homemade Crabbuggy

I knew this existed but cruising @ the internet on many forums around the globe and youtubless ofcourse got me inspired.
And having an old V-max and 3 bigfoot full size laying around for years helps a lot.

i hope to finish before the end of this year including a test-drive.

Great work! Looking forward to seeing the finished project.

made some serious progress this week:

pic 7: making the buggy seperable.
pic 8: just have to drill 2 holes M10 for the nuts and bolds
pic 9: alignment of the frontaxle
pic 10: made a shelter to stay dry and making sure that the dog's can't see the light from welding
pic 11: alignment of the hubs
pic 12: alignment of the frame before welding
pic 13:just looking how it's gonna look..
pic 14: found a used skateboard that will do just fine
pic 15: looks very nice with the seat put in.
pic 16: a happy hobbyman.

next week: steering and attachment of the frontwheels.

the gold and grey are spray-can leftovers.
when i'm done with grinding and welding it's gonna be painted black with anti-rust Hammerite

have a great (buggy) weekend

I must have missed this thread. Interesting project! Can't wait for the complete build and first run. Keep us up to date

the story continu's.....

contruction of the right wheelhub.
the left one is gonna be easier and take less time
because i just have to copy instead of desiging and measuring it 100 times
before cutting and welding..
the upright bar with al the holes is just for measurment and later on
used for the adjustable rail wich will hold the footplate.

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still hoping to test this Mad-Max Crab-creation before 2020,
but that's gonna be close.

Coming along nicely

I hope to see you and your crabbuggy at Maasvlakte one time

Made good progress today..
Produced the second wheelhub wich is a mirror-copy of the right-one.
The Crab is now all grown up to stand on it's own feet.. uhhh tires.

i'm really pleased with the outcome so far...

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Quote: Originally posted by Randy

It looks like you changed wheels as well - the original was red.

nope, those are the wheels of the kitebuggy and was just to see how it looked.

next step for testrun complete: the foothboard

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it looks like i'll be ready for testing before 2020

Your dog seems to think it is already perfect.

a little closer to the testride:
made 2 steering-axle's and reinforced the frame.

unfortunatly had to stop early because of the rain.
luckely my porch is big enough for parking and taking picture's


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testing in 2019 is likely..!!

@ Windstruck: on pics 7 and 8 you can see where i can 'split' the crab.

and as for the handling and wether or not the buggy goes in a straight line when i lift my foot of the board and if the buggy will turn when i want to...
i've looked up every video and photo about a crab buggy and been reading on several forums
building-story's from people who build a crab and hope i didn't forget anything.

guess i'll have to wait and see @ the test..

the stage of trying my creaction has come, it was crappy wheater but
i am ready for testing the Crab.

it has become a little obese-crab since the scale gave a number slightly over 62 kg.
but my regular buggy with side-ride weighs 74 kg and that's without a passenger..


finished the steering today and tryed if it would fit on my Fiat Seiccento.
i allready made and imperial for the kitebuggy but this one fits even easier.

and to make some nice footage i bought a new actioncam.

and the first testrun is a fact:
handles perfectly, goes straight in a line when i lift my feet
of the board but also corners if i want it to.. :D
it was a little getting used to since the many km-ers i made in a 'normal' kitebuggy but i adjusted quite easely.
the only thing i am going to adjust is the setting of the board so the steering wil be a little less progressive, but not much...

and ofcourse i recorded the try-out:



upcoming monday the second run with other footboard setting.

Quote: Originally posted by Windstruck

OK, it is everything advertised. How cool is that Crab Buggy??? After you are finished making final adjustments, are you planning on powder coating, chroming, or what? Time to start pimpin! Also, curious if you have to apply a lot of pressure with your feet to keep from being pulled forward when lit up?

i've tried a emergency stop @ 40km/h, braced myself against the board,
and nothing happend other than it stopped.
no OBE, and it brakes in a very short distance.

ofcourse the risk of eject is slightly higher than a normal bug.
that's why i choose a more layed-back position, a rollbar and made the footboard-support idiot-proof.

most important was handling of the steering. it did as i wanted too.
and it is mostley for fun. higer speeds and trowing and racing it around a corner will come.

the frame is gonna be painted black with Hammerite, that is a paint wich sticks better to iron when it is slightly rusted.
all the moving parts are gonna be red.

to be continued....

