new push trailer in the works!

[rkbonds]

Today a friend gave me his broken self propelled push mower. He ran over a brick and bent the end of the shaft. I'm not going to order a new shaft since I don't need the mower. I'm planning on building a push trailer out of it by cutting down the shaft which will allow it to run properly since it's just the tip end that's bent. I'm going to have to change the pulley's to get the proper ratio's but, I don't see any reason this won't work with the proper modification's (bearing's reinforcement's, and wheels. I'm going to take my time with this project and get it all right the first time. Speed isn't going to be top priority 20-25 is plenty fast enough. I have looked at the gear box and it is similiar to that of a riding mower. Any thoughts or ideas are welcome. I know there are simplier ways of building this but, are they as interesting? would they start as many conversations? Think about it "look at that guy pulling a lawnmower with his bike".

 

[s_beaudry]

Hey rkbonds...

Greetings from a push trailer builder. Glad to see I am not the only one who sees the beauty in these things.

I used a 6.5hp B&S horizontal shaft in mine. Very easy and very reliable setup it is.

How are you going to incorporate a gearbox into your trailer?

You are using a centrifugal clutch in some part of this, correct?

What are your thoughts as to connecting it to the bicycle?

Any ideas or thoughts you need, please ask me, I am glad to offer any help I can!

 

[s_beaudry]

Just to add this...

Being a push trailer rider and a HT rider..... the push trailer definately turns more heads and gets people looking at it! Mainly because it is much more visible I am thinking.

Show that trailer off with pride I say!

 

[rkbonds]

I'm actually going to try and use the self propel unit. It seems to look like it will hold up to the task. It will of course need some bearings added to it as well as some different tires. It does have a 6 hp poulan engine so I should have plenty of power. I still have several things to figure out like trailer attachment because I still want to be able to use my other trailer to pull my kids. Then there is the cables and wires that need to be able to easily attach and detach. Is it possible to change over from the kill lever to a kill switch? I'm going to try and work on it some today if I have time.

 

[s_beaudry]

Rrk,

I would be very interested in to see this self propelled unit, do you have a picture to post here?

How will you work gearing for this, the unit is set up for very low speeds I am sure, maybe ~4mph top end??

If you check my picture galleries you will see how I connected mine to my seatpost with an aluminum tube from the trailer, very easily removed in 3 minutes or less!

As for the cables, I gave some slack of course between the trailer and bike for turning (my seat post acted as a trailer hitch and pivoted) and zip tied the cables to the bike frame up to the handlebars.

The kill switch on the engine can be easily routed up the the throttle cable to the handle bars for safety.

I could start off from a dead stop going uphill without any pedaaling with that engine, it had incredible torque and power, and is not loud as you coast a lot with it and it idles quietly.

Short story on my next trailer build...... thinking of doing a 5 or 6.5 horse horizontal shaft engine with electric start and connecting it to the rear axle studs. Thinking of enclosing the engine with a good sized 12 volt battery under sheet metal with venting and maybe a fan for air floww, as well for a serious night time headlight for safety reasons. Also, running a start and stop switch to the handlebars for convienence and safety.

I am more into safety myself then top speed, my kids need me to work!

Show some pics if you can to give us some ides what you are working with......

Regards, Steve

 

[rkbonds]

I should have taken some pics today when I had it apart. It just has small gear box like a riding mower but, without the gear selection. Works the same way with the pulley system and has a neutral just need to change the size of the pulleys and get a new belt now and finish the hitch and wiring and it'll be ready for the initial test on the bike. I will be doing some testing before I try it on the bike. I'll take some pics and post them tomorrow. After the initial testing I will be changing the wheels on it I'm thinking maybe a go cart wheel or lawn mower wheel? For the added traction and smoother ride.

 

[Motormaker]

Many push mowers have aluminum flywheels that are not heavy enough. When it is used as a mower the blade acts as a flywheel. This can be overcome by using a cast iron or heavy steel pulley. If you have problems with kick back when starting or sheared flywheel keys a heavy pulley will almost all ways fix it.

 

[rkbonds]

Ok here's what I've gotten done so far. I managed to remove and rebuild the drive set up, move the drive assembly from the front to the rear, and take some pics. I still have to figure out how to remove the bracket for the blade assembly from the shaft so I can change out the pulley. Until then here's some pics and what's going on. I don't know for sure if this will work the way I would like but, why not give it a try lawn mower engines are very easy to find.

 

[s_beaudry]

Don't give up on it, you never know when something is going to work even better then you thought it would!

Keep us updated here as you progress, many are interested in this working as vertical shafts are a dime a dozen...

 

[rkbonds]

Not going to give up anytime soon. This is too much fun trying to figure out what has to be done to make it work.