a kart for my son

[ghost civic]

my boy is about to turn 5 years old.
last summer, his power wheels died (the thing was over 10 years old)

I have looked into electric motors, controllers ect. I have some knowledge of the stuff as my hobby is RC cars.

But to be honest, I just don't have the budget for a good setup.

Then a saw some vids of go karts powered with a electric drill. Just so happens I have a spare Ryobi cordless drill

Here are my goals....I want a rig that can run decent sized rear wheels for traction...that can drive on a lawn or in dirt. The power wheels could go 5mph...id love to get 10mph but 8ish would be fine.

I could run the Ryobi battery...or I have the 12v battery from the power wheels (only a year old) That battery would reduce the motors power, but run for much longer time.

The frame will be from wood...as I have neither a welder or the knowledge of how to weld.

I think I can work out the steering on my own. The drive system I need opinions on. I have seen ones that ran the chuck of the drill against a wheel (friction) and while this seems the simplist way to go, Im thinking if he drives threw wet grass/mud/puddles that he would lose drive.

I may be able to fine some chain and sprockets off some old bikes...but not sure if gearing should go up, down or stay the same. I have also seen belt pullies (like for rider mowers) at the hardware store for cheap. But I am not sure if a belt drive is a good idea?

I know that a drill for power is not going to be a rocket and that there are some fairly cheap motors...but honestly id like to do the whole thing for under $50 (wood, hardware, maybe a set of wheels ect) So that doesn't really leave money for a $40 motor.

If anyone has pics, those help a lot.

One other thing...I had looked at a power wheels ATV at walmart. wish I could get it for him, but I is over $200. Has anyone ever done a kart that you would ride like a ATV?

 

[landuse]

Welcome to the forum.

You have got a tall order there with what you want to achieve. Karts have been made with cordless drills as the power source, but 9 times out of ten it doesn't work well

What size drill have you got first of all?

 

[Poboy kartman]

Welcome to the forum.

You have got a tall order there with what you want to achieve. Karts have been made with cordless drills as the power source, but 9 times out of ten it doesn't work well

What size drill have you got first of all?

#1: Ryobi....= POS..... not bad for the money....but not top quality.....and #2: running on 12 volt??? Hmmmn....maybe running in place??? Also....I really wouldn't try it in a "non smoking area ".....but....I've been wrong before....one thing.,..if it doesn't work....at least you're burning up a cheap drill....

 

[J_Walker]

maybe wait and save up some money and buy a two seat-er gasoline powered go kart that you can drive him around in? its bonding time now! an when he gets old enough to drive it on his own responsibly, he can.

just a thought...

 

[ghost civic]

I have a Ryobi 18v. Im not apposed to using the drill's battery, it would just be nice to use the 12v power wheels battery.

If I can build it for not more than $50, then I wont care if it isn't fast. If I can build it cheap and it only goes 5mph that will be OK. Im partly wanting to have something for my son to drive, and partly wanting a project to do.

I had also considered a car starter, but from what I read that's hard to use because of cooling issues.

Any ideas how it is best to gear a drill to work? tire size is the only way to gear it if I do a friction drive. If I use a belt or chain then I could gear it up or down. Then there is the 2 speeds of the drill. Not sure if speed 1 or speed 2 is best. Do they make the same torque in either setting?

I live right in town... a gas powered rig would be hated by neighbors. A electric rig we can drive down the road to the school and parks.

 

[chancer]

If I were you I would buy a "Razor" Dune buggy. They are 24volt 7mph. Neighborhood friendly electric, runs on grass. Really cool my little kids have them. and on the electric scooter forum they have all kind of mods. IMHO they are such a nice little Kart I consider gas powering one in the future, just for a project but may work good for a little kid too.
I know budget sounds like a concern (you mentioned 50bucks) but I see them on Craigs list all the time.

 

[ghost civic]

if that gets 7mph out of 24v, then getting anything over 5mph out of a 18v drill sounds unlikely.

I do check yard sales and Clist often...but up where I live people don't often sell that sort of stuff for cheap. I did just miss the chance to get a ATV power wheels last summer for cheap. saw it at a lawn sale on the way to the dump...stopped on the way back and it had just sold

Ive seen vids of those wooden karts...the ones with the single pivot point steering that you steer with your feet. Maybe I will just build him one of those and push him around on it.

Better yet...I could pull him with my 1/6 scale hummer H2 RC crawler! It has 2 55turn brushed motors running on 8v...doesn't sound like much but it is geared so it hardly goes faster than walking speed. I have dragged 38 #'s across pavement with it. Pulling him in a wheeled kart shouldn't be any harder. If it struggles, I can upgrade to a 12v lipo battery for more power.

