| The adventures of; "The Little Travelscoot that could!" By Glen Glancy |
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It has been a dream of ours to take all eight of our children and their spouses to the Holy Land. That dream was not possible until Hardy’s TRAVELSCOOT— We booked our trip with Educational Opportunities out of Florida. It was called "In the footsteps of Paul." They chartered the MV Crystal out of Athens. They Travelscoot was quite at home navigating the gangway, halls, elevators and even the doorway of our cabin. I took delivery of the Travelscoot in plenty of time to test its capabilities. I decided after a trip to Victoria B.C. that it needed a drive train modification before it would do well on the cobblestone streets, gravel paths, and dirt trails of the Middle East. So after a bigger motor, lower gear ratio, we were off to Greece, Israel, Egypt, and Turkey. This is what the modification looks like. Notice chain drive, forward reverse switch, and a new NiMH battery that is now in testing. |
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We started with a trip to Athens and the Acropolis. The steep hill to the base of the scooter elevator was a major test for the modified scooter. Here is a picture of the elevator part way up the hill. Once you got to the top, you had to navigate gravel, rocks, and a very rough surface. |
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Here we are a Dome of the rock in Jerusalem; my son is navigating the stairs. |
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This is the crew in Gethsemane. |
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My sons helping me break coming down a very steep hill in Jerusalem. |
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Small streets, steep hills, and very rough going. I would not suggest taking a stock Travelscoot to explore the archeological ruins in the Middle East. |
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Our next trip was a river cruise up the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam. We booked this trip with Avalon Waterways. This ship was also very comfortable with the Travelscoot; up and down the gangway, in the elevator, down the hall thru the door to our cabin. |
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Scooting down the gangway. |
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Scooting up the gangway to our lovely ship. |
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The canal boats were a little snug--- Here I am getting on a canal tour boat in Germany. |
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This is my much better half and I across from the Cologne Cathedral. |
Thanks to Hardy, the Travelscoot enables me to travel the world and enjoy my family and a great life! This is what I designed my Travelscoot to do, to explore the beauties of the great earth! This is Beacon Park in Victoria B.C., enjoying a Saturday afternoon concert. |
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Friday, July 23, 2010
The Little TravelScoot That Could
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Ooooh, cool modifications! Tell us more, please:
ReplyDelete-> Did you make the changes, or did Hardy do it for you?
-> How much weight do the modifications add to the TravelScoot?
-> How well did everything work?
-> I'm particularly interested in that forward/reverse option -- did you use it much?
-> Do you know if similar upgrades will be available to existing Travelscoot owners?
AmpleThanks for sharing your souped-up 'Scoot and your wonderful travels. We all celebrate your having that opportunity!
AmpleHugs & SunflowerSmiles,
-Anne
Now that is cool....and "Muscle Scoot". :)
ReplyDeletecoach anne;
ReplyDeleteI made the changes, It took two tries to get it right. It is slower than your scoot it goes about 4.5 mph.
It adds about 4 lbs.
This is the second repower, now everything is great.
The motor has a gear box, so it is very difficilt to back up without reverse. I use it all the time.
I have been thinking about offering it to other owners. It is a lot of work, and lot of new parts about $500.00
Wow, I get excited about a trip to Target. Please keep posting pictures and stories about your travels, it's inspiring to the rest of us. I hope to do a little world traveling someday.
ReplyDeleteGlen, how well does it do across lawns/fields with the modifications...have you tried?
ReplyDeleteA trip to WALMART yesterday excited me. :-)
ReplyDeleteGlen, how big a motor in terms of watts did you go?
ReplyDeleteGlenn, I admire and covet your "Muscle Scoot".
ReplyDeleteIn the pictures I noticed your different batteries. I recognize the ion "cub" batteries but in the first pictures you have a different looking battery.
"Notice chain drive, forward reverse switch, and a new NiMH battery that is now in testing."
The big battery is a NiHM battery? I noticed it has a switch on the side of it and I (nosy rosy that I am) am curious as to what the switch is for and any other info about the NiHM battery you are willing to share :)
And of course like everyone else hearing more about your modifications would be wonderful.
I have given-up trying to travel the world with Li-ion batteries. (After paying $650.00 to ship them home from Europe has HazMat.)
