I want to build a 3/4 scale Taylor-Dunn....

Yep, basically.

I only drove it around Toms yard to move camera gear but it seems pretty perfect for what we need at the track. It is definitely small but you can totally fit 3 people on there if needed. Its also way faster than it should be. 

How many crickets did you look at before you found the color matched one?

I found maybe five within 250 miles of home, and this one was the cheapest running example and happened to be the right color. First (and only) one I looked at.

I don't know where you'd find one, but I just saw this amazing cart in a 1962 promotional film for a housing development in Las Vegas.

I knocked out a little Cricket fabrication project yesterday.

I sold my lawn tractor a few days ago. Why? Because I was only using it to tow my yard trailer around. (I mow with a little electric robot mower now). It was 20 years old, had a hard life, and constantly needed tires fixed/battery charged/carburetor messed with. It was also incredibly loud and seemed to always be out of gas. In theory, the Cricket can take over that job, letting me free up space/time/money and have fewer vehicles on the property.

But before I can tow, I'll need a hitch. The rear step platform comes off with a few thumb screws for transport, which is the perfect place to build a little trailer hitch. I ordered $30 worth of steel and went to work:

For bonus points, I left the sides a little long to act as a bumper/push bar.

Here's a shot of it before insertion:

And here it is fully installed:

It seemed like a bad idea to rely on thumb screw friction to keep it in place, so I drilled a hole through each side and put a few spring pins in. Now, I can swap between the trailer hitch and the step platform in a few minutes, without any tools.

I used the Cricket all day today, and it worked great! 

Oh, and it fits down a normal sidewalk, too, which came in handy moving bags of mulch around. 

In reply to Tom Suddard :

Was the distance you put the hitch hook-up at the result of design, or did you get lucky?  Looks about as tight as you could manage. 

No, I measured. Wanted to be as tight as possible without interfering when the bed is open like that. 

Chris and I tested whether or not the Cricket would tow a car yesterday. The answer? Ehh, sort of. It will pull the Miata around the yard, but struggled when we went uphill and started dragging the splitter on the ground. Chris had to give the car a little push himself to get it past the dragging splitter part of the experience. 

Shockingly, the cricket isn't traction limited, rather its power limited. That might be due in part to its 7-year-old lead-acid batteries that aren't making as much power as they used to. Replacing them is a $300 expense, so I'm going to see how long it lasts at a race weekend before I spend the money. 

Say it with me now: "I will not order a 36V lithium pack and turn this into another project. I will not order a 36V lithium pack and turn this into another project. I will not order a 36V lithium pack and turn this into another project. I will not order a 36V lithium pack and turn this into another project...."

I will not order a 48 volts lithium pack and make this a restomod project. 

I dunno, man.  Sounds like you should source a 48V or 60V battery pack.

I have reservations about lithium in golf cars.
 

The money math compared to lead acid doesn't exactly make sense right now. And The world of lithium golf car batteries, is equivalent to the Wild West right now. 
 

A lot of new companies, great warranty's, and tall promises. Tread carefully. 

I got these via one of my "hey, you can have these if you can get them" texts. 

One day they'll trickle up to the top of the project heap to do something fun with them. Would take quite the frame shortening to get either in any short bed truck. 

Time for a Cricket update! I took it to CMP last weekend for an endurance race, and it wildly exceeded my expectations. Success!

Here's how it fits in the trailer:

And here it is in action:

Loaded up for the UTCC, and figured I'd share what this thing looks like when collapsed. It takes up about 2/3 of a short-bed truck bed.