Note that the pictures total about 300KB, so patience is appreciated. Click on the picture to show an even large image with more detail.
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Converted Ames brand "Planters Wagon", with my dog "Rage" standing in for scale. We did not have a proper harness at the time of this photo, so I just tied the shafts up to show what it would look like with a dog hooked up. The shafts are 48" post-hole digger handles, half square / half rounded. I used a 2x4 to stabilize the shafts, and to make a place for screw eyes to be attached for the traces. My dogs are just the right height and width, so I didn't need any bends in the shafts. I attached one metal pin from a gravity-type gate latch on the underside of the front of each shaft, just for "skid protection". We use this wagon to haul my son and all our gear at festivals and parades, and I know that these shafts are going to get dropped, stepped on, and everything else, so I wanted to keep the wood from getting eaten up by all the abuse. A person could use tennis balls instead, but my dogs are tennis ball crazy, so I thought that would be asking for trouble! I think a person could use pvc or aluminum conduit shafts with this wagon, and still have an easy conversion, if their dog was taller and / or wider than this setup allows. The gray/beige plastic thing sitting on top of the wagon is the original handle, and we have since discovered that it makes a fine seat for an adult driver! |
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Wagon with shafts folded back. I had to round off the top and bottom edges of the shafts so they wouldn't catch when they are folded back...the electric sander took the corners off easily and quickly. This is a nice feature for when your dog is not hooked to the cart, especially in crowded places, like festivals, etc. |
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Shaft attachment detail..Shows the six phillips head screws that must be removed to take off the original handle. Remove the screws, pull the handle off, remove the rod that secures the handle and transfer it to your shaft assembly. Then all you have to do is put the shaft assembly, with the rod in place, back on the wagon and reinsert the six screws. I made 1 inch spacer beads, for added stability, which you can see just inside the shafts. To make the spacers, I drilled a hole down the center of a piece of closet rod doweling, then cut off a 1 inch length and sanded off the rough edges. |
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2x4 Attachment Detail: I attached the shafts and spacer beads to the wagon first, then attached the 2x4 between them. In retrospect, it might be better to assemble the shafts to the 2x4 brace first, on a flat surface, of course. To attach the 2x4, you will need to drill a hole for each lag screw through the shaft and into the end of the 2x4 brace. I used 3/4 inch lag screws with large fender washers, and drilled the hole a little small, so the screws would not be loose. I had to use a ratchet / socket wrench to tighten them down. To get the holes in the 2x4 just right, I first held it in place, marked where it was on the shafts, drilled small pilot holes in the shafts first, since they are hardwood. I then held the 2x4 in position again, this time drilling small pilot holes in the 2x4 through the holes I had just drilled in the shafts. I stuck one nail (loosely, just to act as a pin) into each set of holes to hold the 2x4 in position. Then, I just removed one nail at a time, drilled the larger size hole I needed, and inserted the lag screw into the new hole. (Ignore the 1x2s, which were my first attempt at bracing the shafts together...too flimsy! I just left them on their to avoid having a hole in the wood!) I originally attached low-profile rope cleats on the outside of the shafts, for a shaft-pull attachment. They weren't low profile enough, and after getting jabbed in the back of the calf by them, I decided this could be dangerous when navigating through crowds at festivals, etc. I have since installed two screw in eye-bolts (screw eyes), in the front edge of the 2x4 brace, for attaching traces from a carting harness. |
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