Ultimate Push Basket

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Toepopper
Patriot ⭐ Construction, Shelter
Patriot ⭐ Construction, Shelter
Posts: 1229
Joined: 16 Aug 2007 12:03
Location: Southwest Oregon

Ultimate Push Basket

Post by Toepopper »

In every city in America you can see homeless people pushing a grocery cart down the sidewalk with all their belongings stuffed into and hanging off the sides of the cart. On a paved surface these carts will hold up well but as soon as you leave the hard surface they become unpushable due to the fact that the tires are solid and have no flex or give to them.
Switch out the tires and replace the original solid tires with pneumatic tires from a wheelbarrow, go cart, refrigerator dolly etc and you are good to go. The newer style plastic shopping cart with the larger basket can be converted easily. The plastic models are lighter and quieter when being pushed down a road or through the woods because they don't rattle like the metalic models. If you have the components laying around its easy to make the conversion to pneumatic air filled tires. I made an axle from a piece of 5/8" diameter threaded rod and threaded a nut onto each end, then a flat washer and then slid a wheelbarrow tire and wheel onto the axle on both ends with another flat washer and nut on the outside to hold the wheels in place. A double nut with a lock washer will keep the assembly from vibrating loose. The axle has to be long enough so the tires will stick out on each side of the cart. Attach the axle to the basket with a common U bolt. You can use 2 U bolts on the front axle to keep the axle straight and one on the rear axle, placed in the center so the axle will rotate to steer the cart. If you can't scrounge up a U bolt then tie wire the axle onto the cart with bailing wire or coat hangers, whatever works. A little kick to one of the rear tires will move the rear axle to whichever direction you want to go. I have all the materials on hand to make this conversion except the grocery cart. This idea may seem crude but when faced with a SHTF scenario and when all the fuel is gone and you are faced with walking this may help to carry your load over uneven or unpaved ground.
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