Building a Toad

[Rapa Nui]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

Does it have to have four wheels???

Carver,the unique self-balancing vehicle technology hold by Carver Technology.

Morgan 3 Wheeler

I'd personally go for the Carver as I'm a fighter jockey wannabe.

Cheers
Tony

Tony...
Thought about a three-wheeler. Even an electric. From scratch. The Carver is cool, though. So is the Elio. But I wanted four wheels because I'm familiar with building stuff with enough tires to comfortably seat our family when we're broken down by the side of the road. No arguing who gets to stand if we only had three.

Art

[Rapa Nui]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Another thought… a grille with a mesh tight enough that gravel thrown up by the Interstate's tires won't penetrate to puncture the radiator or oil/transmission cooler. Because you need a certain total opening size for good airflow, a grille with a tight mesh (or closely-spaced rods, whatever) will need to be taller and/or wider to get the same cooling effect.

I have seen chrome or body-color grilles with large openings backed up by a discrete black plastic mesh with small openings to prevent penetration by stones, if appearance is an issue.

Protag... Good points. Will put on the list for the time I start building the body. Thank you.

[Rapa Nui]

Originally Posted by Panama Red

Great, now everybody builds trailers AND cars better than I do...

Nice looking B there. Major downside to the Midget is no air conditioning. We only have about four months a year that it's comfortable to drive it down here...

And that Ford... Holy cow!!!

Looking forward to your Toad build. Hope you're going to document the whole thing here...

-Red

I'll document it all as it progresses. Thank you.

[HiHoAgRV]

We flat towed our MG Midget for years. Only a couple of issues, if the front end gets a bit wonky (worn king pins) the steering will go opposite lock if you turn really tight. Also the tow bar sticks up at a pretty good angle to meet the ball. Mine is lowered 2" since i bicycled it as a Solo ! event...

The only really proper color is British Racing Green!

[Airrogant]

Some well-integrated, rear-facing cameras might be nice. You could use them for backing up the towed vehicle when you are disconnected and out and about. Plus you could wire them up to a monitor on the tow vehicle to see what's going on behind you when you are towing.

Any "stuff" that normally needs to be strapped to a towed vehicle that could be eliminated would make hooking up and disconnecting so much easier. What else might there be besides the tow lights?

What if it had a good spot engineered to quickly and easily stow the tow bars and their accessories?

How about a smart battery disconnect? I'm thinking that some way to isolate or connect the towed vehicle from your tow vehicle's electrical system could be beneficial.

You might consider TPMS for the towed vehicle. I can think of at least one system that could probably broadcast the signals all the way up to your cab.

[Protagonist]

Since you're talking about towing behind an Interstate, a luggage rack on your roadster's trunk wouldn't hurt. Since storage space in an Interstate is at a premium, I'm a big fan of stowing outdoor gear outdoors (in the toad) until I get to my campsite. Then once the campsite is set up, the gear isn't cluttering up the toad anymore, and the toad is ready to be driven. That leaves my interior storage in the Interstate available for items I'll use indoors in the Interstate.

[Rapa Nui]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

We flat towed our MG Midget for years. Only a couple of issues, if the front end gets a bit wonky (worn king pins) the steering will go opposite lock if you turn really tight. Also the tow bar sticks up at a pretty good angle to meet the ball. Mine is lowered 2" since i bicycled it as a Solo ! event...

The only really proper color is British Racing Green!

I like the MG idea because I have an MGB 1800 cc motor just rebuilt. Wish I had the five speed, but only four.

BRG agood color but I'm red green color blind! Which brings back bad Vietnam memories.

[Rapa Nui]

Originally Posted by Airrogant

Some well-integrated, rear-facing cameras might be nice. You could use them for backing up the towed vehicle when you are disconnected and out and about. Plus you could wire them up to a monitor on the tow vehicle to see what's going on behind you when you are towing.

Any "stuff" that normally needs to be strapped to a towed vehicle that could be eliminated would make hooking up and disconnecting so much easier. What else might there be besides the tow lights?

What if it had a good spot engineered to quickly and easily stow the tow bars and their accessories?

How about a smart battery disconnect? I'm thinking that some way to isolate or connect the towed vehicle from your tow vehicle's electrical system could be beneficial.

You might consider TPMS for the towed vehicle. I can think of at least one system that could probably broadcast the signals all the way up to your cab.

