Hydrostatic ATV

buickanddeere · Oct 22, 2013

Wish I had taken a picture of a fellows mobility device I seen at our Fall fair. It took me a while to realize he was in a wheel chair instead of riding a ATV. It was home built it but coped with the rain soaked soil without hardly leaving a track. Wasn't very large either.

kdlklm · Oct 23, 2013

That would've been very interesting to see. That's the holy Grail of transportation for a person in a wheelchair, when they don't have to get out of their chair, and the machine is nice and compact. And just works well.

PapaPerk · Oct 24, 2013

kdlklm said:
That would've been very interesting to see. That's the holy Grail of transportation for a person in a wheelchair, when they don't have to get out of their chair, and the machine is nice and compact. And just works well.

What do you think the demand is for such a machine? How many people would be interested in one? I'm very curious. I think it's wonderful that a device can give people more freedom to roam and explore nature.

kdlklm · Oct 24, 2013

I am not sure what the demand will be, but for now I will be happy building one for myself. I am a wheelchair user myself. The costs are going to be high, probably around 15k to 20k. So I don't know what kind of price that would be on it.

Kenneth S · Nov 6, 2013

Just finished reading all 15 pages of this thread, I think you may find this intresting, The Ripchair https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnrcr-rOcuw

kdlklm · Nov 6, 2013

I have seen that machine, but I didn't realize they had a new version. It look a lot better. Any idea what it goes for.

Kenneth S · Nov 6, 2013

Don't know what they cost since you can add different features, and what not, but it should provide some ideas. You can get a price quote here ULTIMATE off road CHAIR FOR SALE - RIPCHAIR RC2 EXTREME OFF ROAD CHAIR

kdlklm · Oct 7, 2015

The project is not dead, I've been slowly working away at it. I'm at the point now where I need to start putting together the hydraulic components. Which is been proven to be quite a challenge locally, it seems that all the hydraulic companies in my area are busy with the oil companies and don't have time for projects like this.

We ended up using a four-wheel direct drive hydraulic system using hydro-gear HGM-8P-7181 motors. They are typically used on zero turn lawnmowers. The machine will weigh approximately 2000 pounds and I've had so-called hydraulics experts tell me that these motors won't even move the machine. With no matter what kind or size of pump I use.

I'm just looking for a little input and what other people's thoughts would be about the performance of this machine. You can view the latest photos at ATV Gallery

buickanddeere · Oct 8, 2015

Motor HP is chosen after knowing the volume and pressure of the hydraulic pump. The hydraulic pump size is known after calculation the wheel motor volume and pressure. Which requires knowing the wheel torque and rpm.