Since January 1, 2018, this reduced rate has been extended in France to the rental of this equipment. So a professional subject to VAT who rents his Escargoline to customers may allow them to benefit from this provision.
Historic of the Escargoline
The Joëlette made it possible, around thirty years ago, to offer disabled people the pleasure of walking and hiking in the great outdoors. The idea was brilliant, with the reservations that everyone who has ever driven a Joëlette knows well: instability due to the single wheel, therefore rapid fatigue of the two pilots, therefore the need for several carrying teams.
The Escargoline continues this story, eliminating all the weak points of the Joëlette: possibility of carrying several people, remarkable stability, a single team of two or three people, possibility of secure traction by an animal with separation system emergency in case of necessity.
There remains one point that the Escargoline will not be able to compete with its big sister: the possibility of riding on narrow mountain paths.
Bonus Occitanie
Although we invented the concept and created the plans for the Escargoline, we subcontract the welding of the metal frame to craftsmen in our home region of Occitania. But first we buy the metal tubes, then cut, drill and deburr all the parts to the right dimensions before handing them over to the metalworker.
We thus remain faithful to our ethics on fair rural trade.
Financial aid to purchase an Escargoline
– Bank credit
– Crowdfunding (Ulule, Bulb-in-Town, etc.)
– Subsidies for businesses (General Council, Regional Council, Europe, etc.)
– Subsidies for associative structures (service clubs (Rotary, Lion’s), foundations, etc.)
– Social funds of cooperative banks (Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, Banque Populaire)
– Corporate sponsorship
Bank credit
If you opt for this choice with repayment over 3 years, the monthly payments will be around €120 per month.
Profitability for a professional
– Suppose that the rental of an Escargoline for a whole day is €30
– Suppose that the rental of the animal which will tow it is €50
– The turnover for one day will then be €80
– From the second day of rental in a month, the monthly payment is refunded.
– Thus, only two rentals of the Escargoline each month will be necessary to repay the loan
– If, during the 3 years of repayment of the loan, the monthly rental of the Escargoline is greater than two, then each month it will be more…
– Bonus: customers who come for Escargoline would probably not have come and would probably not have rented an animal
Communication :
– Demonstration videos on your website
– Approaches to structures for disabled people
– Approaches to retirement homes
– Advertising in the media
• spotlight on Escargoline in your company
• promotion of your structure which is of interest to people with disabilities
• beautiful brand image
Option 1: You choose delivery by carrier. As this is a 3-wheeled machine, it cannot be placed in a lorry trailer as it is. It has to be wedged onto a special pallet and secured by building a protective OSB hut around it. The preparation and delivery of such a pallet costs between €500 and €600.
Clearly we don’t like building pallets…
Option 2: you come and pick her up in pretty Quercy. We are 20 km south of Cahors, 5 km from the Cahors-Sud motorway exit.
If you arrive in the evening, you will be offered hospitality. We’ll take time to explain every detail of the Escargoline, then we’ll have dinner together and talk about our businesses. You’ll leave the next morning rested.
We like that.
Below are the options and spare parts
Headrest
3-points belt
Soft top
Rubber mat
Seat cover
Additional collar
Roudounette, protective moumoute for the Colisson collar
Additional harness
Passenger brake lever
Additional stretcher
Traction rope
Additional man harness
Additional rudder
Human rod
Attachment hook
2-points belt
Rear spare wheel
Front spare wheel
Headrest cover
