UPDATE - 4/22/08

No Brakes or Reverse yet! Now we're talking:

Note the independent long travel double a-arm front suspension, with modified ackerman steering and full-race coilovers. Yeah buddy. The rear is a 3-link suspension, for max flex and travel, with coilovers, of course. The whole thing will break down and pack 'flat', just like the carousel, but much smaller. I kept the awesome tiller steering - but it's turning the front wheels, so it will steer naturally, and be stable. I was concerned about the rear 'forklift' steering - I want these to be able to be driven by anyone. There's a big disc brake on the back axle, also - lift up on the tiller handle, and it engages that brake.

The long travel suspension is for boogie - the goal is to make these runners totally bouncy, for maximum good times. And because suspensions are awesome. The next step is finalizing the geometry in Solidworks, and then we're going to build one runner and test it out with loads so we can get a good estimate for power draw, and hence charging times. It seems like the bottle neck on run-time will be the charging - but we'll see what we get in a few weeks.

More to come, and comments are welcome - quill at acavallo.org -

This project is a collaboration between us and Andy Jones, who helps run Tribal Thunder in Boonville California. Inspired by a vision of the future society, where packs of drummers roll free and silent on solar-powered drum wagons: three drum carriers, simple and sturdy, engineered for easy build, reliability on the playa, with an emphasis on natural materials and personality.

Andy and I met as we were leaving Black Rock City, after we broke down the Carousel. We talked and he described the following vision: To build a set of solar-electric wagons, that would hold a few of his big drums each and provide seating for four, with a place to stand at the back, that he could use to form a mobile drum circle. That sounded good enough, but then he took it further: To build them using the local high school, and make it a community event. The wagons would then be used as part of the school’s drumming class, for parades and other events. He then expressed frustration at his inability, or inexperience, in designing such a vehicle – which is where I got involved. I am proposing to build the frames, and the power train and technical assemblies. I would then ship them to California for Andy and his crew to assemble and finish out with surfacing, awnings and such. In essence, we’d provide a kit for them to build with.

This project is designed to facilitate the integration of the drum circle community with the playa – to be able to bring these amazing drums to the art, to the temples, to inspire and sustain spontaneous creative expression.

We are blending our talents, and bridging communities. We bring the technical and practical skills, the drummers bring a vision to life, making magic. And then, in use, the vehicles bring in the community and the public and make them part of something more – a shared musical experience, living purely in the moment in the deepest way.

These pieces will live on through time, building a richer and more complex set of interactions between the drummers and their community.

If you can help me with the solar engineering, please email - I'd love your help. Also, if you have experience with battery powered vehicles on the playa, I'd love to discuss that as well.

These things are going to be cool...