I decided I needed a cart for my Toto so I went to the duckworks "How-to" index feature and found one designed by Steve Lansdowne. I liked it, it was useful and cheap to build so I started to build one. As I got further into the project I decided I didn't like the fact that it was in three parts and that it was held together by a bungee while in use. So I made some changes that some other boaters may be interested in. First, I moved the top pieces that held it all together while unfolded and put them on the sides with pivot bolts at the rear and slots in the front that drop over a bolt with the head cut off (replaced by a screw on knob or a wing nut... what ever you have laying around). I also designed the legs to fold up as well.
Picture #1 - Overall view. |
Picture #1 shows just about everything. The side board (one on each side) with pivot bolt at the rear of the cart (right in pic). The slot in the side board that drops over the front bolt with screw on knob. The left front leg is extended and pivots on a screw near its top (hole should be about 1 1/2 " below the bottom of the cross member so you can add a stopper block for the leg to stop against when extended). You can't see the left leg because it is still folded up. You can see the axle on the other side of the cart. I used 4 1/2" bolts in stead of an axle all the way across. The bolts are overly long so I will attach my hold down straps to the ends of the wheel bolts. Since I didn't use an Axle all the way across, I decided to add a side to side brace near the bottom of the up rights just to add to its strength. You can also see a pencil line in the front up right. When the cart is folded up and not in use, this line is where the rear up right crosses the front up right and stops. Then I knew where I had room for the front leg. The front leg folds up to about that line. Lets see, what else, Oh I padded the top cross pieces that connect the tops of the up rights to each other and held them in place with red plastic ties. Since I have about a 3/4" skeg where the cart will be I cut a little chunk out of the top crossing board and also cut down the foam in that area. If you have a bigger skeg you may want to use 1x4 top crossing boards (side to side on cart) instead of1x2's like I used. I hope the other pictures add more clarity. Hope this helps some one build a nice cart. I love mine. Big thanks to Steve!
Picture #2 - All folded. |
Picture #2 - all folded. Bungee keeps it from flopping apart while folded but isn't really necessary. Oh, and because I made the side pieces a little long it stands up while folded (and bunged ) just luck on that one, not by design, ha. Picture #3 Under Baby Blue, note when the legs and wheels are touching the ground and the boat and cart are at about a 15 degree angle - perfect. Vary the leg length and or pivot position to get a different angle. Picture #4 View from front of cart.
Picture #3 - Under Baby Blue. |
Picture #4 - View from front of cart. |
My kids say I "Over explain" so I will give the dimensions and measurements and if you have any questions I will try to clarify. Look at Steve Lansdowns original design then go to my changes and you can figure it out. I made it this size to fit in the rear hatch of my Toto. Both top cross members are 10" long. The 4 uprights are 12" long ( 10" would work too.) The up rights are notched at the top to receive the cross members (3/4" by 1 1/2" notch if using 1x2's). The rear up rights are 10" apart (out side to out side). The front up rights are 8 1/2" apart (outside to out side) since they go inside the rear up rights when drilled for the axle. Hope you can see that in one of the pictures. Therefore the front top cross member sticks out 3/4" on each side to allow for folding. I added small blocks of wood to the ends of the cross members so I had more wood to put the pivot bolts into so at the ends they are 1 12" by 1 1/2". The side arms are about 14" but make them long at first then trim and round to taste. I used 7" old lawn mower wheels with an inside hub that sticks out about one inch which allows the legs and side pieces to fold down inside the wheel. Other wheels could be used but you may have to shim them out to get a compact fold. I used Titebond 3 glue and just a few screws to hold it together. When completely folded it is 7" thick, 14" wide and 14" long with out the pads. Pads add about and inch so 15" long when padded. I tried it without pads and it worked fine so your choice there.
Thanks to Duckworks for their great web magazine and thanks to all boaters who send in their helpful ideas.
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