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View Full Version : Adapted baby jogger for hauling gear.



David Brunell
3-May-2012, 16:37
I am very close to pulling the trigger on one of these for hauling around my 8x10 kit through our michigan parks and trails:

http://www.sherpacart.com/docs/upclose.htm

I like the idea of the larger rubber tires absorbiing some of the shock; much of the terrain is on the rough side.

Does anyone have any other less costly suggestions before I place my order?

Thanks, Dave.

Kirk Gittings
3-May-2012, 16:56
I have been quite happy with this $100 converted baby jogger for my 4x5. I use it to carry the backpack on groomed trails. If I run out of grooming I collapse it, chain it to a tree, throw my backpack on and off I go. Unlike the golf cart that some use-this carries the BPK at a slack angle such that it is at a good height and flat enough that I can work well right out of my backpack while still in the jogger.

David Brunell
3-May-2012, 17:01
Thats a good idea, thank you Kirk. I have an F-64 backpack that I could strap onto the stroller, I would just have to leave a few of the film holders behind. I was leaning towards something I could pull along beside me, that is what attracted me towards the sport version of the Sherpa. Though it may be a better idea to have something I could push along to save my shoulder too.

Old-N-Feeble
3-May-2012, 17:07
I like that one, Kirk... three wheels all far enough apart to keep the thing stable.

Kirk Gittings
3-May-2012, 17:07
Mine doesn't strap on. It lays there very securely. It sits where the baby sat (with some surgery to the seat). I'll try and post some more images tomorrow. It took about half a day to adapt it and it works like a charm.

David Brunell
3-May-2012, 17:11
Mine doesn't strap on. It lays there very securely. It sits where the baby sat (with some surgery to the seat). I'll try and post some more images tomorrow. It took about half a day to adapt it and it works like a charm.

Gotcha...Who manufactured that particular one and which model is it if you don't mind me asking? Maybe I will put a WTB on my local Craigslist.

Kirk Gittings
3-May-2012, 17:16
That is adapted from a Baby Trend Expedition Grey Mist http://www.babytrend.com/joggers_single/JG94052.html from Target. I looked at a lot of them. This one fit the bill. The only thing it doesn't have that I wish it did is a brake lever at the handle bar. It does have wheel locks though.

Walter Calahan
3-May-2012, 17:17
I use a 3-wheeled jogging stroller I got cheap off eBay for my 8x10 gear.

David Brunell
3-May-2012, 17:19
That is adapted from a Baby Trend Expedition Grey Mist http://www.babytrend.com/joggers_single/JG94052.html from Target. I looked at a lot of them. This one fit the bill. The only thing it doesn't have that I wish it did is a brake lever at the handle bar.

Excellent, thanks for the link and the info!

Kirk Gittings
3-May-2012, 17:37
I'll go into more detail tomorrow about the adaption. I'm using it to roll my Kelty Redwing 3100 pack till I can't roll no more.

I should probably rename this thread slightly and move it to the DIY forum?

David Brunell
3-May-2012, 17:41
I'll go into more detail tomorrow about the adaption. I'm using it to roll my Kelty Redwing 3100 pack till I can't roll no more.

I should probably rename this thread slightly and move it to the DIY forum?

Sure, whatever works for everybody. Thanks again.

Kirk Gittings
3-May-2012, 17:59
First thing I did was pull the tubes and put in Slime. Mountain bikes have spread goat heads everywhere in the west.

Frank Petronio
3-May-2012, 18:46
First thing I did was pull the tubes and put in Slime. Mountain bikes have spread goat heads everywhere in the west.

Huh? Goat heads?

Erik Larsen
3-May-2012, 18:54
Huh? Goat heads?

When you step on one you'll know:)
It's a nasty thorn that looks like - well, a goat head

David Brunell
3-May-2012, 18:57
Huh? Goat heads?

I was wondering the same thing.

Old-N-Feeble
3-May-2012, 18:59
I was wondering the same thing.

Me too. Maybe that reference is a goat-rope. :D

John Olsen
3-May-2012, 19:22
Kirk,
Brunell was into a good thing showing a "Riflesideholder," which might be muy appropriate for Neuvo Mejico. You might want to do a merge of these two approaches. Thanks to both of you for the ideas. I'm off to China tomorrow, where the path is all steps out of hewn stone. No carts for me, alas, it'll be backpack 'til I puke.

Leonard Evens
5-May-2012, 14:24
I've been using a Baby Jogger for years with my 4 x 5 equipment. I can carry everything I need. It works weel over level terrain and and I've managed over moderately hilly terrain with some difficulty.

At one point I ordered a Sherpa cart, but when it arrived I found it was much too heavy for me to handle with my bad back. There were also other problems, so I returned it.

Drew Bedo
25-May-2012, 15:32
A few years ago I put a salvaged backpack frame on a cheap golf bag cart with hose clamps. I then slung my LowePro super trecker on it and draged along. Works great in an urban setting and groomed trails too. Folds up to stow and cost <$50 and Looks, well . . . ."manly".

Jay DeFehr
27-May-2012, 09:16
My sojourns are more urban in terrain, but for you trail walkers, this might be useful:

http://monowalker.com/ENG-index.html

Michael Kadillak
27-May-2012, 09:59
These devices work great in urban areas and modest trails. Just pick the one that works for you and go for it.