Quote: Originally posted by Randy

Very cool buggy. The video is very nicely done as well. Thanks for sharing your project with us.

Your welcome.

To be continued on monday the 30th (hopefully..)

and here are 2 more movie's:

one of the build in picture's and the other is the 2nd testrun om a beautiful day @ Maasvlaktebeach in the Netherlands


the build:


testrun II:


next job: disassemble and paint the Crab

comfort is the same, handling good and won't be slower than a regular buggy

for some reason i cannot reply in messageboard, only in subject. do others have the same issue?

Quote: Originally posted by Juan

Wow, that looks very good, Jantje! Whats the weight of the crab? The beach at MV2 looks very hard! Hope to see you there soon!!!

and we're back online..

the Crab's weight is 62 kg, so it's a little of an obese-buggy... :D:D
but the moment it starts to roll it's light as a feather.
I've been very precisly with the allignment of the wheels and therefore it runs very smoothly

If posting here from an iPhone; the smart punctuation needs to be disabled. Certain non letters and numbers cause the post to be blank. The same setting can also be turned off on Apple computers.

Just pull up the settings and type the word smart in the search bar up top to find it since it's buried in the settings.

Quote: Originally posted by rtz

If posting here from an iPhone; the smart punctuation needs to be disabled. Certain non letters and numbers cause the post to be blank. The same setting can also be turned off on Apple computers. Just pull up the settings and type the word smart in the search bar up top to find it since it's buried in the settings.

Thanks.

I'm using Android but on my laptop it was also a problem.
But it is fixed now...!!

Quote: Originally posted by Juan

Will you be at MV2 on saturday? The weather looks good...

it was going to, but a good friend that I haven't seen in a long time wants to meet and buggy on Brouwersdam.

so i will meet you the next time Juan.
have a great saturday.

i had too much raw footage left over that i wanted to use,
so therefore a short extra testrun II movie :

Is that a camera on your wheel at about 38 seconds?

made some progress this week:

painted the frame and used a better seat.
the old one was a Libre V-Max buggyseat and the fresh one is a Libre Fullrace.
it's bigger, newer and fits better and the old one wich was falling apart after 15 years...

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next week continue with a new footboard.

have a great weekend.!!

started on the new footboard.
found a cool silouet of a Crab, cutted it out and drawed it
on hard 3-ply wood, then used a handsaw to cut it out.
glued it on the board, sanded it and the first layer of paint is a fact.
in reality you see the 3-D effect much more than the photo.

template
glued the cut-out wood on the board
the result so far
looks pretty nice...

now just 2-3 more layers of paint and 2 layers transparant to finish it off,
and then the skate-board at the front is next.

to be continued.

love the crab, nice touch

thanks Randy,
you're up early...

Looks great, Jantje!!! Hope to see you soon!

the 4th time out is a fact:
@ Brouwersdam Beach NL last saturday
with perfect conditions to try the new seat.
and it was well worth it.!!
it feels more safe so picking up speed is now the goal.

hope you enjoy the video.

Love it! Great spot and perfect conditions! How do you transport it? Does it pack down?

Quote: Originally posted by RedSky

Love it! Great spot and perfect conditions! How do you transport it? Does it pack down?

packed and stacked on and in a Fiat Seicento...

After some testruns i noticed too many times that I couldn't brace
myself enough. So I tore it a part and cut the roll bar off.
Lowerd the sidebars and made another roll bar which is higher, wider and much more steep.
The re-bar is just for temporary fix, when I found the right angle for
the rollbar I'll fix it with 22x1,5mm pipe.
(Metric..:D)
Testing it upcoming weekend (I hope) will show if this
is a good upgrade.

