Wanting to make a kids ride on car rc for charity

[The_Blue_Dragon]

Hi everyone.

I've not been in the group as I don't have any rc stuff anymore, all my money gets spent on a project I now run called Pimp My Wheelchair Project.

 

As a little side project I've decided to customise a kids ride on car and give it away to charity. 

 

I've already got support from a mobility company who have supplied a set of 12v scooter batteries. I'm also fitting a working sound system supplied by Pioneer and JL Audio.

 

The charity I'm giving it to is Starlight Children's Foundation who grant wishes to severely disabled kids. As it's going to a charity for disabled kids I want to make it disabled kid friendly. I thought it would be cool to make it rc so a kid can sit in it and ride round even if they are unable to control it themselves.

 

Can anyone advise me what ill need and does anyone have anything knocking about that I will need? Also I need a new motor for it so what kind of motor would be best to run off 12v?

[Gavster29]

Wow great project! As a dad of a child with cerebral palsy I would say it's a good idea, my daughter is OK sitting but lots of disabled children have weak core So support will be key.

I'm not sure I have any idea on the RC side of things but should imagine you can modify some servos to activate the motor control

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[RCbutcher]

I brought my daughter a cheap 12v ride in that was RC so it should be doable. People also upgrade those ride ons with washing machine motors they fly then lol. So should be help around. 

 

Thats a cool ride tho. 

Edited August 3, 2017 by RCbutcher

[The_Blue_Dragon]

20 minutes ago, Gavster29 said:

Wow great project! As a dad of a child with cerebral palsy I would say it's a good idea, my daughter is OK sitting but lots of disabled children have weak core So support will be key.

I'm not sure I have any idea on the RC side of things but should imagine you can modify some servos to activate the motor control

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk
 

For the seat I'm looking at getting a seat made from metal like in dragsters. It would have full support and a 4 link harness. Like a smaller version of one of these in the picture 

[Andy Mc]

Hi - cudos on creating a nice little project like this, my son has high functioning non verbal autism, and some of the kids in his school would love something like this! and so would he!
great idea on the seat & seat belts also just get it padded up, If there is anything I can help with pm me, I don't have much in 12v experience except for my 12v driven rc boat with a brushed motor.

 

but I have the following I am happy to donate to the cause, would like to see liaison about the project.

 

Spektrum receiver - mainly 6 channel

Spektrum satellite receiver if need be

EC3 & EC5 connectors (let me know about the wiring you're using)

Deans connectors

 

its not much if it helps let me know.

 

 

[Fly In My Soup]

A long term buddy of mine got one of the ride ones that are also RC, they're quite common these days.

 

You may want to try blag one of them of a retail store..

 

Then simply transplant everything you need over.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/remote-control-ride-on-cars

 

 

Or trawl eBay for a used remote control/radio controlled ride on

 

I know one it seems to defy sense, but anyone who's built/restored a real car will know that the quickest and cheapest source for parts is a donor car of sorts....

 

A donor RC ride on would facilitate your needs well, appropriate servos, ESC would be the main points..

 

If your trying to use RC esc's, servos etc  your in for a long,frustrating and expensive project fraught with unknowns.

 

Also ..The niche usage of said car would mean it needs to be predictable, reliable and most importantly safe to use.

 

Have you checked into the legalities of liability arising from incidents occurring whilst this thing is in use?? Wouldn't normally be an issue with a stock off the shelf RC ride on, as they've already undergone risk assessment, rigourous testing prior to retail sale so if used within its correct parameters of 'normal use' the user will be 'safe'.

 

Yours is modified, and has such been altered since/ created without c.e certification

 

Also... these companies have legal disclaimers stating usage is at users own risk etc etc.

 

Not trying to rain on your parade, and i understand you've 'modified' wheelchairs for users before, but that was probably with off the shelf, bolt on, pre certified parts...

 

Hope all goes well for your project, I'm sure that mean looking Porsche would make a kids year owning it...!

[The_Blue_Dragon]

12 minutes ago, Fly In My Soup said:

A long term buddy of mine got one of the ride ones that are also RC, they're quite common these days.

 

........

Part of the fun for me is finding ways of doing things and learning new skills. So I'm not worried about a little work.

 

Most of the stuff for the wheelchair and scooter isn't exactly off the shelf. The scooter has had to have a new chassis made, then I've had to make all the wiring looms and make parts from scratch. That's part of the fun for me.

 

I get what your saying about the laws so ill do some research about that

Edited August 3, 2017 by The_Blue_Dragon

[Fly In My Soup]

22 minutes ago, The_Blue_Dragon said:

Part of the fun for me is finding ways of doing things and learning new skills. So I'm not worried about a little work.

