we are adapting a kidzone and are leaning to move towards using this instead of cars, so the family can use indoors. We are in Chicago. Also want something EI therapists can put in their cars. I saw some directions on wiring, but no finished product. can i get more details please. Thanks
Also, how are folks comparing kidzone to wildthing?
Jessica
Kidzone bumper car is definitely more indoor friendly / suited. The only one we’ve been asked to modify we changed so that it could be operated with one hand. Accomplished this using some dual pole, dual throw 6 volt relays some 3.5mm mono switch jacks, & some mini-specs switches. See picture below
Thanks- can the same wiring be done with a joystick?
Depends on the type of joystick. There is a website (Groovy Gamer Gear) that sells non-proportional joysticks. Those would work. I think if you were wanting to use a proportional joystick you would also have to use some kind of motor controller (like the Sabertooth, by Dimension Engineering)
Hi Jessica,
We have started our modification of the kidzone using a single joystick.
For comparison with the Wild thing, it is a little different. For starters it is much slower. I think the wild thing tops out 5 mph and this is under 1 mph. It is also much lighter, only about 15 pounds compared to the Wild thing that is about 50. Overall it does not seem as sturdy because it is intended for inside use. Additionally, the wiring is a little different. For the wild thing you can rip out the mother board and add in all new brains, for this car because of the external charging port we left the black box brain in the car and modified around it.
Molly
Milwaukee Go Baby Go Engineer
why did you have to put seating on top of seating? was it to get the joystick ability?
the reasons for kidzone vs wild thing are exactly what i am looking for. I want a therapeutic tool for kids to use in the home with the therapist and then families as a precursor to power. Using the drive to learn theory established by Lisbeth Nilsson in Europe.
since I am in Chicago, I would love to meet up with you personally to discuss your GBG conversions and what we have done with Shriners in the area. This is going to be different than a GBG build, although we are still working with engineers. The focus is therapy though and teaching driving. Kids are young, families not ready for power discussion or a power wheelchair, but child is ready for self-initiated movement.
Hi Jessica,
We put that seat on as a concept for a standing vehicle similar to the explorer mini. Ultimately, are using a different seat. Typically we just add a 5-point harness in the cars existing seat but for this car, we are adding a seat because having the tray to mount the joystick is a bonus. If we do not like the news seat we will mount the joystick to a PVC.
We also selected the car for these reasons and seems to be suiting our needs better than the Wild thing. We are also hoping to engage some of the young kids.
I would be happy to meet and discuss, my email is molly.erickson@marquette.edu please feel free to email me so we can set something up. We have done a lot of builds including some cars for Shriners Chicago. Additionally, have you seen what Shriners SLC has been work on in this realm ‘Baby Bug’ mobility invention allows child to move around | News and Events | Shriners Hospitals for Children — Salt Lake City?
Does anyone have instructions for modifying one of these for switch or joystick use? I’d love to make one but I don’t think I could open it up and figure it out on my own.
Omg what a coincidence. I know the guys from Salt Lake who designed the Baby Bug. Ken and I go
Back 40 years and Scotty and I have been talking about the baby bug and bringing it to Chicago. I connected them to Sue Mukherjee and Sue connected with the engineers from Shriners. The Kidzone and Babybug are part of the Early Intervention program I am discussing with Shriners, Dr. Mukherjee, and the Spina Bifida Association . Small world! I will email you.
Btw- my son goes to Marquette!!
We modified one to use a Big Red Button switch. See attached. I kept a list of the steps to make the modifications and a set of pictures on how it was done. But these are not step-by-step instructions. They would require a lot of interlocation. If those would be helpful, let’s discuss.
– Doug
Thank you! I should have been more specific. I was wondering about instructions for modifying for the ability to steer; so either a joystick or three switches that would control direction 
Hi Doug,
Would you mind sharing what seat you used? It fits into the car really nice!
Thank you,
Molly
Hi Molly,
This is a Tumble Forms Feeder seat in the Small size:
Tumble Forms Feeder Seat - Special Needs Seating
Yes, it was a perfect fit. For safety, we also secured it with both Velcro and Dysem. So the tilt of the seat can be adjusted to whatever the child needs. Also, the tray is fully adjustable forward and back and up and down.
The main drawback is these seats are pretty expensive. Below are two links to cheaper prices:
https://www.allegromedical.com/patient-care-c530/skillbuilders-feeder-seat-small-p199815.html?sourcecode=allegro&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=google_shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjw47eFBhA9EiwAy8kzNOrj8trBaskybp-kpPCMlq-ue9p5tTKvT5JLcNFcHp8s8ZqbQVrG5RoCuIkQAvD_BwE#11DD-571BDA7 Current price listed: $200.90
Skillbuilders Floor Sitter, Seat Only, SmallSmart-Special_Needs-_High_Margin&placement=shopping&keyword&gclid=CjwKCAjw47eFBhA9EiwAy8kzNGRsoikA1LqaW58lB3ZoUp6qVBPGpMnSaniqrDb1i-4cghUjo0ZifxoC0sUQAvD_BwE Price: $206.02
– Doug
yes please share the seat- thanks.
Jessica
Hi Jessica,
This is a Tumble Forms Feeder seat in the Small size:
Tumble Forms Feeder Seat - Special Needs Seating
Yes, it was a perfect fit. For safety, we also secured it with both Velcro and Dysem. So the tilt of the seat can be adjusted to whatever the child needs. Also, the tray is fully adjustable forward and back and up and down.
The main drawback is these seats are pretty expensive. Below are two links to cheaper prices:
https://www.allegromedical.com/patient-care-c530/skillbuilders-feeder-seat-small-p199815.html?sourcecode=allegro&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=google_shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjw47eFBhA9EiwAy8kzNOrj8trBaskybp-kpPCMlq-ue9p5tTKvT5JLcNFcHp8s8ZqbQVrG5RoCuIkQAvD_BwE#11DD-571BDA7 Current price listed: $200.90
Skillbuilders Floor Sitter, Seat Only, Small Smart - Special_Needs -_High_Margin&placement=shopping&keyword&gclid=CjwKCAjw47eFBhA9EiwAy8kzNGRsoikA1LqaW58lB3ZoUp6qVBPGpMnSaniqrDb1i-4cghUjo0ZifxoC0sUQAvD_BwE Price: $206.02
– Doug
Hi can you send me instructions on how to adapt the kid zone with the tumble form seat? How did you adapt the switch and what tray is that?
Hi, sorry for the delay, I didn’t spot your question until just now. We didn’t have to make any changes to the KidZone itself to use the Small size Tumbleform seat. It fit perfectly, we just set it in. Like I said above, for safety we did add Velcro and Dysem to the sides of the Kidzone and seat where the seat pressed against the car. Let me know if you need pictures.
To add the switch, we just connected (through a jack) one side of the switch to both the yellow and orange wires on the car’s control stick connectors, and the other side of the switch to a black wire on the control stick connector. Pushing the switch makes the car go forward, that’s all. Note that the control sticks do not function properly after this. But this child had pretty limited abilities and doing this much met their needs. With a Kidzone we are modifying now, we are putting in a double relay board so the control stick function is maintained, as this child will eventually use them.
The tray is cut from flooring material, and the edging comes from here:
Hope this is helpful!
– Doug
Great thank you! Will you send me some pictures I’m better with Visual. Thank you so much!