 

[J_Walker]

I could drop 50 bucks on the wood alone... and that's going cheap! oh woodcraft...

Why not teach him to ride a bicycle instead? it will be cheaper on your wallet, plus you can customize it with him..? paint/lights/stickers what ever.

 

[drm]

I vote razor too if you can find one. I just found a ground force kart for $30. It needed batteries and cleaning. Add $30 in batteries from chrome batteries and my 4yo has an awesome kart for $60.

 

[ghost civic]

OK, so I know that car starter motors are far from Ideal....but I just realized I have a Volvo 850 starter (2.5l turbo) that has been sitting.

I know heating can be an issue as they are not meant to run for long times. However, ive owned a 1987 Toyota 4wd pickup before. they had a clutch override. I once ran out of gas and drove the truck via the starter for a mile (not continuous, but for 1-2 minute bursts) The starter (in a old truck with over 200k miles) didn't flinch. I would think if a starter can propel a 3,000 pound truck at 3-4mph then it can move a 150 pound kart (likely lighter than that) at a decent speed.

anyway, since I have a motor and no car for it to be used in, why not put it in a kart? I also have a deep cycle 12v marine battery. That should work better than a regular car battery right?
The thing that has me stumped...how to a setup a sprocket or pulley on the motor shaft?

 

[wesleyb82]

Or fix the Power Wheels http://forum.modifiedpowerwheels.com

 

[ghost civic]

Or fix the Power Wheels http://forum.modifiedpowerwheels.com

yeh, but that wont be as much fun as building a kart

plus, this power wheels has lived far beyond its normal life span. axles are bent, motors are well worn, steering is loose and now either part of the wiring or the forward/reverse control is totally corroded. I wont junk it...maybe I can re-use some parts for a kart...or just give it to someone who is desperate enough to fix it.

and really, I want something for my son that is a bit faster. and something that can handle grass and dirt better. He is only 5, but has good coordination. and there are places not far from my home that are wide-open for him to drive a kart in safety.

Ive been reading as much as I can on karts made with starter motors. It seem like with the right gearing and cooling mods added I should be able to get more than enough speed. I just need to work out the best (and cheapest) way to control the motor. If it were for me, id just have power be on/off. But since it is for my son, ill either want it variable...or possibly such that I can limit power (in case the speed ends up being too fast)

I have a free motor, free battery. If I build the frame out of wood that wont cost much. 4 tires from harbor freight are around $30. There will be lots of odds and ends, but it should be possible to do it for under $100. That would only take selling one of my RC trucks to pay for.

 

[rocketkart]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Razor-E...833?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19db8c1f99 or http://www.ebay.com/itm/24-VOLT-24V...her_Vehicle_Parts&hash=item53eb4f2713&vxp=mtr that has the motor mounts.

 

[ghost civic]

those are pretty affordable. but id have to tack on the price of a controller and a second battery as well. That would be at least $100 for the 3 items. Can those motors turn a 10 or 13'' diameter wheel? Im looking to build something with wheels tall enough for some very light offroad use...not just on pavement.

 

[wesleyb82]

Go big or go home. http://www.ebay.com/itm/MY1020-1000...200?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2577e46ac8

Here it is in action on one of ours: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOJC02BQ-eI

 

[ghost civic]

well, not sure I want my 5 year old in something with that much power..lol.

I wish I understood wiring better. mechanical stuff I can figure out. wiring has always been a bit of a head scratcher for me.

A dream of mine would be to turn my 2wd S10 into a EV. electric motors IMO are really cool. I might miss the sound of a combustion engine...but that's about all I would miss.

 

[dcastillo]

A used gokart frame on CL with tires/axle/ stearing etc is way cheaper then building one out of wood...

do the math up front, building a wooden frame from scratch and adding the wheels/axle/steering etc, isnt going to be as cheap as you think

-Danny

 

[ghost civic]

I think the wood would be cheap...but I have realized that wheels/tires/bearings and needed metal bits/hardware will add up.
Im currently watching CL for a rolling chassis. Hoping it doesn't take too long before something shows up that I can buy or trade for.

 

[wesleyb82]

A used gokart frame on CL with tires/axle/ stearing etc is way cheaper then building one out of wood...

do the math up front, building a wooden frame from scratch and adding the wheels/axle/steering etc, isnt going to be as cheap as you think

-Danny

Completely agree with dcastillo here. After you add up all the little parts it will almost definitely exceed the cost of a used kart. The razor drifter conversion in the video was about $1k which is insane. That is probably my first and last ground up build.

 

[Aggrodillo]

You can always hardwire a motorcycle or lawn tractor battery to the power wheels and yse a trickle charge to charge. That's what I did with my boys power wheels years ago. Now they are 10 and 11 and graduated to working on their own yerfdogs