Anybody ever built one as a mutant vehicle?

Molotov · Post by **Molotov** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:14 am

A rubber tired version of a railroad hand car. Beats the shit out of me how you would steer it, but it would probably easily break the playa speed limit in a straight line.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:22 am

"The Contraption" of years past had a pump drive.. But it also had some different type engines.. It had tie rod steering..

You could go "wagon" steering for your pump car.. That thing would be a real kick in the ass..

Post by **trilobyte** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 10:43 am

I've seen a lot of human-powered vehicles on the playa. I don't think I've seen that design specifically, probably because of the lack of track to drive it on. IMO the design loses its appeal if it's not on a track, since it goes from something that can be operated by as few as one person to one that would require at least two.

Lots of vehicles have the capacity to break the 5mph speed limit, but that does not mean it would be allowed to cruise through the city at higher speeds.

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:45 pm

Besides a steering mechanism, you would probably also want to have a differential in the drive axle, to facilitate turning. (Railroad tracks turn so gently that a diff is not needed there.) An argument can be made that the loose surface of the Playa provides a bit of slip that will allow turning, but the tighter the turn, the worse it gets, and BRC street corners are fairly tight.
Handcars can be difficult to get started, so you would probably want to gear down the pumping mechanism to a top speed of 5 MPH, even if only for that.
Good luck!

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 2:32 pm

That would be cool!
Keep in mind that the playa has a different rolling resistance from the track.

maladroit · Post by **maladroit** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 12:05 pm

The solution is really simple...lay some track.

kittyrodriguez · Post by **kittyrodriguez** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:15 pm

maladroit wrote:The solution is really simple...lay some track.

This. Would. Be. AWESOME! A line of track from esplanade to the man. Hop on and pump your way out. Too bad it probably wouldn't work, as a strip of track traversing the playa is just a crash waiting to happen, but it would be cool none the less.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:21 pm

A couple of well repeated trips to and from the man cutting a grove with the RR wheels.. No steering needed..

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Sat Jul 05, 2014 8:41 am

LeChatNoir built exactly this back in the mid-late 2000s.
As mentioned, it was called "The Contraption". There was a very extensive build thread on eplaya all about it that you can probably search up.
LeChat would be the guy to talk to, having been there done that.
It was kind of a pain in the ass to cruise and he did end up fitting it with a motor later on.

Anybody ever built one as a mutant vehicle?

Anybody ever built one as a mutant vehicle?

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Re: Anybody ever built one as a mutant vehicle?

Re: Anybody ever built one as a mutant vehicle?

Re: Anybody ever built one as a mutant vehicle?

Re: Anybody ever built one as a mutant vehicle?

Re: Anybody ever built one as a mutant vehicle?

Re: Anybody ever built one as a mutant vehicle?

Re: Anybody ever built one as a mutant vehicle?