 

Most of the stuff for the wheelchair and scooter isn't exactly off the shelf. The scooter has had to have a new chassis made, then I've had to make all the wiring looms and make parts from scratch. That's part of the fun for me.

 

I get what your saying about the laws so ill do some research about that

 

Yeah i totally understand...

 

Was just ensuring your clued up, as thinking about it, when pimping a wheelchair/scooter you've already obtained consent from the owner/carer... Whereas gifting to a charity is much different in terms of liability.

 

Kind of reminds me of a story i saw years back, whereby tesco dropped off food at homeless shelter/hostel, as they had done for years,  then homeless guy at hostel sued them for for being Ill after eating out of date food.

 

Tesco where found liable as they kindly enough drove the food to the shelter themselves.

 

Now no supermarket does this to avoid being sued, they make it available for registered food banks to collect from the supermarkets premises, the food bank has to sign legal waivers etc and are only introduced to said supermarket via a governing body who directly líase with supermarkets.

 

Or the top gear story also comes to mind...

 

Sorry to drag you off topic, I'm just concerned you may get more than you bargained for giving a custom built RC ride on to a charity... 

Edited August 3, 2017 by Fly In My Soup

[The_Blue_Dragon]

Do you think this lot would all work with 12v battery?

[Fly In My Soup]

The transmitter yes, but it's matching receiver that you'll also need will not be rated to 12v, i believe...

 

The servo states 6-7.4v only, 12v direct would fry it's PCB instantly.

 

You could regulate the voltage down to 7.4v in line from batt to receiver i suppose.. but your amp draw won't be as fixed and you would still risk pooping a FET on the esc/ or other PCB components in receiver.

 

Lastly, that mtroniks viper ESC would not work on 12v, it would fry it.

 

Its max voltage is 8.4, running voltage of 7.4v.

 

Any ESC capable of running 3s lipos could handle a 12v input, but wont work well, not with the type of pb battery you already have.

 

Also, said ESC I'd designed to provide amperage in relation to the scale of model it's designed for.

 

Not for moving that kind of weight....

 

Imagine you got your little 1/10 scale tamiya, and sat on it trying to hitch a ride....You get the idea...

 

Hence why i said, attempting to use RC gear to power/steer this is not as straightforward as you seem to think it is.

 

Hey yourself a donor ride on for cheap that's a bit beat up, gut everything you need from it....

 

You could pick up a used one for less than two of the rc items you just listed

[The_Blue_Dragon]

I thought the esc was 12v in but gave the voltage out lower for the receiver. Never mind

[Fly In My Soup]

1 hour ago, The_Blue_Dragon said:

I thought the esc was 12v in but gave the voltage out lower for the receiver. Never mind

 

It may well work on a 3s lipo...

 

Whatever way you approach it...That ESc is not suitable for this application

[Fly In My Soup]

Thinking logically through how the system would be setup.

 

The ESC is going to be your biggest issue...

 

The ESC should ideally be matched to the amp draw of your motor....

 

So your first question is 'whats the amp draw of the 12v DC motor installed ??

[Fly In My Soup]

Right, so after more research.

 

And to my disbelief, the motors in these ride ons are tiny.

 

I expected something much much larger....

 

[Fly In My Soup]

 Going off the retail labelling it looks as if these motors are rated for 6-12v.

 

No info on amp draw but they are brushed so shouldn't be pulling that much...

 

So, in theory...

 

You could simply install a half decent rc ESC, transmitter and receiver, then hook up the motor.

 

So that's motor, ESC, tx/Rx taken care of.

 

Now onto servo..

 

Without seeing the steering servo wiring or its rated spec i couldn't really comment, but... You may be able to wire it into the receiver via just chopping the wires and soldering on a mini Rx plug (JST plug, male)

 

Then there's battery, no RC ESC should be powered by a Pb battery...May cause overheating during use or many unknowns...

 

Then....If you did manage to accomplish all that... What happens if it goes 30-40mph??

 

This could be a possibility....

 

the off the shelf ride on's ESC is programmed to go 5mph for a reason

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2017 by Fly In My Soup

[Fly In My Soup]

Hmmmm.... What about a crawler ESC.....

 

Studying the picture of the motor/gearbox, I'm assuming it's able to use a small motor by massively gearing up...

 

Wonder if gearing + combined weight of child would smoke any RC ESC ??

 

I must admit, with all these unknowns I'm a little out my depth.....