BTW, never looked, but I understand the Taylor-Dunns have a narrowed Ford 9" rear end.
BTW, never looked, but I understand the Taylor-Dunns have a narrowed Ford 9" rear end.
Thought #1: make a frame to yoke together 4x Motocompactos
Thought #2: the German equivalent to the M274 Mule was the Faun Kraftkarren (a.k.a. Kraka). The Kraka (or one version of it) could fold in half.
What about something like those motorized beach wagons?
There's different sizes and capacities, they're strong enough to carry a couple hundred pounds, small enough to fit into a short pickup bed, and can be driven while sitting on one. You could always use different tires/wheels for pavement. Gotta be lighter than a chopped up golf cart.
I'm working on something similar, not quite that fancy though. I want a wagon to haul folding chairs, coolers, and a few things from our campsite to the river we frequent in the summer. Parking is tight, I don't really need to want to fire up the truck just to haul a few things 1/2 mile or so, but don't want to carry them, either - so, a wagon. But, of course, not just ANY wagon.
Years back (like 25 or so), I built a custom wagon to carry my kids around car shows, and to haul parts at swap meets. It started out as a Radio Flyer type with wood sides and pneumatic tires when the kids were small, but I ended up fabricating an aluminum frame, full suspension with coil over shocks, panhard bars, four links, shifter kart steering, slicks, ATV rear axle, etc.
The ol' hot rod wagon needed some updates after all these years, so I'm building a stronger frame, new paint on the wagon tub, cooler racks, and adding a drive system made up of salvaged Power Wheels motors and gearboxes, with some lithium batteries.
We use a 3/4 size 1904 Olds replica my uncle built from a lawn mower. And mopeds with milk crates zip tied to them.
The replica will climb the hill at Road America but maybe not with a load of tires...
If you go with fabricating something lightweight like the motorized cart suggestions above, I would suggest making it electric and running off of the batteries from whichever tool ecosystem you prefer.
914Driver said:If you find an M-274 you can't afford it. BUT, using this idea you can make anything!
These have a 2 cylinder boxer out back, flat deck and the driver's feet hang off the front; gives about 90% use of space.
Not applicable in the pits, but you can run under helicopter blades.
Holy rabbit hole Batman
https://www.mechanicalmulesofamerica.com
Tom Suddard said:93gsxturbo said:Could just get a proper truck with a proper 8' bed, seems easier than cutting up a golf cart to fit in a 5.5' bed
Nobody sells an electric truck with an 8' bed, and it's way easier to shorten a golf cart than it is to lengthen a new F-150.
Plus, a 5.5' golf cart fits in a 20' trailer with a Miata. A full-size one doesn't.
You missed the proper truck part of the comment.
But anyway....
You have 66" of real estate to work with. The average golf cart tire is 18" diameter, so you gotta build this thing on a 48" max wheelbase.
Using the idea of the M-274, anything ahead of the front and rear wheels could fold vertical tangent to the plane of the front/rear of the wheels respectively. So there is your foot space and rear parcel shelf. Steering wheel would have to be more-or-less vertical, use a quick release hub so you have rear window clearance.
Seat is a flat foam pad with a fold up/down back.
Gotta shorten a golf cart chassis by 18" to make it work or build something custom.
Power it with one of those Honda Fiddy clones with 150cc and reverse. 3 speeds so you can get enough torques to haul some stuff and enough speed to get badly hurt on a 3AM beer run.
Used to work on these things...
the old ones are shortened Ford 9" rears with custom axles (and non replaceable brake rotors.) They are very over built and ride like it too. If I remember right they can carry half a ton or more.
The electric ones are pretty solid and stood up to years of straight up neglect by their drivers. The gas ones need a little more attention but apparently can go scary fast with the limiter removed... no person experience
Not to bubble burst but they suck to drive. Super bouncy, spongy brakes, truck steering (recirc ball), etc.
An actual golf cart would much better suit your needs. Clubcar makes a bunch of stuff with flat beds that would work. I would look in that arena.
I happened across a video about the Massimo Mini Jeep. It's sold through Tractor Supply and other outlets for around $2500. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/massimo-mini-jeep-green-y540125716 It has a 125cc engine and a three speed transmission, it looks like it would actually be pretty useful. Not a lot of cargo space in it, but you could probably rig up a little trailer. Or stack tires and stuff on its hood.
So, it also has to be no wider than 48" or 49".
How about this for inspiration:
Collapsible Mini Golf Cart for Sale - Kandi America
So, apparently this thing is 96" long, but "collapses" down to 66" long, 35" wide, and 33" tall. 1000 watt motor, 48v lithium battery, 25 mile range, weighs 265 lbs.
But....it's $5K. I'm guessing you could buy a decent used golf cart, make whatever modifications you need/want to, and still end up spending a lot less than that.
sevenracer said:How about this for inspiration:
That is one of the coolest things I've ever seen, I have absolutely no use for it but want it real bad.
I dropped in here to mention the Massimo Mini Jeep. Saw one at Tractor Supply and it's the cutest thing ever. Also, check those dimensions. Take that spare off the back and I think it would fit as intended.
Something like this would be eye-catching -
Keith Tanner said:I dropped in here to mention the Massimo Mini Jeep. Saw one at Tractor Supply and it's the cutest thing ever. Also, check those dimensions. Take that spare off the back and I think it would fit as intended.
There are YT videos of a guy who was/is attempting to drive across Utah in one of those.
Whelp, sorry for the disappointment, but I decided to just buy a Cricket. I paid $1550 for a shiny, running, ready to go cart this afternoon. It even came with a set of ramps to load it into the truck.
This feels like a lot of money for this, but somehow this is way cheaper than anything I've seen after searching for a few months. I sold my e-bike project and moved sideways into this golf cart, so Challenge math says this thing was free, right? 
So, why didn't I build something? A few reasons. First, time: I just don't have as much free time as I used to, and a week in the garage building a cart is a week in the garage where I'm not building project cars. Grassroots Golf Cart Sports isn't quite our market.
But also, I couldn't find a suitable donor cart. My hope was to find something running and driving with rough cosmetics or a rusty frame, and pay $500. After looking every day, I just couldn't find the right donor. Everything had mechanical problems, and I mean everything, until I was searching in the $1000-$2000 price range. And at that buy-in before I go shopping for steel, I figured just buying the ready-to-run miniature cart was the better bet.
My next race is Sebring in a few weeks, so I'll put the little Cricket through its paces and see if it's up for the job. It feels pretty flimsy, but these have a decent reputation and are rated to carry 600 lbs. Worst-case, I now have the perfect donor cart for a custom build down the road.
Here's a shot of the Cricket in action, which does a little better job of showing its scale.
You really missed an opportunity to buy some max pee ding rod type E36 M3 from Alibaba.
914Driver said:If you find an M-274 you can't afford it. BUT, using this idea you can make anything!
These have a 2 cylinder boxer out back, flat deck and the driver's feet hang off the front; gives about 90% use of space.
Not applicable in the pits, but you can run under helicopter blades.
I seem to remember Dad telling me a couple Marines he was with drowned under one of these when it flipped into a ditch.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
So, it's basically a mobility scooter with a cargo rack?
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