DIY Electric ATV Questions

Do It Yourself (DIY)
1

Hi Folks,

I’m a new EV fan and want to build an off-road wheelchair accessible buggy. I own an ICE powered buggy and converting doesn’t look feasible.

I have preliminary drawings of what I want to build and have a few questions about the performance I can achieve.

The chassis in 3 feet wide and 8 feet long with two 30" tires in front and 22" tires in back. The front wheels will be chain or belt drive using a pulley/sprocket system. Total weight including me in my wheelchair will be approx 1500 pounds. I will probably use a 9" motor.

The big question I have is can I turn (2) 30" tires without sacrificing the range of the buggy?

I want the following:

Speed: 6-8 mph
Range: 10-15 miles

I’m reading as much as I can to learn all about EV’s. I have a lot of questions and try to find the answers myself but it’s always nice to get feedback from others.

Best regards.

2

why make it 2 different sizes? and why make it FWD with RW steering? :confused: otherwise the rest of the setup sounds good.

3

Hi FEUS,

I was basing my design on the OmegaTrac wheelchair. I know it performs well on rough terrain, so I thought I would use the same configuration.

Here is a picture of my ICE buggy. Backing in between the front wheels is a simple loading solution I wanted to copy.

My buggy has skid-steering and it makes for a rough ride. I’ve seen newer versions (Made in France) with rear steering and it just makes thing simple, given the wheelchair rides between the front wheels.

I looked at using large castors in back (like the Omega) and going with a mixed-speed control to drive the front wheels separately. I think that would take two motors, requiring more batts, etc.

I want to back on to a platform between the front wheels that will raise me up to the bottom of the frame. Locate the motor behind me, turning a shaft with a pulley or sprocket on each end, which would drive the front wheels.

Any ideas, advice, helpful criticism appreciated.

A link to another wheelchair ATV in Europe: http://www.rpv4x4.com/

And one in France: http://www.deiva.fr/ Click on the red banner to watch the video.

4

ah i see what you mean now i was thinking like a normal ATV or something that you sit on making that RWT i was like… you go anything over 5mph and turn you’ll be rolling over lol…

but thats a really good idea for lower speed opperations… and turning on a dime :smiley:

i’m starting design work on a ATV vehicle thats designed for long range ventures. I like your ideas though, i’ll have to encorporate some of them into my designs :smiley: