hi im new

[benjirange]

hi im ben just thought id say hi and tell you my plans. for the toylander 2 im building for my daughter,
using a mobility scooter as a donor. goin to use drive train and steering from this.

planed modifications:
*defender front end
*3 inch lift
*8 inch offroad tyres
*tubular winch bumper
*tow bar
*suspension ( possibly from scooter)
*yellow body/ pink camo seat covers
*checker plate floor and other various parts

[phil595251]

hello, i to am new to this site. i am using a mobility scooter running gear and steering. but i think you might run into the same problems as i have. the steering on the scooter is about 100mm to narrow and the steering runs right where the batteries sit.i think i might of sorted the front suspesion will post some photos when its all bolted in place. are you running the wheels straight off the rear axle? or  are you using the chain drive like it says in the build manual?
phil

[multisync]

Hi Ben
Hello and welcome
You may find it useful to read the comments from myself and others, on Phils post "rear suspension??".

If you want to use the rear of an invalid buggy, you really need to have it to hand, before you make much progress on the body tub.
There are issues with the motor/axle width; the wheel clearance; and the drivetrain linkage to the wheels to maintain suitable power and road speed.
It's important to use a reduction gear arrangement, to reduce the speed of the wheels to compensate for their larger diameter.
If you want to put the motor unit under the seat as I have, you either have to assemble the body tub arround it, or cut large parts of the inner wings away to install it after.
All in all, there are issues, but they can all be resolved, you can see from the build details that several models have been done that way.
Best of luck, just ask if you need help or want to know how we resolved these isssues,
Walter

[Stanley]

hi,
regards your various adaptations,
the defender front end- i was going to go for this, but then i decided that, it would proberly come out badly, there are two pictures on the toylander main website, under news, but personaly, i prefer the look of the unmodifiyed toylander 2 .if you are able to produce a defender bonnet out of aluminum, and other significant parts of the defender then i think it would be a good idea.

8 inch wheels(diameter)- i found that 10" were to small, better to go with 12-15"

i look forward to seeing your build!
Stan

[benjirange]

hi all, the rear axle is nearly wide enough as the hubs slide on the shaft key way and if needed the adaptor plate i use to change the stud pattern could be thicker to use as a spacer, the  steering from the scooter is easy to widen as its done on wishbones, and will sit under the body tub hence the lift and no cutting for the motor. well thats the plan, sound easy when i write it.
the wheels im using are 8 inch trailer rims and tires, il fit them to the scooter first to make sure the motor is up to it,
the defender bonnet should be straight forward in wood might be tricky with ali, il see how it goes

[brian]

Hello Ben and welcome to the forum, it sounds as though you have a plan.

I would read through as many of the threads as possible befor putting saw to wood and don't rely 100% on the supplied drawings as they are not 100% accurate due to paper and printing anomilies.

Better to measure the drawings and transfer the measurments to the wood than actually paste the drawings to the wood.

Critical measures are the body lengths and cross pieces, and bonnet, firewall front wing area.  These must be parallel and square.

If you cut out the floor first, having once established the correct dimensions to match the sides, you can then layout the suspension and drive components on this base and check that the front wishbone attachment points and rear drive will fit, and make any slight adjustments to the wheel arch positions on the two sides to suit.

As for the defender bonnet, two methods come to mind if you are unsure of an aluminium skinned version.

The first is to cut two ribs to the profile of the front and rear of the Defender  bonnet, and skin in aluminim as per the normal, or instead of aluminium, you could skin in 6mm MDF as per my thread.  This MDF is available from B&Q in the form of a 1220 x 600mm sheet.  The sheet is partialy cut through at approx 15mm intervals such that it is easily formed over circular formers into a nice curve.

I used this method for the front wingtops of my build succesfully, please read my thread for full details.

The second method would entail three pieces of 12mm MDF, all cut to the correct outline of the Defender bonnet.  two of the pieces would then have there middle cut out following the shape of the outer edge of the bonnet but an inch or so inside.  all are glued together and then when dry, the rounded edge is sanded away to give the distinctive shape.  this gives the bonnet it's shape without all the weight of three pieces.

