Electric tractor project

[woodsmith]

That's a cool project. Do you plan on using it to do any work?

Work?


My garden is about 30' x 20' and full of potted plants and bonsai trees and my drive is 50' long. That's it.

I will probably use it for shunting my three trailers about on my drive and for taking a trailer over to a neighbour's house for muck shifting before towing it to the tip with with the car.
Also I sometimes fell trees in neighbours' gardens so I could use it for tushing logs back to my place for fire wood or planking.

But work? Nah!

 

[jonyyuma]

That's a cool project. Do you plan on using it to do any work?

My thoughts too,,, is this for going to the mailbox? It seems you have put a lot of money into your new hobby?

 

[jimmysisson]

I for one can't wait for the bodywork! Faired and rounded contours, right?
Jim

 

[jonyyuma]

Looked thru the photos again, looks like a real nice rig, especially witht he wheelhorse rear axle...So you haven't spent much on it yet? Good idea breeding it with a toyota...Keep posting us. Jy.

 

[woodsmith]

It has been pretty much a scrap yard finds project so really cheap. The motor and batteries and front axle spindles have been donated, the rest is cheap and lucky finds so a good learning project for 'going to the mailbox and back'.:thumbsup:

The body will come after the Wheelhorse axle is sorted out, still working on the basis of a flowing woody body though time is tight.

The Toyota is no more, I decided the MR2 was no longer suitable for me so I am scratch building a reverse trike instead.

I will be running an 11" motor, direct drive to the rear wheel with a 5/8" duplex chain.

I am using wire centre lock wheels to get the classic sports car look.
The overall look will be a little like a Morgan threewheeler.

 

[mjncad]

The recumbent (a.k.a. 'bent) bike boys here call your trike style a Tadpole, which is inherently more stable than the Delta style used on the Reliant Robin.

 

[woodsmith]

The recumbent (a.k.a. 'bent) bike boys here call your trike style a Tadpole, which is inherently more stable than the Delta style used on the Reliant Robin.

Yes, I generally refer to my recumbent trike as a tadpole and see it as a generic term. But somewhere along the line the powered ones seem to be called reverse trikes. I wonder where the transistion would be?

The only Delta trike I would entertain would be a chopper style motor bike one.

 

[woodsmith]

I haven't updated here for a while mainly due to ill health and not being able to keep track of too much at one time. I have time now as I have a ruptured Achillies Tendon and so I am immobile!:smiley_aafz:

Anyway, the last photo was the broken diff in the first trans and a Wheelhorse 3F1R box ready to replace it.

I converted it to disc brakes.

And then looked at fitting the 7" Clubcar motor.

Then decided on a bigger 9" fork truck motor!

I relocated the gearshift from under my butt to my left side (being in the UK) and to a conventional H pattern instead of the sideways H pattern on the Wheelhorse.

I then cut off the rear of the tractor and grafted on the new frame and trans mounting.

I moved the tractor from its home in my trailer into the house and started to reassemble it all in the warm and dry.

Added a temporary seat.

My partner then took it for a drive (video).


I then got a request to demonstrate it for some local organic farmers with a view to doing an electric conversion on their farm tractor!
That meant I need to make it look a bit prettier so I started building some wooden body work in English oak and ash.

I ran out of timber for now so some bits are plastic.

I then started on a ground anchor with a view to fitting a winch for timber hauling.
Chassis extension.

Anchor pinned to frame.

 

[woodsmith]

However, I got impatient and wanted to see how much current it would pull so I went out to pull a log.
I managed to record 360amps at 48V which gives around 23hp.

This was the log.

It was a bit heavier then I expected and even defeated my car and 1500kg winch so hardly surprising that the tractor suffered a bit.

I got a clicking noise in the trans but hadn't lost drive. I decided to dismantle to check.

All looks fine in the gears.

Opened up the differential and....

Opps!:duh:

So for now I have welded the diff gears together.

That keeps the tractor mobile for the farm test.


However, I am aware that the small tractor transmissions are just not up to turning those 32" tyres so the current plan is to use a transfer box from a Lada Niva 4x4 and a Salisbury (Dana 60) axle from a Land Rover to build a much stronger trans and rear end. I will narrow the Salisbury to fit.

But no more for now as I then ruptured my Achillies Tendon and broke a toe after leaving the hospital in the cast and I am now spending my days mostly immobile. 5 weeks so far and another 3 to go before I am out of plaster and then months and months of physiotherapy to get moving again.

 

[woodsmith]

Just reading back and I feel I need to update on the MR2.

My partner and I decided to get it scraped and so set to stripping out all the saleable and salvageable parts before getting rid of the bodyshell.
I tried selling it as a rust free shell but the MR2 club members, Ebay buyers, seem not to be interested in putting money where they say it is worth.

We decided to have some fun with it instead.

Then loaded it on my trailer for the scrap metal yard.

All gone and cashed in.:thumbsup: