DIY: Rickshaw Dolly

[robmneilson]

Help me bike people, for I am hopelessly ig'nant....


Im going to be shooting a cross country feature this summer and need to make a Rickshaw dolly for the production.

My plan is to try to get some BMX tires and rims attached to the wheelchair, clamp on some gobo arms and go rickshaw-ing.

The dude at the bike shop told me this was un-possible, but I think he assumed that we were trying to put BMX tires on the wheelchair tire rim. I want to scrap the wheelchair tires & rim completely and replace them with the fattest BMX wheels I can get.

Can this be done, or am I wasting time?

[Tim Joy]

what about one of those lawn carts that already has the bmx style wheels and tires, plus a handle?

[robmneilson]

Thats the backup if we cant get this to work...but a rickshaw wheelchair will be alot more portable and save us tons of space.

(Were piling all our props, equipment, actors and crew into one van for a two week trip)

[jontuttle]

I am in the exact position you are. I am building a "rickshaw" for an upcoming shoot. I found this the other day and thought it was pretty cool. It has the bicycle wheels and it folds which is nice for storage. It just needs some longer handles.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/Flangebox/foldit1b.jpg

Here is the link to the cheapest place I could find to buy the thing.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_7194_7194 (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_7194_7194)

Normal bicycle wheels don't have a bearing housing a axle shaft or bolt can pass through. They have threaded nubs already in them so they can mount to the bike forks. Here is a link for wheels if you want to build something custom. These just have a bearing with a hole you can pass your own axle through.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category_6970_124+771041+771050 (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category_6970_124+771041+771050)

I am going to get the folding cart and up the wheel size to 26". I also need to move the axle more centered on the cart so when a 180 pound guy with a 20 pound camera sits on it the pivot point will be right under them making maneuvering the cart a lot easier.

When I get it all together I will post some pics.

[robmneilson]

Wow, that actually looks pretty great. I def. need something that can fold up...

Keep me updated on your progress...I still have a few months until production starts but it looks like this might be the way to go.

[Quato33]

I was considering something similar but don't have the "proper" tools...haha... However, I was thinking of using one of those child carrying carriages parents attach to the back of a bicycle... reinforcing the base so an adult can sit in it... i was also considering a ghetto "mini" steadicam/jib/dolly contraption out of it... any engineers out there who wanna run with this idea please feel free - just remember to give me one when you make money on it ;)...haha

[reaktor]

A wheelchair usually works very good.

[dory_breaux]

I dont have any ideas for a dolly, but mad props for attempting an XC feature, they always seem so borring, hopefully you succeed in making it interesting.

[Neil Camero]

http://www.hotshotproducts.org/product.htm

maybe you can ask this guy about unpossible. he goes all-terrain in his wheelchair. i'm really curious how those air tires would work for a dolly if they weren't so expensive.

[William_Robinette]

[COLOR=#000000][COLOR=white]Normal bicycle wheels don't have a bearing housing a axle shaft or bolt can pass through.

Exactly. You cannot use "bicycle" wheels, but you can use wheels that look like they would go on a bicycle. Your bike shop was right about bike wheels being impossible.