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wheel mounting on play structure mounting questions? bobmct 07-15-2007
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Posted by bobmct on July 15, 2007, 9:07 am
Hello everyone;

THis is not your normal repair question but it seems to fit in this group
most appropriately!

I am building a play structure for my grandchildren that is 8' x 6' with a
4' tapered extention constructed of a 1x2 frame with 1/2" plywood flooring
and 1/2" plywood siding with 1x2 side frames (its a short term pirate ship
playhouse). So far its coming along just fine. However, not wanting to
leave it sitting in the same location between their visits I want to mount
8" lawn mower wheels on the bottom. I purchased 6 of them and 3" lag bolts
but I can't come up with a good mounting scheme (I am certainly not an
engineer).

Therefore I was hoping someone could suggest some effective mounting ideas
that would allow me to roll this structure with some maneuverability to
move it next to my shed or to another part of the yard when the tikes go
home.

Any ideas greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

Posted by professorpaul on July 15, 2007, 9:41 am
Two thoughts come to mind. I built a block cart for my kid's blocks
many years ago (cart is still being used by grandchildren). It had a
1/2" plywood base. I simply got some industrial grade casters and
screwed them on to the bottom. Fairly large wheels -- maybe 1 1/2"
diameter. You might want to go larger in your case.

Also, somewhat later, we made a "go cart" of wood. For wheels, I used
lawnmower wheels. However, I used large (1/2") long machine bolts. To
secure them to the base, I used a pair of "U" bolts to clamp the bolts
to the 2x4s that were the axles. I cut a small groove in the 2x4 to
reduce "wiggle," and the "U" bolts retained the mounting bolts in the
groove. I used some 1/2" washers to space out the wheel from the end
of the 2x4. The "go cart" generated a sufficient number of scrapes
and bruises....


Posted by dpb on July 15, 2007, 11:01 am
bobmct wrote:
> Hello everyone;
>
> THis is not your normal repair question but it seems to fit in this group
> most appropriately!
>
> I am building a play structure for my grandchildren that is 8' x 6' with a
> 4' tapered extention constructed of a 1x2 frame with 1/2" plywood flooring
> and 1/2" plywood siding with 1x2 side frames (its a short term pirate ship
> playhouse). So far its coming along just fine. However, not wanting to
> leave it sitting in the same location between their visits I want to mount
> 8" lawn mower wheels on the bottom. I purchased 6 of them and 3" lag bolts
> but I can't come up with a good mounting scheme (I am certainly not an
> engineer).
>
> Therefore I was hoping someone could suggest some effective mounting ideas
> that would allow me to roll this structure with some maneuverability to
> move it next to my shed or to another part of the yard when the tikes go
> home.

Must be pretty heavy... :)

Lags ain't it... :)

Somebody else mentioned the obvious of industrial casters underneath,
instead of the lawnmower-style wheels, but you might not like the added
height, I don't know. If that isn't a problem, might consider taking
these wheels back and trading them in on the casters with four of the
six swiveling type to go on the ends for maneuverability.

To mount these wheels two basic choices -- use long rod underneath as an
axle or variations on a theme, or make a mounting block in the corners
solid enough to support a bolt through. Shoulder bolts are made for the
purpose to allow for a nut to tighten against and still not stop the
wheel from rotating. More difficult to design in a swivel to give you
the maneuvering, though...

Another approach--Do you have a riding lawnmower/tractor w/ a provision
to pull a light trailer/spreader/etc.? If so, you could build a hitch
into the structure, mount two of your wheels in the more or less middle,
and a couple smaller bumper/outrigger casters on the rear and move it
that way, perhaps...

--

Posted by Jim Elbrecht on July 15, 2007, 11:40 am
wrote:

-snip-
>I am building a play structure for my grandchildren that is 8' x 6' with a
>4' tapered extention constructed of a 1x2 frame with 1/2" plywood flooring
>and 1/2" plywood siding with 1x2 side frames (its a short term pirate ship
>playhouse).
-snip-
>Therefore I was hoping someone could suggest some effective mounting ideas
>that would allow me to roll this structure with some maneuverability to
>move it next to my shed or to another part of the yard when the tikes go
>home.


I think you're too heavy for castors on a lawn. I'd tend to go for a
bicycle wheel cart that stores in the garage until you need to move
the ship-- or some other awkwardly huge thing.<g>

For a bunch of designs look at ebay for 'canoe cart'.

My kids couldn't 'see' the 1950's plywood runabout as *their* boat
until it was off the trailer -- grass can be water, but boats don't
have wheels.

Jim

Posted by Jeff Wisnia on July 15, 2007, 11:42 am
bobmct wrote:

> Hello everyone;
>
> THis is not your normal repair question but it seems to fit in this group
> most appropriately!
>
> I am building a play structure for my grandchildren that is 8' x 6' with a
> 4' tapered extention constructed of a 1x2 frame with 1/2" plywood flooring
> and 1/2" plywood siding with 1x2 side frames (its a short term pirate ship
> playhouse). So far its coming along just fine. However, not wanting to
> leave it sitting in the same location between their visits I want to mount
> 8" lawn mower wheels on the bottom. I purchased 6 of them and 3" lag bolts
> but I can't come up with a good mounting scheme (I am certainly not an
> engineer).
>
> Therefore I was hoping someone could suggest some effective mounting ideas
> that would allow me to roll this structure with some maneuverability to
> move it next to my shed or to another part of the yard when the tikes go
> home.
>
> Any ideas greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

I had the same concerns when I helped my then 14 year old son build a
skateboard ramp six summers ago.

I solved the problem with a couple of pieces of 2x4 sticking out of one
end and a couple of wheels off my departed mom's old grogery cart. For
an axle, I used a piece of steel rod the right diameter to fit the wheel
bores. The rod was a little too thin to keep from bending if a kid stood
on its center section, so I slipped a piece of 1/2" galvanized water
pipe over it.

The wheel height was set so that they were about an inch off the ground
when the ramp was sitting on a flat surface.

the system shows up pretty well on some of the later photos on this page:

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ejwisnia18/ben/qpipe.html

HTH, and thanks for the mammaries.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.

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