pusher wanted

[wbuttry]

hey everybody

Do you know a company that builds these push trailers professionally? i cant weld and dont have access to light aluminun or anything like that. i would like to get a pre built so all i half to do is add a engine. i would like to have one with a 26 in bicycle tire on it. so buying one size tires and tubes or a good one with like a good thick gov cart tire on it. would also work . i wanna put my frame mount engine on it cause those are cheaper than the others. that way it is all self contained .Then i can change it from one bike to another and just use a rc transmitter i got and and hook a servo to the throttle and just advnce it when wanting to go faster . and have a button on transmitter to emergency idle . any ideas?

 

[bodged bikes]

To keep the fabrication to a minimum, I would consider mounting a friction drive on an existing available trailer (Trail-A-Bike, Bob, Nashbar, etc.).

I like the rc servo control idea. I have been gathering parts for a ride-by-wire set of controls for a project I am currently working on. To control the servos, I bought a manual driver from http://www.servocity.com . A potentiometer style throttle from an electric bike or scooter can then be used to control the throttle servo. Check out http://www.electricscooterparts.com/throttles.html#magura for throttles.

 

[ibdennyak]

hey everybody

Do you know a company that builds these push trailers professionally? i cant weld and dont have access to light aluminun or anything like that. i would like to get a pre built so all i half to do is add a engine. i would like to have one with a 26 in bicycle tire on it. so buying one size tires and tubes or a good one with like a good thick gov cart tire on it. would also work . i wanna put my frame mount engine on it cause those are cheaper than the others. that way it is all self contained .Then i can change it from one bike to another and just use a rc transmitter i got and and hook a servo to the throttle and just advnce it when wanting to go faster . and have a button on transmitter to emergency idle . any ideas?

Like the way you think. Was considering a drive by wire setup for a Nu Vinci hub. Their shifter works so well I forgot about it. One thing that bothered me about throttle is I would want a "failsafe" system....ie returns to idle if anything goes wrong. Any ideas on that?

 

[wbuttry]

yes actually i fly rc aircraft and on most of our rc transmitter we have a throttle cut it automaticly returns to idle or shuts the engine off at a push of the button and some of them are such short range transmitters u could use it on the bike with no antenna or a very small one just to give you a 20 t0 30 ft range 360 degrees around you and the easiest part transmitters from little radio controlled cars work perfect for this idea use the the sterring servo to move the throttle of course you would half to remove spring off the motor throttle butterfly to do it but it would work fine that way you would have no wires or anything to break on it if the trailer came loose or you wanted to remove it from your bike

 

[ibdennyak]

yes actually i fly rc aircraft and on most of our rc transmitter we have a throttle cut it automaticly returns to idle or shuts the engine off at a push of the button and some of them are such short range transmitters u could use it on the bike with no antenna or a very small one just to give you a 20 t0 30 ft range 360 degrees around you and the easiest part transmitters from little radio controlled cars work perfect for this idea use the the sterring servo to move the throttle of course you would half to remove spring off the motor throttle butterfly to do it but it would work fine that way you would have no wires or anything to break on it if the trailer came loose or you wanted to remove it from your bike

Aaah, the voice of experience. In my case I have a problem with cables freezing. I live in an area of almost constant rain that gets below freezing this time of the year. So far, my best solution is coating the cables with petroleum jelly believe it or not. Repel water and doesn't stiffen as much as grease. The brakes I can solve with hydraulics, but the throttle would be nice as you describe, especially on the pusher. Curious, if the battery goes dead, or something breaks in the electronics will the throttle still return to idle? Years ago I drove a Big Bud tractor (very impressive machine) and as luck would have it, the air throttle froze up from moisture in the air system. Kind of scary when a 40+ ton machine with 700 hp doesn't do what you expect it too.

 

[wbuttry]

Aaah, the voice of experience. In my case I have a problem with cables freezing. I live in an area of almost constant rain that gets below freezing this time of the year. So far, my best solution is coating the cables with petroleum jelly believe it or not. Repel water and doesn't stiffen as much as grease. The brakes I can solve with hydraulics, but the throttle would be nice as you describe, especially on the pusher. Curious, if the battery goes dead, or something breaks in the electronics will the throttle still return to idle? Years ago I drove a Big Bud tractor (very impressive machine) and as luck would have it, the air throttle froze up from moisture in the air system. Kind of scary when a 40+ ton machine with 700 hp doesn't do what you expect it too.

with a good quality servo and reciver they are made good and strong and to keep the battery from going dead stick the battery pack on charge and charge it once a week if its just running one servo for the throttle it would useally last a week at full charge my packs is 6 volt i fly with 4 to 5 servos constantly moving all day only moves a volt or to so you know it will last forever on a single servo setup and if you are worried about moisture mount it in a waterproof box and put the switch outside the box and charge jack and silicone the **** out of places where you need it transmitter can be covered in plastic or in a handle bar bag charge it when nesacary

 

[SimpleSimon]

wbuttry, I'd suggest you look at the pusher built out of a Trail-A-Bike in this forum. Seems to me that this is exactly what you are looking for.

Denny, the RC throttle and/or brake servo control idea is actually a good one. One caution, in your climate - make your battery pack weatherproof and quick dismount, bring it inside with you at stops. Frozen batteries don't produce many amps.

 

[ibdennyak]

wbuttry, I'd suggest you look at the pusher built out of a Trail-A-Bike in this forum. Seems to me that this is exactly what you are looking for.

Denny, the RC throttle and/or brake servo control idea is actually a good one. One caution, in your climate - make your battery pack weatherproof and quick dismount, bring it inside with you at stops. Frozen batteries don't produce many amps.

Simon (or do you prefer simp ), I think you are seeing it the same as I do. The whole object is the quick disconnect feature. Change bikes...remove trailer.....disable rig....simple as a single thumb screw or even a strip of velcro. Add to that the elimination of the freezing problem, a win win situation.

I used a rc 4 wheel truck with a built in tv camera several years back to trace a drainage culvert a few years back. I wanted to tap a foundation drain into the culvert, but couldn't find it by probing, so I bought the little rig, taped a transmitter in the bed, and sent it up the culvert. It served the purpose, but with the draw of the camera and the cold weather, it wouldn't back out. It was only about 70-80 feet from the discharge, so I decided to crawl in after it. Got in about 10 feet and turned on the flashlight. Must have been about 10,000 brown recluse spiders homing in on me. Never knew somebody my age could move that fast on toes and finger tips.....in reverse. The crew said I looked like a cartoon ejecting backward from that culvert. Expensive solution, but worth it I guess.

Have to check on the characteristics of the batteries in these things. Now my interest is rekindled................

 

[SimpleSimon]

There's a trick to pipe inspection rigs I learned in the early 80's - hook a reel of lightweight insulated wire to the RC rig, let it tow that unwinding as it goes into the pipe. You get good clear signal, and when it is time to remove the rig you simply drag it out.

 

[SimpleSimon]

I'd go with a double velcro strap mounting method for the battery pack (which would itself be sealed) with a simple plug arrangement for the power lead from the throttle servo. Secure against road shocks, but easily removed even with cold hands. Where you are, Denny, I'd probably invest in a pair of electric socks, use one of them to hold the battery pack and draw a trickle of current to keep the batteries warm with - cover that with a scrap of a salvaged "space blanket" and it won't draw much power at all.