Building my own cart

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Foxhaven

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Westcliffe, CO
Is anyone familiar with a kit, or plans, along with sourcing specialty parts, should I decide to build my own cart and/or buggy?

I can weld, paint, build spoked wheels, etc. and am a fair hand at general fabrication. Just thinking it might hold down the cost a bit, be a point of pride, and... well... just fun. Cannot say I've ever built wooden wheels... but I bet they can be had.

Anyone done this?

Also what limitations would there be in using such a vehicle in competition?
 
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Have you checked the ADS website?

There used to be a member here named Myrna. She and her husband had a business building vehicles. If you searched old driving topics you might be able to locate her and get some constructive information.

If you decide to do the project I hope you'll keep us informed of your progress. You may have customers!
 
Myrna Rhinehart is now the Chair of the American Driving Society Education Committee! =^)

Leia
 
I really miss Myrnas' discussions and posts
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There is a website you can check out, Buggy Bob's. This is a company in Shelbyville, TN that sells many varieties of carts and carriages. They are pretty expensive, but you can look at what they offer, and you can buy kits and also most parts from them. Building a cart isn't difficult, except for the wheels, and those you can buy and have shipped to you if you don't have anywhere close by that you can get them from.

You will probably want to buy the wheels, shafts, and a few other bent wood parts as those parts are all bent to shape with steam and pressure and you need special equipment to do the bending and shaping. As I said, all available, if you can find them. We get our parts from Amish buggy makers, but they generally don't do much on line. They will ship parts to you if you can find them.

A good friend of mine here in Wisconsin builds carts, and has built several for me. I actually have one in my basement right now, he built all the components (or we bought them) and I am in the process of doing the finish work, sanding, staining, varnish/clearcoat etc. I wish you were closer to WI, as I am doing this cart for sale, and would happily sell it cheap to someone who wanted to do the finishing themselves.

It is very rewarding to be able to see a cart you built yourself in a competition, and particularly if it does well for you. We use our wood wheeled carts in all types of competitions. We primarily show in ADS shows, which require wood wheels in most cases, but we've shown in mini breed shows with them and usually are the only wood wheels in the class. We usually place well, but do have a little trouble sometimes with some arenas if they are too soft and deep sand. ADS shows usually run on grass, so the narrow wheels don't cut in. We did build one fine harness cart with interchangeable wheels, wood for the carriage shows and pneumatic bicycle type wheels for the soft arenas. Jerald used to offer both types interchangable on their carts but I recently was told they no longer offer wood as they were too expensive.

Spend some time on line, and see what you can find, its out there, but not easy to find and the shipping is expensive. Wheels are heavy, and the shafts alone are anywhere from 4 to 8 feet long, so good luck.

If you want to send me a personal email, I may be able to point you in the right direction. [email protected]
 
Great info! Thanks, all! We actually have a dog show this fall in Penn so that might make an interesting side trip, to see what is in the area.

Of course... I need to be careful to not 'put the cart before the horse'... gotta train Legend to drive after all. ;-)

Good to plan ahead.
 
We just bought steel wheels and two axles for our to-be-homemade 4 wheel carriage, thanks for the link Suzanne, have requested to join.
 
OK... warning, complete NOOB observations here...

Interesting observations as I look at the construction of most of the carts. Easy entry would be hardest to build in a lightweight but durable configuration.

This is a used horse sized cart in my area for $350:

3E83Nd3H75G75H75Mbd2hf5b8037631fc13a4.jpg


A standard show cart would be easiest... it pretty much centers around the shafts, so a shaft and singletree kit would get me most of the way there. That would sure sit low though, sized for a mini. Looks like no suspension, so that might be a bit rough on trails. I am seeing, essentially, radial laced bicycle wheels often with quick release (great idea and easy to source) on show carts. Just a note (former bicycle mechanic here, a long time ago): I wonder why 3-cross spoke patterns are not used? Makes a stronger wheel with a bit more flex. While rigid wheels are desirable in bicycles, in carts I would not think so. Dunno.

This easy entry cart seems simple to build and is quite attractive:

http://buggybobs.com/carts/pgs/ca202.html

06.JPG


Dunno about the suspension... single leaf quarter eliptical rear fixed mount? I think I'd prefer a different stronger arrangement if I were to go on trails, but it might be fine. I will have to contact him on shaft kits, looks like he has a horse sized kit for 2 bills but it wouldn't take long to exceed the price of a used Jerald EE at that rate, adding wheels.

