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Another beach cart project

I'm looking to finish my 24v beach cart project. I would like to build this cart extra heavy duty. I have already some parts, but i would like to see if you could guide me in the right direction. I would like for the cart to be able to move 400lbs in beach sand with some incline as you might find at a beach. I have 15 x 6.50 wheels that will be used. I would like to go with a belt instead of chain because of the beach sand. I would need to know what wattage motor, motor controller, throttle and what amp hr batteries I would need? Thank you for your assistance.
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If the battery pack is recharging to 41+ Volts that indicates that the battery charger is working normally and recharging the battery pack to the correct Voltage. However, it is not normal for a deeply discharged battery pack to recharge in 5 minutes or for a fully charged battery pack to deeply discharge in 1 minute.

Since the battery pack is losing Voltage so quickly that indicates that it is old, worn out, or faulty. A good 36 Volt battery pack will recharge to around 41.4 Volts and drop a fraction of a Volt under a light load and drop around 3 Volts under a heavy load.

Both the reverse relays and the controller will stop working once the battery pack Voltage reaches somewhere around 31.5 Volts.
It's hard to believe that the battery pack could be bad. They are no more then 4 months old, and always stored inside. Are there any tests that you know of that I can do to check the batteries? Or could it be a wiring issue? Would a wire that might have rubbed something and rubbed the coating off?
The wires can only allow all of the full Voltage of the battery pack to run through them, or none at all, and cannot lower the Voltage of the battery pack. If the wiring has worn off insulation that could cause a short circuit in which case the fuse or circuit breaker would blow which would completely shut off all Voltage to the wiring.

We always load test batteries here to make sure they are bad before replacing them. This way the battery replacement is based on a test result and not a guess.

https://electricscooterparts.com/loadtest

A primary load test could be performed with the battery pack installed. This test will prove the overall condition of the battery pack. To perform this test, place the cart against a wall or something that will prevent it from moving. Then watch the Voltage of the battery pack with the power switch off, and then turn the power switch on and give the cart full throttle for one or two seconds while watching the battery pack Voltage. If the battery pack is in good condition it will start at around 41 Volts and drop down to around 38 Volts under full load. If the Voltage of the battery pack drops under 34 Volts during a load test then it is in really bad shape.

A secondary load test could be performed by removing the batteries from the cart and having them individually load tested for free at a battery store such as Batteries+, or individually load testing them at home with a 12 Volt carbon pile battery load tester. This type of load test will indicate if only one of the batteries is bad, or if multiple batteries are bad. In many cases, only one of the batteries in a pack will be bad and need replacement.

Please let us know how it goes.

Now that's a wagon...!


I caught your 6.5" wheels (missed the 15 x 6.50), and had visions of your beach trip bogged down in the sand...


I thought you were going with 6.5" wheels like on a hoverboard...   lol...


Could you tell me what your total cost ended up at...?


william...


I have about $1500 of materials in the cart, but I did all the fabrication myself and was able to utilize some scrap aluminum that we had laying around the shop. You should have seen the looks I was getting from the people at the beach. I have a new design that I'm wanting to try next. This one works great. I use it to haul firewood, garden tools, kids, sports equipment, etc. Let me know if you know someone that might be interested in such a beast!

Heck, I'm interested!


Just a bit too poor right now...


Your wagon design is very good, it looks like my (much smaller) wagon I got of eBay...


My brother in law would like one (but he's too cheap I think), cause he'd fish outta a bucket he pissed in...


I can't get over what a shock seeing your pix, after I had envisioned an 6.5" hoverboard wagon fail...   lol...


Yeah, on the beach, I'd make sure that thing had good locks (cable thru the handle/wheel?)...


Many a time, I would of loved to use such a wagon on a hot beach (both coasts)...


That thing would be good on the hunting trail also...


Solar panels and/or one of those putt-putt generators, you could go far with a big load...


Your "laying around the shop" and the DIY bit most likely equals $500 or more...


william...


I didn't have to leave it on the beach. I designed it to fit through a doorway and and elevator so I could take it up to the condo. It will haul 400lbs for 1.5hr at approx 3.6mph according to the guys running this forum. Yes there was a lot of time involved with the design. We have forward, reverse and neutral.
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