I've been looking at the accessories here:

http://www.powerkiteshop.com/accessories/accessoriesbuggy.ht...

I've also had a look at some of the buggies for sale there. The Peter Lynn buggies have quite a lot of specs and they look quite useful. But I've never even seen a buggy in real life! I do not have a clue with these. I looked at some pictures, and they seem simple enough - three wheels and a seat, all attached to a stainless steel frame.

What do I need to watch out for when building a buggy? It's not got to be world-class, I'll be happy as long as it looks like a buggy and does what it's meant to without falling apart...

I'm planning on buying three of these wheels:
http://www.powerkiteshop.com/accessories/peterlynnwheelstand...

And also this seat:
http://www.powerkiteshop.com/accessories/peterlynncompetitio...

Is there anything else that I'd need, or would I be able to find the rest in the workshop?

Thanks for any help, I'm sure that I've missed a heckuva lot of info that I need to know, point out anything that I might have missed please :saint:

Tons of info here... http://pic7.piczo.com/Popeyethewelder/
Pay attention to the downtube and front for[k] angles and front wheel rake

keep us posted with pics! I love watching projects in progress..

l'll post pics if you want. I probably won't be able to start construction until september, though. We were told to get some ideas for what we might want to do for our project later this year, and this sounds a lot more fun to me than the folding desk I did last year :P

Thanks for the link, acampbell. I'll follow the plans to the X-Ray XL. I'll stick to same size and angles, but it probably won't be as fancy and well finished knowing me!

I'll probably be using standard tyres rather than extra wide, this shouldn't affect the dimensions of the frame should it?

I'm a bad typist and meant to say..
"Pay attention to the downtube and front fork angles and front wheel rake "

Tire width will not change frame except perhaps front wheel fork. Good idea to size it so it will accept wider tires later if you decide to change your mind.

flattyre,
don't get a flat one doesn't work so well...

You might also look here

http://www.buggybags.co.uk/ they have seats and side rail covers and such...
http://www.buggywielen.nl/ for wheels... there might be cheaper someplace else but they have good pics. For the thought process.

Good luck and keep us posted!
Alex

Bah, it looks like I can't make a buggy of the size shown on Popeyethewelder's web page. What I'm thinking of doing now is making one roughly the same size as this (click on specs):

http://powerkiteshop.com/buggies/peterlynncompxr.htm

I'll probably use the plans on the Popeyethewelder page, but will only use them to help me in getting the correct shape. I hope it doesn't matter too much... as long as it is strong enough, has three wheels and I can sit in it :P

I'll be buying these wheels, with 20mm bearings - the teacher says that this would be best, and he reckons we could always make it smaller ourselves, but what do you all think?

http://powerkiteshop.com/accessories/peterlynnwheelstandard....

Lastly, it looks like we'll be making it out of mild steel and then paint it. Would this be strong enough? I'm not going to go crazy in fast winds, this is only for a bit of cruising

I used mild steel on my frame (3/4" X 3/4") which by itself is far too flimsy to support your weight as you thump over the ground - I used an over and under design to compensate for this - I've been using the same frame unmodified for the past year and a half and have never had any problems of bending. You can see the current incarnation of the Lay-Z-boy buggy on the "gallery" tab under "Kite buggying".

Here's mine as well, also mild steel, square tubing. Bolts apart at the axle and at the gooseneck/seat attachment. The seat is a backpack, the wheels are wheelbarrow wheels, I welded an all thread nut onto the ends of the axle, so you can bolt the tires into those. Then the footpegs are small BMX handlebars turned upside down, and then the fork from that is welded to the gooseneck, and then the fork was widened, and a wheelbarrow wheel atttached with a 10" bolt. All of the points where a bolt goes through the frame, have a 3/8" plate with a hole drilled in it welded on, so that part of the frame is thicker, and the bolt won't deform it.

Here we go... I know I'm about a year too late, but I only finished it 2 months ago

I did this design without having any experience in kite buggying. One thing I noticed afterwards was that in most other buggies you sit upright - in mine, I made it so that you lie back. I can now see that sitting upright would be more practical, but after trying it, lying back gives you a great sense of speed! Also, I'm amazed at how well these things can turn and how stable they are. It feels like it's on rails.

There's one major flaw - the ground clearance. It's about half an inch, if that :o The seat gets a free brown paint job, in more than one way! In the next couple of weeks, I'll shorten the downtube, which should in turn increase the ground clearance a bit.

Maybe after that I can take it down the beach for a proper go.

Kite buggy / beach luge. Very interesting. As to wanting to increase your ride height, I think you will find that you will go through a few design changes and modifications (as most of us home builders do) before you come to your completed design. Very nice and congratulations on a job well done!

Thank you so much for putting your buggy know how in such detail up for everyone to learn from!
Thank you PTW

Quote:

Originally posted by Big Earl Thank you so much for putting your buggy know how in such detail up for everyone to learn from! Thank you PTW

Not a problem Earl, when I started there was nothing out there to help. I bought a second hand PL XR and thought it was the Muttz...until I noticed others out there....brain started ticking and thinking I could build something better....made to measure, theres nothing like being powered up in a MTM buggy. As soon as I found out how to up load pics to a free webby thats what I did, to share some of my knowleged. Now I have moved onto a proper Webby, and will gradually transfer the pics and data to that site

Take a look PTW Buggies