Collapsible Golf cart

[peterbylt]

Not necessarily a Bus topic but is used with the Bus, so sorry if this is the wrong place.

A little background first.

The purpose for this vehicle is to fill the role of a Golf cart, it will be used to get around Campgrounds and resorts.
People in our situation with a Bus or large class A Motorhome that would like to bring a golf cart but need to tow their car instead and have no easy way to also bring a golf cart and instead rent a cart from the resort at exorbitant prices or go without.

This design is for an electric vehicle that will provide a Golf cart like experience, it should be able to comfortably seat two (large) people side by side, be easy to get on/off, run most of the day with intermittent use on a single charge, be able to run up to 20 mph and be easy and safe to operate.

Should be able to navigate paved, gravel and dirt roads, with some off road capabilities, possibly the occasional foray off road on fields, beaches or trails found in campgrounds and Parks.

Be easily and quickly broken down with minimal tools into a small enough package that it can be stowed in the storage area of your typical RV or even in a Car, SUV, Pickup truck, garage or apartment.

As an added bonus, I would also like to include the ability to self-charge using solar panels and include a large enough LifePO4 Battery pack, to power a 120 volt inverter, 12 volt and USB charging connections so that it could be used as a mobile power station. It could on a limited basis be used as off Grid power for your RV or at home during a power outage.

The resulting Cart build turned out better than I anticipated, so much so that a number of people have tried to buy it from me, as a result I am considering building and selling a few.

It is built almost entirely from Electric Bicycle parts.

Disassembled for storage, the box is approx. 24" x 24" x 42" or about the size of a large storage tote.

The front end, fork, goose neck and front tire go inside the Box when broken down for storage.

The base cart can be assembled without tools and driven in 5 minutes.

The Solar roof takes about 20 minutes to assemble, the roof framing and solar panels do not fit in the box for storage (although that would be nice), for a weekend I do not assemble the roof and use the plugin charger, for a week or longer I use the solar roof and have not had to use the plug in charger to keep it charged.

Although not yet completed, I wired the solar roof so it can be connected to the Bus's Solar System. When Boondocking If we are stuck in a shaded or partially shaded spot, I will be able to move the cart into the sun and provide at least some solar charging.
 
Still a work in progress, needs work on the finer details.

My question, do you think there is a market for something like this?

Any suggestions for improved Functionality?

Peter

[Jim Blackwood]

Nice. I would think that would sell.

Jim

[windtrader]

I think a collapsible electric two person has a market. This is likely available somewhere in China. Scour Alibaba and other B2B wholesale OEM manufacturers and contract for a batch to start. If cost is a primary consideration then you will have to go that route; Of course, if you want to earn a buck an hour, have at it doing it stateside. All the running and electrical is sourced from China anyway so why not get them done there and shipped here. They are foldable by design so that makes transport costs much less than fully opened.


AliExpress might be a good place to look for these already available and general pricing.

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Or just order one of these.

https://www.insidemazda.co.uk/2020/12/22/the-mazda-suitcase-car-portable-personal-mobility-with-a-twist/

[Jim Blackwood]

Funny Gary.
Maybe for the grandkids. Or Richard Hammond.

I've been toying with an idea for about a half dozen years now, still looking for a cheap donor vehicle to use but the idea is to build a parasite car that can go in the luggage bay and still drive down the street to the grocery store and whatnot. (No point in googling that name it doesn't help)

The vehicle would have to be about 48" wide, no more than at most 100" long, and 32" high in the bay with the top folded down and the suspension dropped. My lead candidate so far is a Honda Pioneer 500 side-by-side but those are too expensive. I need something I can buy for about $1500. Could be a rollover as it'd have to be cut and spliced to fit anyway.  The Pioneer is the correct length and width but is too tall but I suspect I could fix that. The Crosley Super Sport is too long by almost 40 inches and I have my doubts about that one, but if the bumpers and bodywork were cut back to the tires it would leave 12" to be removed from the center and that could be possible. There could be a micro car somewhere that could work. So far I haven't found it.

Jim

[luvrbus]

I have had a 1/2 dozen bus people trying to buy Sonja's Triumph to cut up and use for a bay car,I can't sell her car for that, she owned the little car for 45 years and only has 38,315 total miles

[freds]

Or just order one of these.

https://www.insidemazda.co.uk/2020/12/22/the-mazda-suitcase-car-portable-personal-mobility-with-a-twist/

I would have a hard time getting up and out if I sat in that thing!!!

[luvrbus]

You see the full size golf carts in the bay of buses ,they take up the whole bay.The only modification I see is steering wheel comes off or is a tilt with u-joints

[Jim Blackwood]

I'm talking to some guys on the Crosley board, the Hot Shot (base version of the super sport) could be a candidate if I could find a roller or a basket case suitable to shorten. I'd have to take about 12" out of the center.

Jim

[freds]

A bit expensive but you might chat with not awheel chair people.

https://notawheelchair.com/

[chessie4905]

They already have them. They're called mobility scooters. Tillers and seats fold down, and should fit in a baggage compartment. Trust me, you'll need or enjoy one in a couple more years. And can be used in commercial buildings.

[Jim Blackwood]

Not the best for taking the wife to the grocery store though I'd imagine. I can just see it now. She'd be the one driving with me curled up behind with a blanket over my head. No thanks, I'm pretty sure I can do better than that.

I can pick up a pretty nice and complete Crosley project for $2900. Also a local guy has one I can look at and measure, some nice warm day after superbowl so I've been thinking about that. The tires are 21" OD and overall it's 137". Looks like if the bodywork is trimmed back to the tires that leaves 12" to come out of the middle.

The engines in those were nothing special, only 26hp and my single lunger KLR made that much power. Weight was 1200lbs. Transmission was a 3 speed. It has a long hood.

So, pretty easy to upgrade to a motorcycle engine and free up some space in front. The hood is pretty flat up on top. It is likely the entire 12" could come out of the engine space instead of passenger space. A bike engine and transmission would work and give better performance. A starter and ring gear can be used for an acceptable reverse as the bendix will only engage when used. Probably drop another hundred lbs in the process. I think I can handle all of that. Crosley club has an annual meet in PA in the fall which could be a good chance to pick something up. Might have to collapse the suspension to load it in the bay though.

Looks like the high point is about 36" up but the bodywork is around 28" tall so collapsing the suspension is going to be required but should give enough space if done right.

Jim

[chessie4905]

Two mobility scooters then. But I think you need a project to keep you involved over the winter months. Go for it.

[Jim Blackwood]

How am I supposed to drive a mobility scooter down to the hardware store? And there's no sidewalk on my street either. The moped was too slow to be safe.

Jim

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

How am I supposed to drive a mobility scooter down to the hardware store? And there's no sidewalk on my street either. The moped was too slow to be safe.

Jim

Maybe get a rig like this?