Regards,

Brian.

[benjirange]

thanks for the tips, all noted thanks. fitted the bigger wheels to the buggy to day to check
it will pull how i want, it pulls me and a 4 foot x 3 box trailer full of rubbish at top speed fine.


the only thing i found is that the buggy has a soft start on it and will only pull away if the 1-10
dial is on 1 or 2, is this right because i wanted to put the dial under the bonnet so i could leave
it on 2 while kids were driving and on ten when i am.

[brian]

Sorry Ben, I can't help you there, but someone will be along soon with the answer, they must be having a lay in.

Regards,

Brian.

[multisync]

Hi Ben
No, unfortunately that isn't right. You have a problem there.
The master (1-10) control and the wigwag (throttle) control are simply two potentiometers wired in series.
If you have the master at a low point, you will need the throttle at a higher point to get a certain ammount of power. If you have the master at a higher point, then you only need to barely move the throttle control for the same ammount of power.
I have just confirmed this by driving, both the toylander and my wife's invalid buggy, and in both cases they pull off easily with low or high master settings and corresponding throttle.
I suspect that your problem is, that having overgeared the drive by fitting the large wheels, there is insufficient torque to take off from rest at the higher settings.
(You would have difficulty starting off in your car, in high gear at full throttle!)
Any possibility of trying it out with the small wheels fitted? May prove or disprove my theory. Alternately, try it with the wheels off the ground,  if it starts up then, with a high master setting, it would certainly point to lack of torque when under load.
Best of luck
Walter

[benjirange]

it does the same with the small wheels on and if the wheels are off the ground
this is why i was given the buggy as a non runner it was set to ten and wouldnt pull away,
when i got home i found it only runs if 1 or 2 is selected.

[multisync]

Hi again
Theres definately something wrong there then, as the problem persists with wheels raised.
It suppose it could even be the motor itself, they are susceptible to problems with brushes, so it's worth taking them out and checking, as it won't cost anything, but I would  be more inclined to suspect the controls or more likely the controller itself.
(I had a two wheeled electric scooter that I was asked to repair, it went well with the rear wheel off the ground, but was very slow under any load, this turned out to be a motor fault, and a new motor had to be fitted.)
With your symptoms I think it's more likely to be the controller or possibly the controlls.
You say that it won't pull off except in position 1 or 2, but once moving can you increase speed using the control up to 10, or does it cut out. If it cuts out it looks like the control.
Is your 1-10 control a potentiometer or a click position switch?
If it's a potentiometer type, as most are, it is easy and cheap to change, its only got two wires, and it should be marked with its resistance, you can get one from Maplins or other component supplier.
A quick test would be to leave the wire on the middle where it is, but take the end wire off and put on the other end. The 1-10 dial will now be reversed, but if the resistive track was damaged, at position 2, it would then work from 10 (which would now be slowest) to position 2.
Does it get the correct top speed?
With standard wheels it should do 4 mph, that's a very fast walking pace. If you double the wheel size it should double the speed, if it can cope with them.
Hope some of this helps
Walter

[benjirange]

back again not done much realy bodys built, bonnet needs sanding, front axle is in just needs drag link and trackrod, back axle hits tub so needs to be fliped, wheel spacers made. and steering coloum fitted.
it wont let me atach photos

[markh15]

Hi Ben,
I too had problems with posting photos when I first started.

If you look in the 'General Topics' section, under the heading 'Photobucket or whatever' I have written a description of how to attach pictures to your posts via Photobucket.

You'll need to register an account with the site, but after that, you can follow the directions I've posted and it should be quite simple.

Good Luck,
Regards,
Mark.

[multisync]

Hi Ben
Did you get your problem with only pulling off at low setting sorted out?
What was the problem?
Best wishes
Walter

[benjirange]

hi
no i didnt sort the problem decided to leave it like that for now for when the mrs is driving she'l only be able to go slow,
il put the 1-10 dial on the dash so it looks like the heater knob so i can go faster when i drive lol.
think ive sorted the pic problem