And ofcourse the cosmetic part also continues with the skateboard.
Logo and letters cut and glued.
First of 4 layers of black paint is a fact.
After that layers of red on the letters and logo,
finished with 3-4 layers of transparent coating.
The goal is to make just as cool as the footboard.

To be continued....

Coming along nicely...

Thanks for the compliment Randy.

A little progress today, not quite as far as I hoped.
but seeing it fixed on the Crab rewards the hours
of work.

Next:
repaint the backside of the skateboard and blank spots on the
frame after the upgrade.

Quote: Originally posted by Jack.Oh

Obese... I would call it solid. I just ordered material for my next buggy build. I am going with a 48 mm axle, 32mm side rails, 50mm x 38mm goose neck and 25mm for the fork all 3mm/.120" wall. Shipping weight 73lbs./33kg 18in x 9.5in x 8in wheels. Assembled with rim, bearings and tire. 18lbs each x 3 total 54lbs/24kg Plus seat, padding, bag, hardware....????? I think this will also be a solid buggy. I should have all the materials by the end of the week. I will probably start building, may be, first of April.

Nice... will you post the build on this forum with pictures?

Quote: Originally posted by jantie

Quote: Originally posted by Jack.Oh   Obese... I would call it solid. I just ordered material for my next buggy build. I am going with a 48 mm axle, 32mm side rails, 50mm x 38mm goose neck and 25mm for the fork all 3mm/.120" wall. Shipping weight 73lbs./33kg 18in x 9.5in x 8in wheels. Assembled with rim, bearings and tire. 18lbs each x 3 total 54lbs/24kg Plus seat, padding, bag, hardware....????? I think this will also be a solid buggy. I should have all the materials by the end of the week. I will probably start building, may be, first of April. Nice... will you post the build on this forum with pictures?

Yes, I am looking forward to posting here. It will be great to get feedback, hints and tips from people who have built there own and have the experience to know what works and what dose not.

Quote: Originally posted by Jack.Oh

Quote: Originally posted by jantie   Quote: Originally posted by Jack.Oh   Obese... I would call it solid. I just ordered material for my next buggy build. I am going with a 48 mm axle, 32mm side rails, 50mm x 38mm goose neck and 25mm for the fork all 3mm/.120" wall. Shipping weight 73lbs./33kg 18in x 9.5in x 8in wheels. Assembled with rim, bearings and tire. 18lbs each x 3 total 54lbs/24kg Plus seat, padding, bag, hardware....????? I think this will also be a solid buggy. I should have all the materials by the end of the week. I will probably start building, may be, first of April. Nice... will you post the build on this forum with pictures? Yes, I am looking forward to posting here. It will be great to get feedback, hints and tips from people who have built there own and have the experience to know what works and what dose not.

Looking forward to your build topic.

I also build my own 'regular' kitebuggy and a few more other creations myself and have seen a fair amount of home builds
and some factory ones.
One think I've learned in 16 years and 27000km-ers is weight-ratio and positioning the driver as in balance the steering (over or understeer) wich results in a dream or a nightmare.
It took me quitte a few testruns before I got it right
for what I wanted with the kitebuggy and also the crabbug.

When are you planning to build?

Greets from Holland.

