Game Cart Modification/Custom Build

[Carrot Farmer]

Looking to modify existing or building new cart for Fall ‘20.

Main reason: I want a Fat Tire version. Does anyone know if they make a fat tire in a 20”?

Existing tire is a foam tire(lots of stickers where we go).

Issue with current setup: every little 3” rock you roll over wants to roll tire off the rim. This being said, we got rather proficient at remounting tire(12x in 5 miles).

Suggestions?

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[ramsdude47]

Quick search revealed a cheap wire bead option: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/ground-control-fat/p/155312

I would search further for a tubeless tire, they almost certainly are out there. You would most likely need a different rim, but I would say you will want a wider rim regardless. Honestly I would think 20x2.6 would be ideal up to 20x3 - a full 4.0 and the x-wide rim it needs is going to be bulky.

Edit to add: I found a good thread on my 2nd favorite forum.

Wider tire on 20" plus bike

forums.mtbr.com

 

[lonedave]

Not trying to highjack your thread, but I have that exact carrier sitting outside that I got from friend after he passed several years ago. I thought he'd bought it locally here in Washington. Where did yours come from? I haven't ever used it myself but did help him haul a couple of deer out with it. On the steep terrain we were in it was marginally helpful, but on flat ground I think it would work great. I might have to re-think using it one of these days.

 

[Carrot Farmer]

Not trying to highjack your thread, but I have that exact carrier sitting outside that I got from friend after he passed several years ago. I thought he'd bought it locally here in Washington. Where did yours come from? I haven't ever used it myself but did help him haul a couple of deer out with it. On the steep terrain we were in it was marginally helpful, but on flat ground I think it would work great. I might have to re-think using it one of these days.

Loved it, but one whole elk...had to leave camp behind. I like how it hinges. I helped another party member with his cart(fat tire w/internal brake drum) and it sucked. If you were rolling on flat ground it was great...any up/down blew! It was like a rigid stretcher on a wheel. Several times one of us would go “over the handle bars”.

Home to get a fat 20” tire for ‘Ol Orange and we’re golden!


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[Carrot Farmer]

Quick search revealed a cheap wire bead option: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/ground-control-fat/p/155312

I would search further for a tubeless tire, they almost certainly are out there. You would most likely need a different rim, but I would say you will want a wider rim regardless. Honestly I would think 20x2.6 would be ideal up to 20x3 - a full 4.0 and the x-wide rim it needs is going to be bulky.

Edit to add: I found a good thread on my 2nd favorite forum.

Wider tire on 20" plus bike

forums.mtbr.com

Thanks so much for the leads...I’ll let you know how I progress!


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[Carrot Farmer]

Bump


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[Carrot Farmer]

TTT


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[Beendare]

Is that a steel frame or aluminum? Seems like it would be real heavy if steel.

I can tell you the search and rescue folks have a similar setup but with almost an ATV tire- its fat.

Another option might be to go tubeless. There are tire setups that work real good for that.

 

[6mm Remington]

I'll take some pictures of the Critter Cart my father and I built when he was alive. We have used the heck out of it and love it.

Here's a picture of the hub assembly with the motorcycle brake being used. It was not a big deal to fashion something for the brake to work and it sure is nice just to hold it in place if you are going up and keeping from having a runaway going down.

As you can tell it folds up so it takes a little less space in the back of a pickup when not put together. It's a lot easier to assemble it so it's balanced and you don't have weight on your hands pushing it in to retrieve game.

I was thinking maybe you wouldn't have to "reinvent the wheel" so to speak and maybe replacing the wheel you have with a motorcycle wheel and tire? I have found that a 17-19 inch motorcycle tire is just the perfect size in us building the carts over the years and using them. It's also a bit nicer to use the front tire, brake assembly, and rim than it is a rear tire. This one shown is a rear wheel assembly and it's a little heavier and wider than the front tire would be. I was thinking if you found a front motorcycle rim and tire at a motorcycle dealership or someone who has scrap stuff that it might just fit between your frame. You could figure out which tire to use so that you have clearance on your frame by measuring the motorcycle wheel diameter with the tire mounted. You sound like a handy-man type of person and you could make an attachment similar to what we did on the Critter Cart. I know the motorcycle tires and rims are a lot more durable than a mountain bike or other type of bicycle. You wouldn't be having flats and other issues like you currently are. I saw your picture and thought this might work. I have another Critter Cart in the garage and I could go measure the width across the hub to see if you would have enough width in the frame that it would work. Let me know.

I've scrounged used motorcycle wheels and brakes and tires themselves. Find someone or someplace that looks like they have a lot of old motorcycles laying around, or a dealer and ask.

 

[6mm Remington]

One of the first Critter Carts we made. It's definitely made for two people but in gentle terrain like this I wheeled 3 antelope whole on the cart laying across it with the legs secured with bungee cords by myself.

 

[6mm Remington]

Spike bull whole on the cart!

 

[6mm Remington]

Another spike bull whole. A small bull or cow is doable. Large bull I would make smaller pieces, maybe cut him in half across through the ribs.

 

[6mm Remington]

A bit lighter load! My older son when he was 18 months old. He rode on the Critter Cart down to a whitetail doe I shot. Grandpa power. You probably don't need any more stinking pictures from me. I think you could get a front wheel off a motorcycle and it might just work. It would be work checking width.

 

[rbljack]

thanks for the extra pics. I think it might be a fun build project to make one of these. Not that I NEED another project....LOL...but I just happen to have an old dirt bike rim and tire laying in my shed

 

[6mm Remington]

thanks for the extra pics. I think it might be a fun build project to make one of these. Not that I NEED another project....LOL...but I just happen to have an old dirt bike rim and tire laying in my shed

Well there you go! Glad could help.........................make more work for you!

 

[tdot]

Schwalbe make a tire for the folding hike Manufacture Tern, for the GSD series. I believe it's 2.25" or so. I'm guessing that it would only be available thru Tern dealers. I have beat on our GSD with 2 kids, plus gear, plus me and never had an issue, even had my wife on the bike once and rode the 4 of us thru some rocky areas, with zero issues. Its a good tire, designed for cargo. It is designed for smooth rolling, so isn't super knobby, but I still ride on muddy trails with it.

Just a note that the brake pad that is visible on your cart is mounted upside down. The curve of your pad is supposed to match the curve of your rim.