Just the dad in me…

Ha! This is a great way to get 'em started young on learning to do mods

 

Nice truck , but no way I'm having a kid .

 

Recalls are in the mail..

 

the nephews make good use out of it!

had some out of town family come in to town to visit with the rest of the more-local family last week. between the 8 of them, they blew through 6 batteries, and also discovered that the motor controller handily has a thermal cutoff for tall grass!

but this entire thing was both a "journey is more important than the destination", and 'lifetime childhood dream' sorta thing. it took me most of the winter, but worked out perfect as a winter project when the garage was too cold to work in! i was always jealous of the rich kids up the block that always got power wheels, we never had anything like it growing up. we made do with matchbox cars in mud puddles, and the occasional engine-less lawn tractor we'd push each other around on...

but just like the taco, this jeeps still far from ever being done! have some ideas for a winch, and i've got enough random led lighting stuff from my hidplanet/retrofit source days to make the underside glow brighter than an original fast and furious vehicle. besides that, led buggy whips keep jumping into my Amazon cart for some reason...

 

kids are the best, super decision on my part

 

When mod is life…
Amber fogs
3 diode led upgrade for the highs and lows
Taillight leds
Roof rack aux smd led panel

…but are the inflatable tires worth it…should I take the dive and do the 24v conversion and upgrade the motors and gears…does it need the grave digger suspension…

 

More photos !

 

I’ll post some once it’s all wired up

 

definitely post more pics!

i really like the inflatable tires. the 24v mod, depends on how old your kid(s) are. they really need to be close to 4-5 at least to have the motor control/understanding to deal with the extra speed. suspension is debatable-- you can always air down and create 'suspension' with inflatable tires.

 

Can you post some pics of the tire conversion path you took? I’m definitely interested in this mod. Amazon had some 10” sets:

$25 AR-PRO (2 Pack) 4.10/3.50-4 Tire and Wheel, Replacement Pneumatic Tires 10" Wheel with 5/8" Bearings and 2.2" Offset Hub, Compatible with Hand Truck, Wheelbarrow, Wagon, Gorilla Carts

https://www.amazon.com/AR-PRO-Purpo...903-4f41-9e2b-ad9360c95f9e&pd_rd_i=B081RQTCW3

But didn’t know if going bigger was a better bet. The 13” sound cool too. Let me know where you ended up.

 

did you rig up any lights to the rollbar aux lights?

 

Now let the mods begin. I’d say mod it to run on DEWAlt or Milwaukee battery

 

Maybe but, I'll bet the removable hard top leaks.

 

Calvary Blue !

 

imo, the 10" tires like that are about as large as i'm comfortable going with the pre-packaged 24v power systems available. i'd really prefer to see a lower geared model available, but i don't think any exist. current power level on an m18, with flat smooth ground, is a steady jogging pace.

the nephews have ran the jeeps motor controller into thermal cut-off mode a few times, they love doing laps around the house through the tall grass. 13" wheels would be worse for this, but would make for an even faster car if your kid is less into off-roading, and more into tearing down paved streets.

i really didn't take any pics of the entire conversion process. i was just screwing around, and part of the fun was just not planning ahead and just figuring stuff out as i ran into things. i really didn't even know if it was going to all work out until it all ended up working out.

this was the controller i used-- i re-wired the entire controller to use aluminum backlit 'waterproof' buttons, the gas pedal that came in the truck worked better and was adapted, and then altered all of the wiring for the forward/reverse, and high/low controls to mount next to the controller under the seat instead of on the dash as the wiring in the kit is set up for.

$43 24 Volt Children Electric Car DIY Modified Wires and Switch Kit,with Remote Control, Self-Made 24V Baby Electric Ride On Car Accessories

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PL2NRZL?ie=UTF8

if you're feeling really adventurous, this is the steering wheel motor drive for that kit (i'm planning on placing it under the hood in place of the old power wheels battery, and adapting it to become a winch with a fairlead out the front bumper)

$17 weelye Steering Gearbox with Motor RS 390 24V Motor Steering Motor for Remote Control Ride On Toys Accessories Match Children Ride On Car Replacement Parts

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TVX5BRZ?ie=UTF8

this is the wheel motors

$19 WEELYE 24V 30000RPM Gearbox with High Torque 24V DC Motor for Kids Ride on Car SUV Parts, Electric Motor with Gear Box High Speed RS550 DC Motor Match Children Ride on Toys Accessories

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085LN41TJ?ie=UTF8

important to note, there's 2 variations of wheel motor drives, and adapters.

these are the adapters i used, compatible with the above wheel motors.