Speaking of wheels, mine are turning... LOL
 
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Here is a rather basic cart local to me, priced a bit high for what it is:

3Ef3F73J15N35H65J3d2na237fc55bee61bb2.jpg


Seems like it would sit too tall but it is advertised as a mini horse cart. It would be very easy to build with thinwall tubing and could be dressed up with poplar in place of metal. Again, my concerns would be ride, and balance. Not sure what appropriate loaded shaft weight should be to handle properly but be easy on the horse? I would guess, around 50 lbs? Does anyone know?

*EDIT* Oops... OK, not anywhere near 50 lbs. More like 10 max, from a couple of cart builders I've talked to.
 
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5lbs is the number I most often hear quoted. Ideally they'd float at perfect zero balance when the driver is in the cart but that's hard to do. The horse-sized cart you show probably has an elliptical spring (leaf spring?) running from side to side under the seat. I know my mini cart does.

Leia
 
Here is a rather basic cart local to me, priced a bit high for what it is:

3Ef3F73J15N35H65J3d2na237fc55bee61bb2.jpg


Seems like it would sit too tall but it is advertised as a mini horse cart. It would be very easy to build with thinwall tubing and could be dressed up with poplar in place of metal. Again, my concerns would be ride, and balance. Not sure what appropriate loaded shaft weight should be to handle properly but be easy on the horse? I would guess, around 50 lbs? Does anyone know?

*EDIT* Oops... OK, not anywhere near 50 lbs. More like 10 max, from a couple of cart builders I've talked to.
Not that I have a clue about building carts, but I do like reading about those who make their own just because I find construction fascinating. Maybe some else knows, but I wouldn't think too tall would be an issue, it's better to be high in some cases. For example, I know in drafts too SHORT is an issue because you end up staring at the tail and unable to see where you're going :p, but in mini's I wouldn't think you could even get too short with dragging on the ground. :D
 
Heres two Ive built. The seats are off being upolstered, but it gives you a better look at the axle arangement. These are both for B minis, So I set them up to be adjustable for hight, the axles will move forward or back for gross balance adjustment. The seats also move for fine adjustment. Then I can lean to make the shafts float.

IMG_22711.jpg


IMG_22721.jpg


IMG_22741.jpg


Both of these are made from light tubing. The yellow one is about 7 years old, and has held up very well. The run about was only used one season. about the only thing I dont like about them is the wheels. They are from Harbor Freight and have non adjustable spokes. If they get bent or loose there is no way to true them. DR
 
Those look really great. Tell me more about the tubing? It looks like EMT (conduit) with some welding, some bolt together assembly - I am a fair hand at MIG welding, and brazing too for that matter. Where are you sourcing it? 'Twould make the bends a piece of cake. I also have a hydraulic pipe bender so that is not an issue really.

The HF wheels look VERY similar to some wheels I see in my new Fairview catalog, except the Fairview ones are advertised as made in USA.

I might have to chat with some local high end bicycle shops (or online maybe) to source hubs and rims; once spoke length is determined building a wheel is not that hard for me. Some VERY light, yet strong, wheels can be built with the savings in labor. There are bicycle flat solutions that work extremely well too (kevlar tires, liners, thorn resist tubes, Slime... go with all and it's no flat, yet a nice ride).

I have to say though, for aesthetics I am a sucker for wood wheels...

The breeder we got our horses from has a retired cart in rough but usable condition, might make a good starting point. Every time I talk with them I walk away realizing what great people they are... active in AMHA leadership. Speaks well of the organization.
 
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Interesting, can't find Harbor Freight cart wheels, but did find some interesting cart wheels on Amazon that look decent and are inexpensive. Some spoked wheels with nippled spokes, apparently variable quality but not too bad.
 
Interesting, can't find Harbor Freight cart wheels, but did find some interesting cart wheels on Amazon that look decent and are inexpensive. Some spoked wheels with nippled spokes, apparently variable quality but not too bad.
Harbor Freight must be out, Mine are like these, but I only paid $25 or less per wheel.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/NTESearch?storeId=6970&catalogId=11652&langId=-1&pageSize=12&beginIndex=0&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&pageView=image&N=0&Ntt=SPOKED%20WHEEL&searchTerm=SPOKED%20WHEEL&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ns=P-SalesRank|1

These too are not adjustable. DR

These are made from EMT scraps. other than the wheels and shafts I found all the parts in trash bins. I had to buy a couple of pieces to get the shafts long and straight. DR
 
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