Quote: Originally posted by jantie

Quote: Originally posted by Jack.Oh   Quote: Originally posted by jantie   Quote: Originally posted by Jack.Oh   Obese... I would call it solid. I just ordered material for my next buggy build. I am going with a 48 mm axle, 32mm side rails, 50mm x 38mm goose neck and 25mm for the fork all 3mm/.120" wall. Shipping weight 73lbs./33kg 18in x 9.5in x 8in wheels. Assembled with rim, bearings and tire. 18lbs each x 3 total 54lbs/24kg Plus seat, padding, bag, hardware....????? I think this will also be a solid buggy. I should have all the materials by the end of the week. I will probably start building, may be, first of April. Nice... will you post the build on this forum with pictures? Yes, I am looking forward to posting here. It will be great to get feedback, hints and tips from people who have built there own and have the experience to know what works and what dose not. Looking forward to your build topic. I also build my own 'regular' kitebuggy and a few more other creations myself and have seen a fair amount of home builds and some factory ones. One think I've learned in 16 years and 27000km-ers is weight-ratio and positioning the driver as in balance the steering (over or understeer) wich results in a dream or a nightmare. It took me quitte a few testruns before I got it right for what I wanted with the kitebuggy and also the crabbug. When are you planning to build? Greets from

Just started a post today with a first of many installments. Look for "Zephyr I" in the name.

I realize that the center of gravity and the center of pull play a big part.
also, the geometry of the front end.... More to it then simple..

Quote: Originally posted by Jack.Oh

Just started a post today with a first of many installments. Look for "Zephyr I" in the name.

found it: click here for the Zephyr I build

today for me and my Crab:
painted the front frame where i needed to grind and weld to support the skateboard.
didn't take the effort yet to take it completly apart but repaired the paint only where necessary.

maybe tommorow another Crab-run, but it's gonna be crowded because there isn't much more
to visite for the dutch people other than the beach due to Covid-19.



pic 1
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Quote: Originally posted by jantie

Quote: Originally posted by Jack.Oh   Just started a post today with a first of many installments. Look for "Zephyr I" in the name. found it: click here for the Zephyr I build today for me and my Crab: painted the front frame where i needed to grind and weld to support the skateboard. didn't take the effort yet to take it completly apart but repaired the paint only where necessary. maybe tommorow another Crab-run, but it's gonna be crowded because there isn't much more to visite for the dutch people other than the beach due to Covid-19. pic 1 pic 2 pic 3

looks good.
Here in the US it is spring break for schools and some states are closing the beaches do to Covid-19 because there are too many people getting together.

today the the Crab was on the scale again
since there are some add-ons and changes since the last time.
this time i included my own weight just to see
how much the load on each wheel in total:

Quote: Originally posted by jantie

the steering from what i feel is direct, it corners when i want it to and slows down in full drift not better or worse than a regular bug. i could make a test rear axle and make it regarding to wheel load even. but setting the wheel further back will affect the turning circle wich would be too big.

Why do you need to have tight turn on a crab buggy... you are always facing the same direction. You only have to go to the left or to the right. Or am I missing something. If you have too much power can the crab buggy tip forward?

today was great, took the day off and went to the beach.
in the weekends the beaches are still closed so i waited and got the opportunity, once again patiente is rewarded:

the temporary modified rollbar was great but not firm enough and broke during a powerloop when i braced myself 100%.
but no harm, now i know it's like i want it and i can weld it with pipe
and will be idiot-proof.

looking good...

fixed the rollbar firmly and permanetly.
painted the rear section of the frame, and got my sewing machine
back from repair and completed the upholstery.
very satisfief with the outcome...

for now busy with editting all the raw movie data from last thuesday
that ofcourse will be posted ASAP..!!
:D:D


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and a nice beach picture


hope to get back to the beach soon..

just finished editting the footage from last tuesday.
downside of moviemaker is to just have 1 adiotrack
so i had to put layer upon layer.
but the mix of 5 camera's gives a good picture of this perfect day

Buggy looks great. Just watched the video. Nice
It has to be strange riding sideways.

Quote: Originally posted by jantie

thanks Jack, windsurfing is the same and a matter of getting used to.. :D

Yes, I guess so. I've done some windsurfing..

after a period URL's of pictures expire for some reason, so all the pic's with hyperlink are or will be gone soon...

so much for FacebooK..

Yesterday was fun.
The upgrade of the rollbar is a succes.
Feels more safe and flying bigger is no problem.
So topspeeds will increase..
:D

since almost all URL's from the picture's linked to facebook expired and to keep this whole topic somewhat usefull: