Desertprep
1 kW
Background: I have not visited or posted here in a long time. Quite a number of years ago I had 2 accidents on ebikes - almost back to back - and neither of them were my fault in the slightest. I decided then to give up ebikes for the sake of a longer life, at least until I am back in the US. I will be returning to the US in a couple of years and am shopping for a piece of land now. The land is going to require using some kind of tractor to maintain it. I have looked at many compact utility tractors and sub's but have not found what I am interested in. What I would like to have is a big platform on wheels similar to this The shape intrigues me because the kind of land that I am looking at is likely to not be very flat, and I don't want to have to deal with a tractor pulling a trailer over uneven ground. The goal is to combine both functions into one vehicle.
I would like it to be bigger, about 7' long and 5' wide, with a lightweight backhoe and front loader attached. Total height will be 2.5-3' - yes, it is low, but low because one of the main things it will be doing is moving things around, whether leaves, straw or water, so the center of gravity is important. The deck will serve as a platform to carry things, or to mount a water tank on or a dump bed. I want it to be remote controlled - add more fun to the work so electric drive sounds like it would be more agreeable. There are other requirements and thoughts but I want to stay focused on the propulsion on this forum. I have already found a shop that is willing to do the welding for the chassis for a reasonable price - it will be their work in slow times over the next six months or so. The body/chassis, motors, generator, wheels, etc (not including attachments like the front loader, backhoe, tiller) will weigh in around 4,000 pounds (rough estimate). I would like it to be capable of moving 10,000 pounds when fully equipped or fully loaded at a speed of 4-5 mph, with an empty speed of about 10 mph. Minimum speed should be a "continual crawl" - at this point I could better quantify that at about half a mile per hour while tilling a new field. Ideally - because of cost - if I have to use gear reduction I would like to use chain, and no more than 5x. I am thinking that each of the 4 wheels will have a motor that will go as fast forward as it does in reverse. I have considered using 6 wheels instead of 4. Wheels will be 18" tall - atv or tractor. That will give it about 9" of ground clearance.
I have been snooping around tractor forums up until now, as well as reading tech specs for tractors. It seems that a tractor that would be doing much heavier work than what I want only uses 20 hp to move it around, and diverts the rest of the power to operating attachments.
Questions: I would like to know what kind of electric motors would be most suitable for this purpose, what size of motor and what kind of gearing (if any) is likely to be needed to make it go as slow as I need without burning out the motors or blowing up the controller. I have already had people tell me that hydraulic motors might be more suitable. I am open to follow that source but wanted to bounce the idea off of you folks here.
I would like it to be bigger, about 7' long and 5' wide, with a lightweight backhoe and front loader attached. Total height will be 2.5-3' - yes, it is low, but low because one of the main things it will be doing is moving things around, whether leaves, straw or water, so the center of gravity is important. The deck will serve as a platform to carry things, or to mount a water tank on or a dump bed. I want it to be remote controlled - add more fun to the work so electric drive sounds like it would be more agreeable. There are other requirements and thoughts but I want to stay focused on the propulsion on this forum. I have already found a shop that is willing to do the welding for the chassis for a reasonable price - it will be their work in slow times over the next six months or so. The body/chassis, motors, generator, wheels, etc (not including attachments like the front loader, backhoe, tiller) will weigh in around 4,000 pounds (rough estimate). I would like it to be capable of moving 10,000 pounds when fully equipped or fully loaded at a speed of 4-5 mph, with an empty speed of about 10 mph. Minimum speed should be a "continual crawl" - at this point I could better quantify that at about half a mile per hour while tilling a new field. Ideally - because of cost - if I have to use gear reduction I would like to use chain, and no more than 5x. I am thinking that each of the 4 wheels will have a motor that will go as fast forward as it does in reverse. I have considered using 6 wheels instead of 4. Wheels will be 18" tall - atv or tractor. That will give it about 9" of ground clearance.
I have been snooping around tractor forums up until now, as well as reading tech specs for tractors. It seems that a tractor that would be doing much heavier work than what I want only uses 20 hp to move it around, and diverts the rest of the power to operating attachments.
Questions: I would like to know what kind of electric motors would be most suitable for this purpose, what size of motor and what kind of gearing (if any) is likely to be needed to make it go as slow as I need without burning out the motors or blowing up the controller. I have already had people tell me that hydraulic motors might be more suitable. I am open to follow that source but wanted to bounce the idea off of you folks here.