Life in the country is inextricably linked with the need to constantly work in the garden or in the garden. However, it is best to drag heavy objects from place to place with the help of a special trolley, especially when it comes to building materials. In our article, we will tell you all about how to make a self-propelled cart with your own hands from a walk-behind tractor, a bicycle and other vehicles. Such information will be useful for both beginner summer residents and professional builders.
What to look for in the manufacture?
To make a self-propelled garden cart with your own hands, you first need to determine the characteristics of the future product, as well as the function that your invention will perform. For example, if you need a trolley in order to transport heavy building materials from place to place, then it must have a good carrying capacity. And for transporting sand or gravel, a low unit should be made so that it is convenient to pour building material with a shovel into it. We also strongly recommend that you pay attention to the following nuances during construction:
- the maximum amount;
- maneuverability;
- ICE power.
As for the last point, it deserves a much wider mention, so we will return to it in the following sections. Well, with the first and second everything should be clear: maneuverability will allow you to easily pass difficult obstacles when loaded, and a large body volume will give you the opportunity to spend less time transporting building materials or soil.
Creating Drawings
Any work on the manufacture of something with your own hands should begin with the preparation of competent drawings, especially when it comes to a self-propelled cart. Without a sketchy drawing before your eyes, it will be quite simple to make mistakes in the calculations, so do not be too lazy to spend several hours so that you do not have to redo all the work later.
It should be noted that the drawing should be presented in two versions. On the first, the body and frame should be depicted, which will be made of improvised materials. The second page of the drawing should be occupied by the internal combustion engine, which will be used during assembly, as well as options for attaching it to the body and wheels.
List of required materials
Decided to make an electric self-propelled cart with your own hands? We strongly recommend that you make a list of the necessary materials in advance and purchase them at the construction base, as in stores or on the market, the price is usually several times overstated. Here are just the basic things you might need:
- metal parts - pipes, plates, slats sheets and so on;
- wooden parts - suitable for the manufacture of a body and frame;
- wheels from a walk-behind tractor, bicycle, car or scooter;
- internal combustion engine with good power.
Also, one should not forget about the various fasteners, which in each case will be different. For example, if you decide to use planks for building, you will have to get dozens of screws, and for fixing metal parts it is best to use welding.
List of required tools
In order not to be distracted while working on the search for the necessary tools, it is recommended to get everything you need in advance. If something is missing, then you can use an alternative option (instead of a screwdriver with self-tapping screws - a hammer and nails), but you need to do this wisely so that the quality of the product does not suffer. Here is a list of the main tools that will come in handy:
- electric jigsaw and circular saw - for wood processing;
- a grinder with disks and a welding machine - for working with metal;
- a screwdriver or drill with a special nozzle - for fastening a tree;
- a set of wrenches and screwdrivers - to remove unnecessary elements from the engine.
Do not forget that this is only a minimal list of what may come in handy in the process. It can be expanded if necessary. It all depends on what kind of trolley you want to make.
Metal body and ICE from a moped
In this and subsequent sections you will find information about the features of the assembly of garden carts with your own hands. Options can be very different. For example, you can use an internal combustion engine from a typical eighty-cc moped, as well as its rear wheel. In this case, you will not have to remove any elements. It will only be necessary to correctly attach the ICE to the metal body, with the manufacture of which there should also not be any special difficulties. Also, as an additional element, you can use the brake system from a scooter by attaching cables from the pads to the handles.
Self-propelled trolley from an old tractor
If you have an old unnecessary tractor, which is still underway, then making a self-propelled cart from it will not be difficult. We simply remove unnecessary elements from agricultural machinery, for example, a driver’s seat and instead put some deep bathtub or a body made of wood. Such a unit is ideal for transporting heavy building materials (cement, bricks, etc.) over a fairly large distance. As an additional element, we recommend making a small metal plane on which the driver can become feet.
Cultivator unit
Any motor cultivator that has failed can be used to create a self-propelled cart with your own hands. In this case, you will first have to figure out the engine problems (replace the belt or put new candles), and then proceed with the manufacture of the frame on which the ICE and the trolley body will be mounted. It is best to use iron corners for this purpose, welding from them a rectangle of the desired shape according to pre-prepared drawings. Then the design will be more durable, and the self-propelled apparatus - reliable.
Bicycle trolley - true or fiction?
Have you decided to make a self-propelled cart from a bicycle with your own hands? On the Internet you can find a lot of instructions on how to do this, but few people mention the capabilities of such a device. Just think, if you will use thin bicycle wheels to transport heavy cargo, then sooner or later they will simply bend, since several bags of cement usually exceed the mass of a person several times. However, completely dismissing this option would also be wrong. Such a trolley is perfect for summer residents who do not like to transfer substrate and fertilizers for plants in buckets, but prefer to use a self-propelled device for this.
Video and conclusion
As you can see, there are quite a few options that allow you to make a self-propelled cart with your own hands. Such an aggregate can be made from almost any engine, and most building materials are suitable for the frame. However, be sure to consider the purpose of your future "assistant." It would be rather stupid to build a wooden cart in order to transport heavy plates or bricks on it, because sooner or later such a body simply can not withstand the load. We also offer you to watch a short video, from which you can also extract a lot of useful information.