84' Taylor Dunn 3 to 4wheel project

[FlyinSparkey]

so got me 2 Taylor Dunn carts. one was a 3 wheeled truck and the other was a 4 wheeled cart that had some custom work done to it. after some further investigation the 4 wheeled monster had cracks and frame cancer (rust) so i cut her up kept the rear Axel and motor battery's and front Axel.

so i goto look at the 3 wheeled beast. about all it had wrong with it was a cracked spot in the frame and a few cancerous spots in the side panels and a pack that was shot and one dead battery that exploded on me giving me a wonderful acid shower (they were 04's and tired). i decided to make it 4 wheeled and lifted some. using the front axle from the other cart and its battery's (there 06's and seem ok).

she was tired and had a junk frame, poor thing must be in china by now.... or a kia plant.



the 3 wheeled beast under a little reconstructive surgery.



after i yanked the battery's out and sold then to some battery shop i made $42 dollars on them. i came back home and taught the beast how to shed some weight and roll over LOL.

muscled it on its side and pulled the rear axle out and then turned it over and propped it up.



and the rear axle.



in this picture the front springs are just setting there for measurement purposes and thinking how i want to make my new frame to suspend all this. im using 4 trailer springs i have from a trailer i was given. the springs are 3700lbs pr pair so im fixing to take a few leafs out. to soften them up a little yet keep some load capacity. once the axle is mounted ill trim my front wheel openings to match the rear ones.



here is the front axle from the old cart. i broke it down and put in 4 new bronze bushings and a couple washers as new wear surface instead of the 2" axle that has some deep groves worn into them after 25+ yrs of service.



well thats it. all the pictures i took today. tomorrow im going to start cutting out stuff that will no longer be needed and maybe get my new frame welded in, ive got some 2"x2"x10Ga wall tube to make my new frame with. and get the spring hangars tacked on. hopefully it wont be tool long till i can roll her back on all fours again and keep building. weld up a new battery tray, cut in the front wheel wells, get my steering fixed up and other odds n ends.

the rear axle needs a good tear down, bearings, seals and a new brake band. but that will require me to fix the engine hoist as i cant lift the axle by myself, and id prefer to work on it on my work bench.


more to come as i tinker with it.

oh BTW found a skunk in the garage, hoping it gets out before i have to take serious actions. im protective of keeping my tools free of skunk spray.

[hillbillyhangover]

Looks like an interesting project. Keep the pics coming.

[FlyinSparkey]

shes a heavy beast to say the least lol. i flipped it by myself and my back tonight is telling me that wasn't fun.

[FlyinSparkey]

started in on it again today at 9am. cutting out tabs and a few cross members in the way of the new frame. cut out the old battery box bars.

welded in my long tubes into the body after i clearance for them. they run to a existing 3/16" thick angle iron that i just layed another angle on to make it into a box, and stitched welded together. no need to cut it out for a tube that will be the same size anyways. also you can see i laid out the springs and there location.







next i welded in the front short tubes and ran them under the operators feet to strengthen it up as it was kinda floppy. once i had it all welded up i laid out the front spring locations and set the front axel up there for mock up and see how its all going to work.







this picture shows where the front and rear springs will be.



and last but not least the one spot on the frame that had a bad rust issue. also this joint supports the operators deck where your feat rest, i ran the frame up under the deck to support it more so this problem area can be removed.



that's all for today, all i need to do is get the spring hangars and get both axles mounted up and connect the front steering and its ready to sit back on all fours again. once its back on her tires ill do all the finish welds that were on the bottom and are more easier to get to once its right side up.

[scottyb]

NICE Work

[FlyinSparkey]

thanks scotty. ya aint too bad about ill i have invested in the project is around 45 dollars. at this time, key words at this time LOL.

bought the 2 carts and 2 chargers for 150 dollars, scraped one cart made 65 dollars then sold the old battery's out of the 3 wheeled cart and made 43 dollars. most everything else i had in my scrap iron pile and odd parts laying around.

i went wild buying parts up for my barstool racer so this project im practicing my more budget friendly side of building. also helps most of these taylor dunn parts are interchangeable to an extent with out too much changes.

[rifter]

WOW, that's built like a Tank, indestructable. Yea keep the pics coming.

[FlyinSparkey]

ya the Taylor Dunn in general are freaking heavy, this is a industrial truck. the diamond plate skid is at least 16ga the frame in places is 3/16 steel. the sections i added are 1/8" wall steel.

once finished with out battery's id say around it would weigh around half ton 1000lbs.

[FlyinSparkey]

started off my xmas eve by going to my local truck suspension shop as the 4 leaf packs i had were not all the same so i bought 2 new packs to match 2 matching ones i had. plus some bolts and shackle plates.

got home and started bolting, welding, cutting, and a few cuss words got the axles setting on it. got impatient and tossed some tires on it and rolled it on its feet. what a beast! around 3' from ground to the top of the bed lol.

it has quite a bit of rake in the chassis but once i get the battery tray and battery's in it and what not will see where its sitting. if i want to level it some ill bring the front end up some. i may leave it in case the springs settle in.

2 more matching springs to match the 2 other ones i had.


front axle setting in location. drilled the little holes in the top of the axle for the springs center bolts to recess into. need to get 4 u bolts and tie it down and it should be done.


had to shorten up the drag link from the steering box to the axle by 2" so did a quick cut bevel and weld.


here she is sitting on all fours. the tires on it are just temporary. im going to put some 22x10x8 carlisle all trails on there. and bump the rims out with 2" spacers to give it some stance. BTW this picture the cement pad its on is not level so it appears raked more.



next to do is mark a line with my wheel well template i made for the front so the tires have somewhere to tuck into.



that's it for today!, for my xmas day il going to do some more welding on joints i didn't do while she was upside down. mark out my front wheel wells and maybe cut them out. and a few other little odds n ends on it. slowly but surely ill buzzing around the yard again.

[FlyinSparkey]

little progress. got the front wheel wells cut out, cart leveled out some and front axle bolted in.



my mobile work bench also know as a trailer. its nice working on some things at chest height.