Tampa guy needs some direction

[n2extreme1]

Hey guys

I am going to attempt to build a go kart. First off let me tell you that I am not mechanically inclined in the least bit. Other than changing oil or a spark plug I am a fish out of water. I have a design in my head that I want to build. You see I am big into scenario paintball and I want to build a tank so I can bring to the events. I currently have a tank I built off of a golf cart but I want to do this one from the ground up. I want it to be just big enough for 2 people. The driver and the turret gunner. My design is something like a cross between a bar stool racer and a go kart. I figured if the bar stool was over the engine it could be used for the turret gunner and save on space. The other features I want to include are:

Throttle and brake on steering wheel
High ground clearance
Small and compact but still functional for its purpose
I’m thinking a 10hp engine
Electric start with reverse
Tank rules state you can only go as fast as a person can walk so I need this to have more torque than speed. I just want to make sure I go about building this properly and I don’t want to get the wrong parts that are rated for other purposes.
Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Welcome to the forum, sounds like a really interesting build. You'll have to start a thread in the Photo Gallery and project log to showcase the build.

A couple random thoughts here-

With the machine geared so low as to go walking speed, 10hp is much more than is required. Further to this, a 10hp engine will have a 1" output shaft, whereas the smaller engines will have a 3/4" shaft. The point of this is that clutches and CVT's for 1" shafts tend to be a fair bit more expensive than the 3/4" versions. With such incredibly low gearing, you could get away with 5hp and less.

The next point worth making is that reverse can be difficult and/or costly to achieve with an industrial-engine powered vehicle. There are a few gearboxes out there that can be had, but they are pricey. One relatively do-able solution for you would be to source a cheap lawn tractor. The transmission will have reverse, and is already geared for low speed (and you can goof off in high gear when not paintballing!). They tend to use a vertical-shaft engine, which do have a tendency to be cheaper to attain- a bonus if the tractor you get is missing the engine or it's completely fried.

A high-dollar solution to everything would be a hydrostatic drive system. The engine has no direct mechanical link to the wheels. The engine drives a hydraulic pump, which draws fluid from a reservoir and sends it through hoses under high pressure to one or more hydraulic motors which are connected to the wheels. Reverse is achieved through valving, literally reversing the direction of fluid flow. The mega-bonus here is that you could have tracks, and skid-steer like a real tank- controlling the two tracks seperately. However- a system like this is gonna cost you at least one of your family jewels, and is probably a wee bit complex for a beginner.

Personally, if you asked me how to pull off this project, I would say to start haunting Craigslist for a cheap lawn tractor. Cheers!

 

[Bluethunder3320]

im thinking lawn tractor, totally stock but take the deck off, and lock up the axle if you want to.

not sure how youd get 2 people on there though.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Stock? Nah- an endeavor like this requires a new, purpose-built frame.

 

[wall gator]

Maybe, you could adapt one of these???????

 

[n2extreme1]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I was considering a lawn mower tractor engine but wasn't sure if it would work. Will a 5hp motor still be able to move a good amount of weight? Say 500lbs in gear and people? I found a picture of a yerf dog kart. If I added larger tires, moved the drivers seat forward and put a tractor engine in the place of the original motor I think I would be close to what I'm looking for. Anything else I would have to swap out if I changed the motors?

That last picture looks like something I could work with. I would just more ground clearance.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

5hp would do it, geared for walking speed. You may be able to start with a yerf dog chassis, combined with a riding mower engine and tranny, but I gave this some thought last night (it is a neat idea), and I really think you'd be better to build a new frame. Can you weld?

 

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[n2extreme1]

ToyStory I have never attempted to weld. My friend says he has limited experience with it but he lives and hour away and just had a new born. That on top of me working every other weekend would make for a very long project.

Here is a picture of what I am looking at doing. This is built on a Isreal military vehicle. I am looking to do a scale down version. As mentioned it only needs to go walking speed.

Thats why when I saw the yerf dog kart I thought it might be a good base to work from. This is the model I was looking at.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

As I see it, there's pretty much zero chance you're going to be able to accomplish what you want without welding. Even mounting a couple of jackshafts for the extreme gear reduction needed for the low speed will require some fabrication. Then there's the reverse thing.

The only thing I can possibly think of that you can do without welding coes back to the lawn tractor. Although the footprint may not be ideal, you could modify the overall layout with fasteners instead of welding. Maybe using perforate angle, used for shelving systems. That would still allow a slow travel speed and reverse. Changing the rear tires for something smaller will slow things down more.