Unfortunately, any wheeled devices or any kind are prohibited in all of the wilderness areas. Tried to use one inside the Flat Tops one year and fortunately, I had a backpack with me as a plan B. Getting caught with one is a rather serious offense/fine I learned. You either have to have a pack horse, mule or llama or be in sufficient shape to pack it. Those are the only acceptable options in these areas.

Old-N-Feeble
27-May-2012, 10:05
It's interesting that Parks & Wildlife, or whatever agency makes those rules, thinks big four-legged pack animals are less damaging than baby strollers.

Michael Kadillak
27-May-2012, 11:26
It's interesting that Parks & Wildlife, or whatever agency makes those rules, thinks big four-legged pack animals are less damaging than baby strollers.

I had this discussion with a parks director and ironically, this issue is not about common sense or reasonableness. It is about maintaining a stoic 100 year old stance and not allowing any cracks to form within the regulations.

Fact of the matter is that allowing baby strollers or any other "wheeled" device would create a situation where the mountain bikers would be disenfranchised and then it would be lawyer central. As a result, the rules will continue to be very simple and one dimensional. Pack animal or walk and quite honestly that is perfectly fine with me. The way the 4x4 jeeps and the trail bikes run rabid in the mountains, it is rather nice to know that you can have the place to yourself. JB Harlin showed me a sweet 11x14 pack set up that has some real potential. Maybe I will get the cross buck pack saddles out of the garage and do a WH Jackson revival trip absent his developing tent.

Old-N-Feeble
27-May-2012, 11:36
Well... crips like me are out then. The national parks are for young/healthy folks. :)

David Brunell
27-May-2012, 12:11
My sojourns are more urban in terrain, but for you trail walkers, this might be useful:

http://monowalker.com/ENG-index.html

Great find Jay. For what it is worth I did end up with the Sherpa Cart due to the design characteristics. The handle can be lowered so the bag is level with the ground so you can work right out of the bag as if it were a table. I have the F.64 backpack thay holds the Deardorff, meter, loupe and two film holders that straps right into the sherpa bag. My additional film holders are housed in (2) photobackpacker 8x10 cascade film holder cases which also fit in the sherpa. The 4x5 film holder pouches that ae included with the f.64 backpack actually double as lens pouches. I have a 8 3/4" verito that goes into one and a 12" ektar for the other (they fit mounted on the 6x6" boards). They fit nice and snug into and provide a great deal of protection for the lens/shutters. If I need to stray away from the cart, I just attach the pouches to the backpack grab my tripod then cable lock my cart to a tree and off I go.

Michael Kadillak
27-May-2012, 12:20
Why are you out? Take a horse packing trip with a guide. Where there is a will, there is always a way. I have seen any number of disabled people enjoy these areas this way.

Old-N-Feeble
27-May-2012, 14:23
Michael... I've never looked into that. I'm just assuming it's too pricey for me. At any rate, I can't ride a horse anymore. Heck, I was never any good at it. I'll research other options though. Hey, I can still go lots of cool places anyway... with a wheeled carry thingy. :)

Brian C. Miller
27-May-2012, 14:48
I've always wanted to use an elephant as a pack animal. I looked up the regulations, and they aren't specifically banned. They would go in the "other" category.

They forbade wheeled carts, not all carts. So you could go in there with an Imperial Walker, and it would be fine under the park regulations. (And if the rangers compained, they wouldn't be complaining for long, not with Lord Vader along for the ride) Or a cart which used legs and feet. How about a centipede cart? How about a pogo stick cart? We already have that freaky mechanical "mule." Come to think of it, Martian Tripods would be OK, too. Dr. Octopus cart?

Lots of possiblities!

Michael Kadillak
27-May-2012, 18:44
I've always wanted to use an elephant as a pack animal. I looked up the regulations, and they aren't specifically banned. They would go in the "other" category.

They forbade wheeled carts, not all carts. So you could go in there with an Imperial Walker, and it would be fine under the park regulations. (And if the rangers compained, they wouldn't be complaining for long, not with Lord Vader along for the ride) Or a cart which used legs and feet. How about a centipede cart? How about a pogo stick cart? We already have that freaky mechanical "mule." Come to think of it, Martian Tripods would be OK, too. Dr. Octopus cart?

Lots of possiblities!

By all means got for it. Just remember that there is an enormous difference between a National and or a State Park and an officially designated wilderness area.

That said, there is something very special to have accomplished what is neither quick nor easy.

David Lobato
27-May-2012, 19:01
I wonder if a travois would be okay with the Feds. Native Americans used them since before Columbian times.

falth j
28-May-2012, 06:33
I wonder if a travois would be okay with the Feds. Native Americans used them since before Columbian times.

Of course, natives got away with them, because the national park service, park rangers, paper, pencils, ink pens, carbon and ncr paper, civilization, hadn't been invented.


With invention, round stones, axles, modernity, society improved....


just don't try to use these improvements in our national parks,

unless you are a sanctioned, licensed concessionaire,

in which case you can let things run down to a natural, more primitive state... .. .