SCRAP-E (Electric Tractor Build)
 

hi all, i am going to start a new project. as the title states it will be a tractor build. but not just a normal tractor build because i am going to attempt to build it from trash(scrap laying around and i am off to a great start.. i hooked up with a scrap guy that brought me over parts from his pile.. it was pretty cool of him since it really is taking money out of his own pocket.since that is how he makes his living. i did help him out by giving him about 400' of chain link fence i ripped out and all the poles.. so he was happy and so was i since we both got what we needed.. now i have a good source for more parts and he does too.. after he left i want up to the golf cart shop which i made friends with the owner a couple of weeks ago.. he stumbled across my tractor i made for Pam and wanted to meet me to sub out some work and tech support for his electric golf carts he repairs.. anyway i stopped by there today and he made my day(i had told him i was in need of a rear axle and motor from a golf cat for my build ) he told me he had something for me and points to a golf cart. told me i could have the rear from it or i could take the whole thing for free.. of course i will be taking the whole thing.. that will save a bunch of money i would have had to put out of my own pocket..
so i am almost there with all the parts i need to start my project.. here is what and why i am doing this.. first i am tired of this TORO ride on either breaking down on me(it's only 4 years old) or blowing a belt they make replacing the belt so hard to put back in and they cost 52 dollars a pop just for the belt.. second i a tired of spending 15 dollars to fill it up each time it needs gas..
so i will make my own electric ride on mower to suit my purpose and how i think it should be.. but it will be simplified for if and when it needs any repairs.. so here it is:
the drive system will be the rear axle and motor of the golf cart the steering system will be either from a ride on mower or the golf cart, need to see what the golf cart steering involves( don't want to complicate thing on this build.
the deck for now it only 38" but will be a 48" deck when my scrap guy comes across one.. the motor for the deck will be a 2.5 HP motor.. both drive system and deck motor will be running off the same battery part which will be 36volt 125 amp hour. that should be plenty of power to cut the 2 acres i've been cutting lately( my grass and the neighbors grass) .. and it will also have a dump bed on it. i think it will be a fun machine when finished.. top speed will be 15 mph but we all know 7 mph is about the right speed for cutting grass but it's always nice to know you have that speed if you ever need it.. if time and money allows i will be setting up some fog lights over the drivers head for night time fun for the kids and me.. if all goes right this build may cost around 250 for batteries and another 100 for odds and ends i may need.. so once again this build will be electric(GREEN) and 80% will be made from scrap which gives it it's new name -SCRAP-E-

picked up the golf cart yesterday and bought it home.. i threw in some batteries to see if controller and motor worked, well it all works fine but now i have a problem.. the kids don't want me to use it for my build.. so til i get started this build i told them they can have fun with the cart til i figure out whether or not to use the drive system from this cart... here is a pic of the cart

Woo, great thread. I look forward to the build. :)

i've come to a decision that i will not use the steering system from the golf cart.. it's just too complex and the whole ideal of making this build is to keep everything simply just in case repairs are needed down the line.. so this morning i pull the whole steering system from a ride on mower i have as a donor. cool part about this is the way i took it out.. all i have to do is when i mount it to the new chassis i make it will just slide in and bolt down in one piece( i see this as a big time saver) i also pulled off the cutting deck.. so simple to do too.. only 4 pins hold the deck together to the tractor. the deck is 38" but i really need a 48" or bigger. so i called my scrap guy to keep his eyes open for one.. i have no doubt he will find one for me. til then i will have to use the 38" deck.. i have all but some square tubing that i plan to use.. here are some pics of the parts i pull today

last night i went over friends house to check out some steel he had in his yard. it has been sitting there for over a year, he picked it up from a work site he was working on and were trashing it.. well it seem like the right size and strong enough for what i am doing so he give it to me.. i think i have all the material i need to start this build.. all the material i have gathered up has been within my build budget.. to date i have spent ZERO dollars and i hope it stays on that number..

Great find. I love free material! :) Its good to have friends.

yes i like free stuff.. i gathered all my material and boy what a mess right now.. my neighbor looked at it and was amazed that all this junk will be turned into a tractor when finished.. i started to remove all the rivets front the front of the golf cart, i need to get to the frame so i can see how the brake pedal and lines are run.. this way i can run them the same way on it's new chassis.. here is all the material i am going to use.. the first pic is the steel on the right of the pic.. the second pic is the rest minus my car in the back...

hi all ii haven't been on for a while due to i've been sick so the build was put on hold.. but i am much better now so here are my plans.. i'm going to Georgia Friday to take the kids to see there mom for a few days before school starts.. when i get back i will be starting the build. i hope to have it done as quick as possible because my Toro is down ( as usual ) and my poor mini is having a hell of a tough time cutting these 2 acres.. due to all the rain we've had and the grass growing back as fast as i can cut it and much thicker too.. the mini is cutting it but if i keep working that poor little machine as hard as i've been i'm afraid i will lost the deck motor soon.. so i hope in about 2 week this build will be either done or at least up and running

aproldan,

Interesting project there...

I'm really curious what kind of camera are you using? It gives a very interesting look to the photos. It reminds me a bit of the Holga camera which has something of a cult follwing.


-AC_Hacker

i finally started the build and so far i have taken the controller out the forward/ reverse panel, disconnected the brake and removed the accelerator pedal..i cut the cart in half, and will be using the rear half since the motor and axle is what i was really after.. i also cut 4 pieces of steel the reinforce the frame because there is quite a bit of rust on the chassis.. all in all i got a lot done today. but there is still a lot more to do i will have some pics posted tomorrow