Hello! I am writing a grant to purchase all of the materials needed to adapt a ride on car for a 6 year old boy who is about 45 pounds and 42 inches long. He will be using a switch that will be activated by the back of his head. Can anyone guide me in the right direction for what type of car to get and additional materials needed? Thank you in advance!
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Considering that your kiddo won’t be able to access a “steering wheel” i’d advise that you go with a mid-wheel type vehicle … where you could use the motors to do the steering instead. I use the Wild Thing a lot for exactly that reason. Unfortunately it’s no longer in production, but budget wise that’s somewhat helpful because i can (am forced to) get them cheaper second hand. Or Tractor Supply (of all places) has a toy zero turn mower setup that could be adapted. Anyway … hope that helps a little 
best of luck
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Thank you SO much for your response! Do you know if the Wild thing or zero turn mower setup from Tractor Supply can be used with a remote control for steering? And the child just activates the switch to make it go?
Hi,
I’m glad you found gbgconnect!
I haven’t personally worked with go baby go cars that would be large enough to comfortably fit the child, but Pete’s suggestions look great. I also really like Pete’s suggestion to look for vehicles that steer using two motors instead of a steering wheel.
I’ve worked on a few designs for gbg cars that steer using two drive motors, so maybe I can help you plan the electrical part of your car.
There are two electrical systems I’ve worked with for go baby go. These are both complicated compared to just adding a button. These electrical systems would allow for steering with a remote control or additional buttons on the sides of a headrest.
The first electrical design would involve adding motor controllers (a.k.a. ESCs) and an Arduino Nano microcontroller to the car. The Arduino would get input from the button on the headrest and the remote. This design probably requires soldering.
The second electrical design would involve adding a circuit board that I designed between the battery and the motors. I still have a couple so I could send you one. The microcontroller on the board would get input from the button on the headrest and the remote. This design would probably let you avoid soldering any wires together. It can only supply 10 amps per motor while the option above can supply more, but unless you’re driving very fast on grass it’s probably not an issue.
Do either of these designs sound like a good fit for your project?
For the remote control, I can think of a few options and it depends on how you want the remote to work. Since both electrical designs include microcontrollers the car could be programmed with software so that it acts however you want.
Do you want the remote to be able to make the car turn in place even when the switch isn’t pressed or should the car completely stop when the switch isn’t pressed?
Do you want a remote control with buttons on it or a remote control with joysticks on it? It would be harder to steer with buttons but the remote would be smaller and cheaper. If you’re interested in other types of remote control let me know.
If any of these ideas sound useful to you let me know and we can talk about a more complete parts list or how I could help.
- Joshua
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I would probably recommend the Kid Trax 12V Ninja Turtles Party Wagon Ride-On Toy. Its a larger car that we have worked with and it has a huge interior and massive weight capacity (70LBs). I’ve seen 8 and 9 year olds comfortably fit inside of this car! I have seen the Tractor Supply Mower mentioned by Pete-from-POP and I probably wouldn’t use it as it doesn’t come with any built in supports for mounting a frame or supporting a child and its also quite high up so I would be worried about the COG when in use.
(sorry for the weird link, just hold down the white button for 10 seconds and you’ll see the car I am talking about)
If you have any other questions or want to have a zoom meeting to talk about your project, Please let me know! I’ve literally made 100 GBG cars and I love helping people to make more!
Matthew A. Pickerell - PNW Assistive Technology
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Hello,
Our organization uses these Kidzone brand bumper cars. They support up to 66lbs weight: Amazon.com: Kidzone Smart Bumper Car for Toddler & Kids 1.5-6 Years Old, 12V 2-Speeds Electric Ride On Bumping Toy Gifts W/Remote Control, APP Control, LED Lights, Bluetooth, 360°Spin and DIY Sticker,White : Toys & Games
These are not particularly difficult to modify. You can either wire up a switch to bring motor activation pins to ground, or you can use the custom firmware that I developed to enable more complex logic. Please let me know if you have any questions.
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Hi Joshua,
Thank you so much for your input. Honestly, the simplest way to adapt the car would be the best! My biggest concern is finding a car that can be adapted and that the child fits in. I would like a remote that can steer the car by an adult. The car does not need to go fast at all. It will be used in a school setting. The child will be pressing a switch using his head to make the car go, and when the switch is released, the car will stop. Ideally, it would be great to find a car that is sold on amazon as the money will be coming from a grant. Thank you again for your input!!
Matthew,
Thank you so much for your input! This car looks like it would be great! Is it relatively easy to adapt? I work in a school setting and do not have access to soldering or more complex needs. It will be put together by myself. Any insight would be very appreciated!
If you can find a car that already has a remote control, then you could remove the foot pedal and replace it with a button for the kid’s head and that would be the simplest electrical work.
@mikey has designed circuit boards to adapt from the plugs on many foot pedals to the audio jack on adaptive switches and this would let you avoid soldering, but you could also just connect the button wires to the pedal wires with a solderless method of connecting wires (maybe screw terminals or crimp connectors).
The car Matthew posted says on the website that it has a remote control. I don’t know if that includes steering, and I don’t see it on Amazon.