# seussical bathtub gokart



## control (Sep 15, 2005)

hey my school is doing seussical the musical this fall anf my director came up with this idea of mounting a tath tub to a gokart frame so the cat in the hat could cruse up and down the teater ailses and becuse claw bath tubs are to heavy and are to $$$ he decided that he wants it to be made out of paper mache. but the only thing wrong is that i dont know how to may anything out of paper mache. so if any one knows how to or knows a great web site with directions. that would take alot off of me and i wouldnt look like a fool. [/b]


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## ricc0luke (Sep 15, 2005)

me personaly... i would go with foam...


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## control (Sep 15, 2005)

why foam and what would you do about the engine and heat


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## propmonkey (Sep 15, 2005)

possible use an electric golfcart motor? go for foam. and im sorry to hear you are doing suess


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## Lora (Sep 15, 2005)

can you just find an old bathtub thats not a claw one, and then work with scrunched up newspaper and then paper maché around that?


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## propmonkey (Sep 15, 2005)

also maybe find someone that could spare their tub for a few weeks....thats what we did


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## ricc0luke (Sep 15, 2005)

> why foam and what would you do about the engine and heat



Foam is alot easier to work with. Its faster to put together, not as messy, easier to shape, and rigid, meaning you can get more detail.

A small golf cart moter... even if gas... is not going to produce enough heat in the short bursts that it is used on stage... just keep the foam 5 to 6 in. away to be safe... that is if you use a gas golf cart, though most places won't allow that indoors and I certainly won't recomend it, but i will say that it does work.

But, if you use an electric golf cart... then heat shouldn't be a big issue... but i would still keep the foam somewhere between 4 to 6 inches away from the motor if possible.


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## JahJahwarrior (Sep 15, 2005)

keep in mind a gas motor is loud. And, doesn't always start reliably. Might take a couple of pulls. An electric motor of some sort is really the only thing you ought to consider. I don't know th eplay at all, but the only way to use a gas motor without everyone noticing the noise is during loud songs....and I mean loud...then you also have issues of a gas motor inside, which fire marshals might not permit, and exhaust, etc. 


good luck with it, though


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## hbchad (Sep 15, 2005)

Having built several drivable props for stage before here's some thinking points...

A couple of issues with the golf cart motor idea just to think about...

Weight - In addition to the weight of the motor (if you go with an electric one) also calculate the battery weight which will be 30-50+ lbs per battery. Most golf carts use a 36 or 48v system which consists of 6v batteries wired in series to achieve required voltage (6 batts for 36 8 for 48...etc). Assuming the bathtub car doesn't have to travel very far you could get away with using 12v car batteries which are about the same size as the 6v ones but double the voltage (essentially halving the range). Since a golf cart is designed to travel several rounds of golf on a single charge the range issue shouldn't be a problem.

If you reduce the voltage (fewer batteries) you will find that the range is significantly reduced - a 36v cart running on a single 12v battery will only travel 50 or 100 yards before it quits.

building a frame to carry such a system would require welding (of aluminum if you want to keep weight down) so if you don't have access or experience for that it might not be a good option. (a golf cart frame would be extremely wide and high off the ground...difficult to make an asthetically pleasing driving bathtub)
Also, i don't know your budget...but finding a working electric golf cart for a decent price is very difficult (beware of buying one that needs batteries ...batteries can easily set you back a few hundred dollars)

A better choice would be to get one of those mobility scooters (you know the ones on the commercial where the old folks go to the grand canyon)...and use the axle/motor/battery setup to power your bathtub (that setup should be powerful enough to carry a modern tub with a person in it on a lightweight frame (aluminum or even schedule 80 pvc pipe) 
You should be able to get a used one for just a couple of hundred bucks(check ebay but beware of shipping something that big...it can get expensive)...or maybe even find an old one that someone will give you

Personally, the idea of whipping around in a bathtub at 20mph would influence me to build the golf cart model but the mobile scooter obtion will be a lot cheaper...

If you need help with plans or decide to go a different route let me know...i'll try to help.


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## AVGuyAndy (Sep 16, 2005)

Here's a resource from my other hobby:

http://www.teamwhyachi.com/

Email them and tell them who you are, what you are doing. Have them build your electric kart. They can even make it remote controlled.

Here's an example of their work:
http://www.teamwhyachi.com/stagebot.htm

These guys are the best.


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## control (Sep 16, 2005)

well i ready have the gokart and motor its a 5hp briggs and stration plus my school has a bught and becuse the gokart was a donation from one of our sponsers i have to use the go kart motor and the entire gokart frame but any ways i was wondering if any could tell me how to make a bath tub out of papper mache. or point me in the right direction. 

as a side note my director hates foam and refuses to work with it exept if we are doing any form of masonry


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## AVGuyAndy (Sep 16, 2005)

Foam > Paper Mache, but they both still suck.


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## control (Sep 16, 2005)

i know but thats what i have to deal with personaly i would like to buy a cheap fiber glass tub and just cut it or section it to the size i need


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## sound_nerd (Sep 18, 2005)

We did it with paper mache last year. It turned out quite nice actually. Unfortunately I wasn't on props crew for that show, and have no way of contacting them from my current place in the coutnry.


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## control (Sep 18, 2005)

hay man whay school was it becuse i think thats where my director got this i dea from and keeps on sayingg that he got it from online some where and that they posted directions too!!!


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## sound_nerd (Sep 18, 2005)

I was hired on by a youth theatre in London Ontario to do lighting for the show. The school we worked at for the production was Lord Roberts as well as Montcalm SS.

Maybe our set/props crew got it from the same place as you did...I'm sure they didn't post directions online of their work.


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