The Bicycle-Wheeled Shopping Cart

Image Gallery Wendell Gautschi's original design featured four large wheels on a cart that differed slightly from the Mother's. MOTHER EARTH NEWS STAFF

While millions of Americans are complaining about the high price of gasoline (and the rising cost of automobile insurance), many others are trying to get along — either all the time or as often as possible — without using a car. And, obviously, marketing day can be a real chore for such folks.

Well, not long ago  reader Wendell Gautschi wrote in describing one solution to the problem: simply converted a discarded shopping cart into an easy-to-push carryall! We were so intrigued by the photos of Wendell's contraption that our research crew decided to build one themselves. And it's been quite a hit with the rest of the staff. In fact, the more we look at the thing, the more ideas we get for using it.

If you'd like to duplicate our "shopper," you'll need a retired supermarket cart, of the kind all too frequently seen abandoned in gullies, landfill operations and back alleys. Of course, you shouldn't just "adopt" a deserted derelict (it still belongs to the market), but you'll find that many stores have damaged carts that they're willing to give away to folks who can make good use of them (ours was a gift from a local supermarket). And although a castoff carryall is likely to be in poor shape, it may still be perfectly salvageable. After all, for this project you'll need only the basket, frame and swiveling front wheels.

In addition, you'll have to round up two 26-inch bicycle wheels (check junkyards and bike repair shops for these) and an assortment of pipe, rod and fittings. The exact sizes of these components will vary according to the size and style of the cart you come up with, so you'll need to measure yours to determine the correct dimensions. We can, however, at least give you the specifics of the parts used for Mother's model.

The axle assembly is made up of a 28 1/4-inch length of 3/8-inch threaded rod, an 18-inch length of 1/2-inch electrical metallic tubing (E.M.T.), a piece of scrap wood measuring 3/4-by-1-by-15 1/2-inch, four 3/8-inch copper pipe flare fittings, four 3/8-inch nuts, two 3/8-inch washers, and three stainless steel 2-inch-diameter hose clamps.

The side braces consist of two 19 1/2-inch lengths of 1/2-inch E.M.T. (start with pieces a bit longer and then trim them to fit), four 1/2-inch body washers, two 1/4-by-1-inch eyebolts with nuts, and two 1-inch long 10-32 bolts.

You'll also need a hacksaw and file, an electric drill (with 1/4-inch and 3/8-inch bits), a screwdriver and a tube bender (an electrician or electrical supply shop in your area may let you borrow one for the small bit of bending required here).