ReplyDeleteI have built a couple of prototype NiMH batteries they are 24V 13 Ah they are larger, and heaver, but have about the same performance as the "cub". The airlines love NiMH batteries! The switch on the side is a power switch, the airlines want something to tape in the "OFF" position. I am flying to Munich tomorrow for a cruise down the Danube to Budapest. This will be the first major test of the batteries, so I will give you a report on my return. Glen
The major reason for the repower was to go across lawns, (I have a picture going thru 8 inch grass) fields, dirt gravel rocks (off road) for the tour of the Israel dig sites. It does that amazingly well. It goes where full size scooters cannot go. The Motor is 450 Watts with a five to one gear box.
ReplyDeleteThe repower requires, milling, welding, rewiring etc. but to me it is well worth it.
Glenn,
ReplyDeletePlease post where you purchased the new motor and reverse switch box. Also what airlines you flew on. American airlines don't seem to have any issues with the smaller LiO battery, so much be a European-MidEast thing.
The new motor is by Currie Technologies, available online. The reverse box I built with parts from an electronics store. United would not fly the Li-ion’s home from Amsterdam. I mainly fly Delta and Alaska both do not allow large Li-ion’s
ReplyDeleteHi Glen , could you tell us what tooth sproket you used on the wheel . it looks like you might of had to spred the yoke for the tire to fit , is this so? . any other hints for tis conversion would be greatly appreciated .
Deletethank you fred fred@granddesigns.com
I only fly with the smaller LiO battery not the bigger one. Sometimes I take two. Thank you for the motor resource. Sounds familiar, do they make e-zip scooters? Hardy reported he flies all over Europe with no airline problems as well as Taiwwan and Singapore.
ReplyDeleteFound this 450 watt motor as a part of e-conversion kit for 10 speed bike at Northern Tool, $299. I think Hardy had a good reason for using the drive train he did, rather then the chain drive and reverse (but neat options). The TravelScoot is great as is for me and other than a seat cover, would likely not modify mine.
ReplyDeleteMy dream machine, a completely new machine, is something that looks similar with three wheels, but may weigh a little more. With bike to boat seat modules, chain drive train and gearing like an electronic e-bike, caliper brakes, but still just as open and self-repairable, battery options (love my LiO batteries) with just a more commonly available connector between the motor and the battery.
I use the Anderson Power-Pole 35 Amp connector and it works great.
ReplyDeleteGranny, what do you mean by "bike to boat seat modules"?
ReplyDeleteGlen, would you be willing to create a step by step instruction sheet of what you did, along with the materials you used in this modification?
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to modify mine in the same way, but have no clue where to begin. I am, of course, mechanically inclined, so I know I can do it if I had a clear blueprint of what you did.
Any help you can provide would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks.
The Anderson-Pole DC connector is the industry standard for DC connectors. A simple upgrade to your travelscoot. The 35 Amp in a pig-tail is $7.00 on line. Many of you are confused about how I feel about Li-ion batteries. They are the best for a scooter application. However when an airlines states NO LI-ION BATTERIES, I think that is what they mean. There is a $250,000 fine for not declaring your Li-ion battery.
ReplyDeleteGlen, are you still around? I live in Portland Oregon and there are so many places where the hills are too much. I'm pretty handy, I fix my car and such. would you be wiling to share more info on your chain drive mod?
ReplyDeleteGlen,
ReplyDeleteI'm REALLY hoping you're still around to answer this.
I'm a retired electro/mechanical engineer living on a farm in muddy wet mountainous but stunningly beautiful Wales (UK). I've come to a point in life where I need to upgrade my trusty Travel Scoot to better cope with the terrain & damp grassy conditions.
I understand your upgrade & don't forsee too many issues, but have a couple of niggly questions.
Chain Cog .... is the cog on the inner-wheel a made-up item, an adapted item or something readily available.
Reverse gearbox .... this is where I know I'll fall-down & could do with a few clues - sketches of gear layouts & ratios, or even just a 'shopping list' might help. before stumbling upon this article I was thinking along the lines of a switch-selectable reverse-polarity capable motor (if such a thing exists? in 24v).
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Have you looked at LIFePO4 batteries .... I use 24v 18ah with high amperage Anderson connectors - brilliant, affordable, safe alternative to OEM's.
Cheers,
.... if you'd prefer to talk techie direct by email I'm at sheron@hassell.com