Hi James,
Thanks for the very useful letter about the All Terrain Carts. There are lots of things to think about after reading your article; I had some thoughts to add. I like the input you had about storing liquids, etc… In the tubing of your frames for these carts. A very likely necessity IMHO. I would hate to cart 20 gallons of water 90% of the way home, and spill 1?2 of it before you get there!
In the article, the web links to the different types of carts all have inferior wheels as a week link unless you live on the salt flats. I like the castor, or solid wheel in town, or on hard surface. When I hear All Terrain, these simply don’t fit in this category.
It is hard to beat ATV (all terrain vehicle) rims/tire combos. Coming in at around 5 lbs each (assuming aluminum rim), I think the weight of the tire is overcome by the extreme dexterity that this kind of tire provides. I would be very comfortable placing 1,500 lbs on two ATV rim/tire combos. The weak link,… the axle.
ATVs are a modern marvel no matter what one’s opinion. The terrain that they can defeat is seemingly almost mathematically impossible. The equal and opposite reactions coupled with the “balloon effect” of their tires result in ease of straddling washouts, logs up to 1?2 the height of the tire, etc… And doing so all the while not tipping the apple basket. Consider that this cart could also become a much needed stretcher during TEOTWAWKI after a terrible incident, the balloon shock absorbing effect of the pneumatic tires could in fact be lifesaving to the passenger.
In the following idea’s, I am envisioning a horizontal cart about 7’ long and 4’ wide, not nearly as high as the picture of the cart with the elk on it.
When I hear All Terrain,… I envision hills. Hills that make pushing a loaded cart troublesome indeed. I think a few moments of brain storming would render a very very handy feature to this cart.
Here’s my thought: After your horizontal All Terrain Cart is built, fabricate a makeshift mud flap that serves three purposes.
1. A simple mud flap
2. A mud scraper
3. A parking brake for climbing those steep hills when your body needs a break, and you can’t figure out a way to get the cart to stay still. I recommend mounting the mud flap/parking brake/ scraper assembly directly above the center of the rim, located above the rubber ATV tire, (approx. 1 1?2” above inflated rubber tire. Weld a piece of pipe on the “frame” sticking out over the tire (aprox. 5” long piece of pipe, drill a hole big enough for a cotter pin to fit in the end.
Then weld a piece of 1/8” steel plate aprox. 6” long and 4 1?2” wide to another piece of pipe that is at least 1?4” i.d. larger than the o.d. of the pipe welded to the frame. Bend the 1/8” plate at a slightly tighter radius than the pneumatic tire. (When mounted, the only edge touching the tire would be the end furthest away from the pipe it’s welded to). ( Envision the old playing cards mounted to the bicycle frame that flop against the spokes that kids used to do to create a “motor” sound). Same principle. This mud flap will in fact be mounted and facing towards the front of the cart, (not the back as you would typically think). This multi-purpose flap will actually ride/bounce on the tire.
Slide the flap assembly onto the pipe welded to the frame, (pipe welded to frame should be about 1?2” longer than the pipe welded to the flap assembly) slide a heavy duty washer on, then drop in your cotter pin; this will retain the flap assembly to the cart.
If installed properly, you should be able to pull/ push the cart forward with the curved flap bouncing off of the tread on the tire, but once you go to pull the cart backwards, the curved flap will “dig in” to the knobby tread of the tire, this is the brake. If you are fighting the flap, you un-pin it and store it away, or, flip it over backwards so the curved flap is now curved the complete opposite of the tire. It should easily be out of the way of the knobby tire this way, it will only rub on the tread, but it is a large curved surface that can’t grab the knobs on the tire. I like this idea because if this cart became a stretcher, then hopefully the person in tow could put downward pressure on the curved plates which would apply friction to the tires slowing down the descent rate if going down a hill.
There are so many different tread patterns to tires that you may have to attach lugs, or make notches on the plate so it actively engages the lugs when using it as the intended curved down parking brake. Some tires are staggered tread; some are more like a paddle tire where it would be easier to engage such large knobs.
The descriptions so far do not act as a mud scraper. I would weld a piece of flat stock to the back side of the mud flap assembly that faces rearward. This flat metal will not touch the tire, but will scrape off any thick sticky mud that may attach itself to your tire and keep you from rolling the cart very easily not to mention the extra pounds of mud that it should remove. Keep it off of the rubber enough that you can still flip the assembly over backwards, plus, you don’t want to jamb up your drive train with weed entrapment. Leave at least an inch of space.
When designing your cart, determine your potential use. A true All Terrain Cart would be better served with a 48” space between tires than a 24” space. High centers of gravity need to be offset by a wider “stance”. The wider the stance, the heavier the axle needs to be. Think it through, and make it multipurpose. Just don’t let the kids use it as a Soap Box Derby car! – The Wanderer
James:
Check out the hiking attachment system for a bike trailer. Attach to your cart, copy the design, or use it with the bike trailer it was intended for…
Hope it helps, – OSOM – “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”