$10 weelye 2 Pcs Children Electric Car Tire Adapter Connection Clip for Gear Box Transmission External Gear Accessories Connect Gearbox Motor and Wheels for Kids Powered Ride-Ons Replacement Parts

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RMJZQPZ?ie=UTF8

i want to say the other iteration just didn't look as compatible with the hub backspacing of the 8" wheel. part of my consideration was to make sure i could bolt it up to the wheel without fabbing an in-between bracket. in this case all that was needed was longer bolts that held the 2 wheel halves together, and then drill the holes through the adapter. basically a really large sandwich.

the hardest part of the entire thing that held it up for a few months was actually the axles. iirc, the power wheels axles are something like 3/8" solid rod. all the 8" pneumatic tires use a very standard 5/8" axle (iirc)--it was a larger bore. but no one sells straight 5/8" rod. and even if i wanted to change the rod size, the truck mounting points, wheel motors, and wheel adapters all use that same small size-- so a larger axle would require re-building the entire rear driveline area to work. this jeeps axle is held in place by 'loops' of plastic body. the axle is run through a section of the body that's essentially like a spiral notebook spine-- a new axle in my case would've required cutting out the entire section and piecing it back together.

i was able to locate some steel adapter sleeves at home depot/lowes, but only in a length long enough to support 1 of the 2 bearings in the 8" wheels. but the main problems were no location stocked more than 2 each, and they were somewhere near $15-20 each, and i'd need 8.

after a ton of thinking and measuring, it turns out that the stock hot wheels jeep hub caps have the same inner diameter as the axle, and the outer diameter is over-sized to the diameter of the 8" wheel bearing, but can be easily sanded down...
https://www.zoro.com/ilc-replacemen...k-jeep-wrangler-hubcap-for-jeep/i/G503416053/

so i butchered the hub caps on my bandsaw until i got the center axle part rough hewn, then ran them diagonally on a belt sander until i got to the right outer diameter to press-fit to the 8" wheel axle bearing inner diameter. then i just cut them into small bearing-sized sleeves, press fit them in with a block of wood and a hammer, and mounted them.

the next roadblock i had was keeping the wheels on. the stock power wheels tires are significantly wider. my choices were to either try to add a spacer and use the stock axle nut-- meaning the axle nut would stick out about 2" out from the new wheel, re-thread the axles to shorten them and have the stock axle nut bolt up(on a flimsy plastic body, try to hold a 3/8" rod tight enough to thread, lol). i ended up with option 3. cut the axles down, and then i multi-tack-welded fender washers on the flat surface, with an immediate quench to keep the nylon hub cap bushing from melting out. a lot more permanent than i'd prefer, but options 1 and 2 struck out...

i did. stock, those use some ultra-low powered led's, running off a few C-batteries in a cover by the speaker-looking grille in the picture. the visible red buttons turned the entire thing on/off. the roll bar-bars are hollow, with 2-piece fittings at each joint, i fished a wire up through it all so the roll bar lights are connected with the rest of the vehicle lights and come on/off with a single dash switch.

i also re-did the led's with some new-old-stock circuit board material, led's, and power drivers i had from my old hidplanet days. about 4x's brighter than stock. i wanted and tried for more, but ran into thermal issues with the limited space within the housings.

there's 3 dash switches. 1 for power on, 1 for lights, 1 for horn(i put in a small motorcycle horn for fun).

$10 APIELE 19mm 12V Momentary Speaker Horn Push Button Toggle Switch 3/4" Mounting Hole 1NO 1NC SPDT with Pre-Wiring Socket for Car Auto Motor (Red)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DR5P662?ie=UTF8

Gebildet 0.75"/19mm Stainless Steel Latching Push Button Switch 12V-24V Power Symbol LED 1NO1NC SPDT ON Off Waterproof Toggle Switch with Wire Socket Plug (Orange LED)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YDH6B1B?ie=UTF8&th=1

$14 APIELE 10 Amp 19mm Latching Push Button Switch 12V SPST LED Waterproof Round Self-Locking 1NO (Silver Stainless Steel, Red)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V72VCGY?ie=UTF8&th=1

$6 VRWEARE Universal Motorcycle Electric Horns Waterproof Round Loud Speaker 12V 1.5A 105db small horn for Motorcycle

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082R5TG2Z?ie=UTF8

there's a usb charger and volt meter on the dash, the volt meter was essential so i can monitor battery voltage without pulling the seat up. the usb charger portion is really just there so i can claim some sort of functionality out of this entire project. "at least it can charge my phone!"

USMEI Dual USB Charger Socket Waterproof Power Outlet 4.8A with 12V/24V Voltmeter LED Digital Display for 12V/24V Car Boat Marine Motorcycle ATV RV Campers Tractors Truck Golf-Cart

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HVM8X1C?ie=UTF8

i'm also running all the lights off a 24v-to-12v converter to make sure that i'm not over-volting any of the lights/switch illumination

$16 Voltage Reducer DC 8V-40V to 12V 3A 36W Automatic Buck Boost Converter Step Down Up Regulator Waterproof Module Transformer for Golf Cart Club Car

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V8K6YZ6?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

I love it and thanks for all the lessons learned and links!!! I really appreciate it!

I was able to finish up the wiring and tie it into the stock lights switch. The led whip is from 5150 and is the magnetic mount with a quick connector if I don’t want it spamming colors. Also the aux lights up top I ended up going with two 24 SMD panels wired to a standalone switch in case you don’t feel like blinding the world (960 LM).

here are some night pics with the lights on so you can see how bright these little 3 diode sealed leds are.

overall pretty happy with how it came out. I think it looks OEM. I’ll have to grab a picture of the switches and the taillight led placement tomorrow in the morning but you get the idea. More or less I feel pretty comfortable with him driving around at dusk or night now.

I’ve got the tires in route and I’m hoping I don’t run into any issues on the conversion. We shall see lol

 

In Canada, you can also get it with a manual transmission.

 

It’s electric….probably same as next year’s pro and probably why pink is an option.

 

Not long before the kids start parting them out

 

It's mileage will be in the 15 mpg...