Homebrew Game Cart

This cart is made from a wheelchair that was picked for $10 at a yard sale.  The finished cart has a lot of good things going for it:  it is light; it comes apart for storage; welding is not required; and the large wheels provide excellent ground clearance and manoeuvrability over rough terrain.  It is more than strong enough for deer sized animals.  However, you’ll have to come up with something beefier for elk or moose.  I am not providing detailed plans or drawings for this project, as all wheelchairs are not identical and you may have to compensate for any structural differences.  By looking over the twelve pictures I’ve included, I’m sure you’ll understand the concept well enough to make any adjustments for your project.  There should be enough similarities between wheelchairs for this project to work for you.

Materials and tools I used on this project:

• Wheelchair

• 1 X 10 ft length of ½ conduit (Electrical Metallic Tubing = EMT)

• 2 X 10 ft lengths of ¾ conduit (Electrical Metallic Tubing = EMT)

• Conduit bender that will accommodate ¾ tube

• 36 inch length of 7/16 threaded rod (match the diameter and thread with the original wheelchair axle bolts)

• 2 X 7/16 nylon insert lock nuts (match the diameter and thread with the threaded rod)

• 2 X 7/16 washers (match the diameter with the threaded rod)

• 4 X number 5 cap screws 2 inches long

• Drill

• 1/8 inch drill bit

• ¼ inch drill bit

• Hacksaw or Cut-off saw

• 36 inch length ½ inch hardwood dowel (confirm that the dowel is sized to fit inside the ½ conduit)

• 36 inch length ¾ hardwood dowel (confirm that the dowel is sized to fit inside the ¾ conduit)

• 4 X ¼ inch pip-pins 1 ½ inches long (or substitute for ¼ inch bolts)

• Epoxy

• Sandpaper

• File

Take the wheelchair apart and discard everything except the wheels and the structure to which the wheels are mounted (refer to the pictures below).

You will have to cut away some of the unnecessary structure with a hacksaw or cut-off saw.  Connect the wheels with the threaded rod.  I covered the threaded rod with ½ EMT (this is more cosmetic that anything else).  This distance between my wheels is 26 inches (OC) and the width of the frame is 22 inches (OC).  Cut your axle (threaded rod) to accommodate these measurements or change it to your liking.

Here is a link to a conduit bending calculator to use when you are bending the ¾ conduit for the handles:   http://www.porcupinepress.com/_bending/segmentbends.htm

The calculator will provide you with the angle for which to make your bends based on the radius of the handle and number of bends you intend to make.  The number of bends equates to making a 90º bend.  Note that a higher number of bends will make a nice sweeping curve.  Conversely, fewer bends will make a choppy looking curve (lines instead of a curve).  My radius was 11 inches (diameter = 22 inches) and I chose 6 bends; the calculated result was 15º for each bend and a bend is made every 2.9 inches.  From the middle of your EMT (4ft mark), make a mark 1.45 inches left and right (of the 4 ft mark) and every 2.9 inches left and right for 6 marks on each side (remember that the number of bends that the calculator provides is based on a 90º bend…therefore 12 bends are required to complete a 180º bend).  Your bender will probably not have a 15º mark on it, so put one on yourself with a pencil in order that you produce consistent bends.  Once you get the handle bent to your satisfaction, cut off the ends to the length you require.  I made the carrying handle (longest of the handles) 45 inches long (measured from the centreline of the top of the bend to the bottom(s).  The rear handle was cut to 30 inches.  You’ll want to bend the ends of the handles as well in order to give the cart a cradle or shallow V shape, otherwise it will resemble a flat bed (this is not functional as when you pick up the cart from the front handle, the rear handle will come close to contacting the ground and your cargo will tend to slide off).  Make these bends approximately 6 inches from the ends.  You can bend the ends of both handles (front and rear), or just the rear handle to get the right effect (only a slight bend is required).

Epoxy and insert a six inch length of dowel into the ends of each handle (all four ends).  This will provide extra strength to the handles so that the EMT will not crush when you work the cart or crush it during disassembly/assembly.

Insert the handles into the wheelchair structure and drill ¼ inch holes through the joints.  Insert ¼ inch bolts or pip-pins through the holes.

Measure the inside-distance between the curves of the handles at the point(s) where you want to install the cross-braces.  Cut the cross-braces from the ½ inch EMT to that length.  Epoxy and insert wooden dowels through the entire length of the cross-braces.  Again, this will add considerable strength to the ½ inch EMT and allow the brace to be secured to the handle with screws.  Drill pilot holes into the centre of the dowels in the cross-braces.  Drill holes through the handles to the size matching the cap screws you are using to secure the cross-braces to the handles.  I used one cross brace per handle.  You can add more if you like.

Cover your cart with material or weave with aircraft wire or whatever else you can come up with.  Mine is covered with canvas that my wife sewed according to a template I made.  Good luck.

 Pictures of more Homebrew Game Carts:

And another...