Let's talk about Power Wheels

P3PPY said:

I took apart the 6V gearbox today and the Power Core E100 razor's too. The motor body is the right size but it's just barely off with the shaft output gear > gearbox input gear (which overlaps the shaft gear by half a mm). One thought is to soften the plastic gearbox input gear with heat; maybe that will be just enough of what I need (to not spend money, that is). I wasn't able to pull the gear off either output shaft; I was going to see about swapping. I used heat on both as I saw on YouTube but nothing. I'll post some pics later.

I'm still figuring out how to make it work with the 3mph kickstart requirement that the stock Razor controller has. Current plan is to get somebody's old gearbox and put it on the other wheel (as it sits it's a one wheel wonder) and give it either its own 12V power supply or see how long it would last on the same 24V I'll be using to power the big motor.

Two questions:

Bad idea to run the 24V motor on 12V?

Any ideas on a simple live axle for these?

A 24V motor will likely be a snail on 12V, but I don't have much more to add.  If you're a FB user there's an enormous Modified Power Wheels group that has people way more experienced with hopping up these things than you're likely to find here. 

I just got a new controller and throttle in the mail so I'll be digging into one of our SX500 motorcycles soon.  Right now top speed is about 14 mph with me riding it, 18 mph with an extra battery connected (boosting it from 36V to 48V).  I'd like to see +20mph and a lot more torque after the upgrade from 500W at 36V to 1000W at 48V.

https://youtu.be/UhI7HtAeB5g

Best Choice Jeep that I converted to 24V. I was originally just going to replace the dual 12k motors with 18k motors, since the tabs broke off. But then I thought, 24v should run cooler and be less likely to trip the thermal breakers... and I was already running dual batteries... and the controller is only $25...

This thing is scarey fast, like put on a helmet fast, atleast for a 2 3/4 year old. Didn't help the throttle switch has dirt in it, and is sticking WOT. The 24v board has a pin for a high/low switch, that I'm going to ground out, once the 6S male plug arrives and I can cannibalize a pin from it. Hoping that might save a trip to the ER, or his mom crying as much. He did well though, considering the sticking throttle and I'm guessing it's 3x faster than before. If that doesn't work, or if it's too slow, I'll get some 20k@24v motors, they're only $15 side'sh.

For traction I put a self tapping screw in the rubber center strip every other lug. 

Need video 

nderwater said:

Need video 

if this was to me, there is a utuube link under the picture. didn't take more video as we were running around hoping he didn't smash into a stump

Jennie742 said:

I had always wanted [a two seat canoe], but never got one. We saw pictures on the internet of people's kids riding them together with their teddy bears, or playing side by side.

canoe

At least the canoes are guiding me to relevant threads...  I need to get working on one I saved from big pickup day for my son.

In reply to Apexcarver :

Right. Yesterday my eldest reminded me that hers STILL wasn't working. Oops!

I've actually hitting the "what now" point of the PowerWheels fleet. My boys (ages 12 and 9) are getting too big for most of the fleet. My daughter (6) fits just fine in her Mustang, so that will stay. But I think the at least three rides need to be passed on to new owners. We've had a ton of fun, but it is getting close to the next step with the go-kart I recently acquired for free with a worn out 3hp engine. Time for a Predator re-power and a CVT upgrade.

I'm sad that they are growing up, but I'm glad I gave them the fun I always wanted. I wanted that Bigfoot Powerwheels so bad as a kid. And the best part was me and the kids had fun resurrecting all the free PowerWheels I drug home over the years.

In reply to slefain :

What the boys need. Custom frame, Predator mill, and Rev. Horton's Heat's Psycobilly Freakout.

In reply to slefain :

You're in Georgia right? 

Surely there's a mud hole nearby with Barbie jeep/hot wheel races. Or tractor pulls. Or drifting. Or even bogging. 

At least the videos I've seen from the Georgia back woods have lots of that.

Bringing this thread back from the dead, 'cause it's just fun.

So, I'm going to be a Grampa here in a few months, naturally I had to jump on CL and FBM to find a suitable Power Wheels project for the little guy. Sure, it'll be years before he's big enough to drive it, but that just gives me time to work on it.

(Quick little backstory - 20 years ago, I rescued a Power Wheels BigFoot from the trash, cleaned it, painted it, modified it with working suspension, rewired it for 12v, stuck a garden tractor battery in it, and my son had a blast tearing all over the neighborhood in it. 6v motors running on 12v are fun....)

Anyway, back to now - since I'm a Bronco guy (Ford, not Denver), have a '71 project, and am still (im)patiently waiting for the '21 I ordered to show up, it stands to reason I picked a Bronco PowerWheels. Classic body. Found one in excellent shape, missing charger, for $50. Done. It's actually a "Kid Trax", only 6v, only drives one rear wheel. OK, that'll work for a little guy, but upgrading it to dual 12 motor/gearboxes is easy as sliding a new unit onto the rear axle on the other side and driving the other rear wheel, so that will happen at some point. (I have to keep reminding myself not to "hot rod" this thing....yet). But, there are a few easy changes I can make to make it...cooler. Modify the hood to open so it'll have a useful "frunk", modify the tailgate to open because that's what tailgates are supposed to do, add some LED lights...easy stuff.

Looking it over gave me so many ideas, I may just have to find another one to modify. I already have R/C Broncos in several different scale sizes (1/10, 1/24, 1/18, 1/64) to match my full size '71, I bet a decent receiver, ESC, and strong steering servo would turn one of these into a cool 1/4 (!) scale R/C Bronco.... 