Rear facing camera now on the list. Good idea.
Gonna work on the tow bar storage idea. Another good I hadn't thought about. Have to design the body to have a good place for it and related stuff.
Sorry but not familiar with the initial TPMS.
Smart battery disconnect sounds like a good idea

Thanks for the tips. They're appreciated.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Rapa Nui

Sorry but not familiar with the initial TPMS.

Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Your Interstate doesn't come with it because the GVWR is high enough that it's not legally required. But aftermarket systems are available that let you monitor all six tires on the ground, plus your spare. And some of them will let you monitor all five toad tires as well, and give you an alert when any of them get low.

[Rapa Nui]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Since you're talking about towing behind an Interstate, a luggage rack on your roadster's trunk wouldn't hurt. Since storage space in an Interstate is at a premium, I'm a big fan of stowing outdoor gear outdoors (in the toad) until I get to my campsite. Then once the campsite is set up, the gear isn't cluttering up the toad anymore, and the toad is ready to be driven. That leaves my interior storage in the Interstate available for items I'll use indoors in the Interstate.

Will definitely build storage in the toad including a luggage rack

By the way, Protagonist, you mentioned a privacy curtain you use when camping. Goes on the exterior windshield and side windows. Can't find the name of the company. It sounded like a good one.

[Rapa Nui]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Your Interstate doesn't come with it because the GVWR is high enough that it's not legally required. But aftermarket systems are available that let you monitor all six tires on the ground, plus your spare. And some of them will let you monitor all five toad tires as well, and give you an alert when any of them get low.

OH! That is a terrific thought. Will research tonight.

[tsunami]

Get yourself pre-1970's Volkswagen Beetle. Blast to drive, reared wheel drive, stick shift, not to bad on MPG and don't weigh much. Also very easy to repair/maintain. Wiring in the lights for towing should be a snap. Good luck.

[Rapa Nui]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Your Interstate doesn't come with it because the GVWR is high enough that it's not legally required. But aftermarket systems are available that let you monitor all six tires on the ground, plus your spare. And some of them will let you monitor all five toad tires as well, and give you an alert when any of them get low.

Checked out the doran 360rv TPMS. Looks pretty simple to install. Anyone have experience with this brand?

[Airrogant]

Originally Posted by Rapa Nui

Checked out the doran 360rv TPMS. Looks pretty simple to install. Anyone have experience with this brand?

I don't have experience with this unit, but it looks nice, and I would probably purchase it if my existing system croaks.

I bought a Dill Trailer TPMS. It's performance is acceptable even without the included booster antenna. I had a bad customer service experience with them trying to get the mount replaced. It took 7 emails (the first several were ignored) and 6 weeks to get it sent to me.

Dill Air Controls Products » Trailer TPMS

[Rapa Nui]

Friend Bruce and I did a quick install of the MGB four banger, four-speed transmission and Ford rear end then towed it over to his massive workshop. The frame was intended to take a big-block V8, if necessary, so it's pretty beefy. The MG engine looks pretty small in it.

Firewall is just a piece of sheet steel at the moment. Tunnel was banged out of the same metal.

http://www.airforums.com/attachments...b452ae16f0.jpg

[Rapa Nui]

The original list of seven items is now 15, thanks to you all. These are the items that will definitely make the Toad.

1. Towable on all fours.
2. Sufficiently distinctive to compliment the AI.
3. Get great gas mileage.
4. Registered and equipped to meet all 50 states' regulations.
5. Two seater, roadster.
6. Front engine, rear drive with a manual transmission.
7. Towable for great distances without transmission damage.
8. Supplemental brake system built in now on the list.
9. Towing lights permanently installed now on the list.
10. Radiator opening: chrome or body-color grilles with large openings backed up by a discrete black plastic mesh with small openings to prevent penetration by stones,
11. TPMS
12. Toad for the Toad. (Side mount rack for electric iZip bicycle. Attaches to side of toad so it is facing front-to-back rather than side-to-side.
13. Plenty of room to stow tow bar and accessories.
14. Stone guard for front of fenders, hood, etc. Detachable, light weight.
15. smart battery disconnect.

[Rapa Nui]

Most of the floor is installed. Trying to decide between a small short-box pickup bed or a boat tail. This photo doesn't show the cut outs for the rear tires yet.

[Rapa Nui]

Elected to do the boat tail toad. Here is the foam pattern for the rear area. Will eventually pattern the entire car making sure to have the recommendations from you guys.