Looking for lightweight motor solution for baby jogger

GASP!!

You are grasping at the wrong solution... It is the wheels/tyres that are the problem!

Solve the problem ...not the symptoms!!!

Del

Del, Thanks for reading my post and replying....BUT

My friend already owns a "beach" wheelchair with huge balloon tires designed for sand. However, it is just not practical - it cannot be transported in a small SUV/car, it cannot be used anywhere except for the beach. We need a solution that can be used at a beach, park, or in a crowded area.

Thanks for the reply but I really need someone that can make motor/transaxle recomendations or at least point me towards a good manufacturer.

You could look for a wheelchair motor, control and batteries, and end up building something quite heavy, and resembling a wheelchair.

The solution may be to adapt the beach wheelchair so the wheels are easy to remove or somehow made compact enough to fit in the vehicle. Remove air from the tires?

Or to adapt electric bicycle wheels to your jogger. BEWARE to adjust max speed to a safe value! http://www.neodymics.com/ or http://nano-motor.co.uk/

See this patent and the Perego Dinamico electric stroller. Not in production anymore.

Fun project! With engineering challenges and responsabilities...

gigaconcept, Thanks for the patent and stroller info. I also found that Peg Perego product but they no longer manufacture that electric stoller. Thanks for the reply. I will surely look into the removable wheels. My main concern is on the motor and the weight. I have looked into wheelchair motors but I have found that they are extremely heavy and large. They also need a monster sized battery for power.

Thanks, Mike

Look at my updated post...

The solution is probably a compromise then.... fatter tyres and a motor assist. My son is in a wheelchair and has compramised with a slightly fatter solid tyre for general use and puncture proofness.

Del

You are going to love this company.

http://www.uqm.com/

milo

Milo,

I really appreciate the guidance. I will contact that company.

- Mike

For the amount of time you would probably use the buggy in sand, wouldn't it be easier, in this case, to pull the buggy instead of pushing it? Pulling tends to lift the buggy upwards out of soft ground instead of pushing it in. As said before, buggy wheels are usually narrow and not designed for soft ground. How would you move your full wheelbarrow with a fat inflatable tyre on a muddy building site?

I would use a single flotation tire, such as off of a small atv, located to the front of the center of gravity, with two rear legs to support the stroller when stopped, like a wheelbarrow. And for a little extra power, adapt the drive and batteries from a cordless drill, there was a fellow who used drill batteries to supplement leg power on his bicycle, his video showed him passing regular bikes easily, up hill.

I would buy some longer axles and purchase wide Balloon tires that would allow the stroller to "stay on top" so to say, or just add the wider tires extra at the front when going on the beach, leaving the original tires in place.....there are a few ways to do that fairly easily I feel....

The weight of a battery/motor and electronics I personally would not add, it only makes the tires need to be even fatter to carry the weight.....and adds to the complexity unnecessarily I feel.....

...of course, if you could find some very wide toothed belts, that could be turned into "mini Tank Tracks" over suitable wheels, that would be fantastic....(well it would look good, but might have a little too much resistance to be practical!!

Remember, a belt runs to the highest point on a wheel, so having a hard wheel, with a crown, and fairly tight, means that the belt would be retained well.

Have fun...

Two points I want to make. Firstly kite buggy wheel tyre assemblies give you light weight and wide tread. I know because I use them on the saddlechariot. Secondly, have a look at my prototype organic wheelchair all terrain vehicle. It gives wheelchair access across any terrain with a remarkable degree of safety as there is an instant cut off facility as the power plant can't always be trusted. Del, you might have some ideas and I would be happy to discuss it.

Simon

That's a great way of power4ing a chair...the guy in the chair has the control, with that real feel feed back. Something nice about the organic thing .

The problem with most solutions is the weight/convenience..my Son values his independence, so the ideal off road W/chair would be ..say a change of wheels and some sort of light weight unobtrusive selective power assist (like a fellow human who will only help when asked)
The small front wheels are a prob, maybe a clamp on single bigger diameter fatter front wheel...but the clamping would have to be V strong...this would then screw up the balance for wheelies....(Ah but maybe a small power assist unit on the back to balance it... something that can be cut in for say, serious up hill/obstacle work..say 1 smallish battery like in a golf trolley? But it's sounding cumbersome already)
His favoured approach is just to pop a long term wheelie and manage on 2 wheels . This is pretty tough going. It's a more complex prob than is obvious at first glance.

Del

I have seen golf bag carriers with three wheels that were powered, adn remote controlled in the market.

That may be a good place to start looking for power supply and controllers.

http://www.kaddykarts.com/

as you are looking for a special needs kid, their engineering people may be willing to volunteer information and guidence for a custom solution.

Del I quite understand on the independence issue, this can't give true independence unless you live on a ranch or some such. What it can do is allow people to go across terrain that would be prohibitively expensive for any other vehicle. I can combine incredible power with an ultra low floor and short wheelbase. I am looking at it more as a way to give access to rural events, fishing, birdwatching, just general rural access. The main stumbling block is that Riding for the Disabled have never looked at any vehicle I have built and refuse to speak to me. Since they have never looked and never spoken to me, I have some problems finding out what I have done wrong, which is why I have come to an engineering forum.

Riding for the Disabled have never looked at any vehicle I have built and refuse to speak to me
I am horrifed at their attitude ..
I suggest you contact the SIA (spinal injuries association) They have a magazine 'Forward' and a website www.spinal.co.uk I would think they would welcome an article or some pics. They are very keen on sport for the dissabled... my Son has been land yachting, gliding played basket ball, tennis and had a go at archery.
Best of luck with this

Del

PS. Cover of Feb issue is pic of guy (wheelchair bound) who went down the Mississippii in a canoe

many thanks, will try spinal. Appreciate the help.

Simon

You might want to look at the Razor Electric Wagon. Amazon has it for $125. Holds up to 145 pounds. Just a thought.

I just got this for you: http://www.micromotor.ch/index.cfm?0BB8B732306E2C0BE34F9E2C06BC4B69