In reply to earlybroncoguy1 :

I never knew there was a first gen in power wheels form. I might actually be able to own one that way. That's awesome. 

In reply to RevRico :

Walmart still sells them on their website, but if you hunt around on CL and FBM you can find them cheap.

Classic Ford Bronco, 6-Volt Ride-On Toy by Kid Trax, ages 3 to 5, black - Walmart.com

Project update:

Hood now opens, hinged at base of windshield with 16" piano style hinge. Frunk finished out with black plastic panels cut and trimmed to fit. 

Painted bumpers bright silver, grille bright white.

Bronco # 2  ($25 on FBM, everything works) in background, '71 Bronco behind that.

Removed orignal 6v single motor, upgraded to dual 12v motors, one on each rear wheel. Also added wiring to connect both motors and low/high speed switch. Cut open tailgate from body, added hinge at bottom, and plastic panels to extend bed floor to tailgate. That's as far as I'm going to modify it (for now), since my grandson is only 2 years old - let him get some practice driving it around the property (we have 6 acres, some wooded, with atv trails) on low speed, then when he gets used to it, switch it to high speed for some fun.

This is Bronco #2. Test fit some old atv tires just to see how they look. Appropriately cartoonish. This Bronco will be for him when he outgrows #1, - larger tires, more power, suspension, metal frame, might even stretch the body.  

Time to start building a suspension.

That's rad!

In reply to earlybroncoguy1 :

Incredible! What's the powerplant for the rubber tire monster?

In reply to P3PPY :

The "rubber tired monster" will still have the 12 volt electric motor and gearboxes, but will have 4 of them, one on each wheel. I'll probably use two 12 volt batteries in paralell for increased capacity. 

I don't know if I'm going to go with the atv wheels and tires, or with a set of golf cart wheels and tires I picked up on FBM. The atv wheels/tires would work well if I build the Bronco as more of a 2wd pre-runner/Baja trophy truck, with long travel front suspension and a swing-arm style rear suspension.

The golf cart wheels/tires would be better suited to a 4wd/rock crawler type build, with solid axles front and rear, since all four of them are the same size:

Amazing...

What advantages are there to using a powerwheels as a base for a gokart vs just building the frame yourself? 

I would assume one advantage to the power wheels is that you get all the controllers, motors, battery, etc included, where as with a DIY go kart, you've gotta buy all that. 

My neighbors have struggled to get rid of a ATV-style power wheels, but i'm wondering if I can't harvest it for parts. 

Could also swap in a Vevor or Kunray motor and let it rip

In reply to pheller :

To me, it would depend on what kind of speed are you looking to get out of it. Power Wheels are...slow. They're supposed to be, for kids, so they can learn and have fun without getting into trouble or hurt. They can be re-geared and upgraded, but with only tiny 6 or 12 volt motors, there's only so much you can do.

If you want something the little kids can trundle around the yard in at about walking speed or a little faster, then starting with a power wheels is the way to go. Cheap, plentiful, simple, low maintenance. The neighbors' atv power wheels will supply motors, gearboxes, wheels, wiring harness, steering, etc.

If you're looking for something faster, like above 10-15 mph or so, then I'd go with a go kart. More power, stronger drivetrain, real bearings, real wheels and rubber tires, brakes - all the things you need for more speed, and more control at higher speeds. More expensive, but speed costs money - how fast can you afford to go?

I'm building the Power Wheels for the Grandson now, because he's young and small. A simple one first, then a bigger, more powerful one down the road. Once he's old enough, there's a Honda TRX70 ATV waiting for him, and a 250 (2wd) quad and a 300 (4wd) Rancher after that.      

You ever had one of those situations where you're not really looking for something, but it pops up and you grab it anyway, because it's too good of deal to pass up? Yeah, me too.

Came across this on FBM for $100, (new, these things are around $500-$600), seller said it had a bad battery. Picked it up because it has:

* Four, 12 volt motor/gearboxes (4WD)

* Rear suspension with coilover shocks

* 16" diameter, 6" wide rubber tires

* Remote control (forward, reverse, steering, brake)

* Bunch of led lights, wiring, soft start speed control, etc

BODY SWAP! OK, not exactly, but that's the basic idea - it's going to donate all of it's wiring, drivetrain, suspension, and tires to Bronco #2.

Turns out the battery is just fine - the original charger was bad. I hooked up my old Sears Diehard battery charger, set it to 10 amp automatic charge, and let it run overnight. Everything works - all the lights, the radio/sound system, all 4 motors run forward and reverse. Even the remote control actually (mostly) works - it steers left and right, and will reverse, but for some reason won't go forward. I pulled the remote apart and checked the switches with a meter, they're all good but the circuit board got wet at some point in it's life, quite a bit of corrosion on it. A few minutes on eBay found a replacement, so I hope that's all it is.

The golf cart wheels I showed in an earlier post are probably going to go on my UTV - the bolt pattern is the same, the wheel diameter is the same, I think I'll swap the more aggressive tires on the plain steel UTV wheels over to the aluminum golf cart wheels after I polish them up a little.     

BRO, that's a brute!  What are those things called?

In reply to nderwater :

Search for "Power Wheels" or "kids ride on" on CL or FBM and they'll pop up. Powersports dealers sell them new (Planet Ride, etc), but they're showing up used as well. Some are 24v, they're pretty big. Haven't seen a Bronco one yet, though.