Trailer tester

DIY Trailer Wiring Tester: Build Your Own Device

To check the operation of the trailer’s lighting system, two people are needed: the driver turns on the switches and presses the brake pedal, while an assistant monitors whether the signals on the trailer light up correctly. I made a device that allows you to quickly check the operation of the trailer’s electrical equipment alone. Read more…

Lever to help

Auxiliary Balance Beam for Crane: DIY Device Guide

Sometimes a load lifted by a crane beam or winch (when replacing an engine in a car, for example) needs to be lowered slightly to the side from the suspension point. In this case, an auxiliary balance beam made from a suitable pipe or T-beam may come in handy. An eyelet for the crane hook Read more…

I once had an “Oka”…

DIY Buggy from Oka: Build Your Own Off-Road Vehicle

I had long been planning to build a single-seat racing car, similar to those that race in Formula. But… I got an old “Oka”. Although it was still running, its body was completely rotten: grass was growing from all the cracks! Restoring the vehicle made no sense. Well… so instead of a road-racing sports car, Read more…

Mini kart

DIY Mini-Kart Build: Homemade Children's Kart with Lifan 6hp

While browsing ads on an online “flea market”, I came across wheels from a children’s quad bike. They also came with hubs and steering knuckles. The price was very attractive, and I bought them with a “long-term plan”. They gathered dust in the garage for a couple of years until I decided to build a Read more…

Triptych

DIY Motorized Bicycles & Scooter: Complete Build Guide

Regular readers of “M-K” are already familiar with Mikhail Landyshev’s original DIY creations. The creative process so captivates Mikhail that, having designed one piece of equipment, he almost immediately proceeds to make a second one. This was the case with tarabaikas and electric bicycles (see “M-K” No. 7-2019 and No. 4-2024). This time, three machines Read more…

Crimean commuter trains

Electric Vehicles: Modular Chassis & Motorcycles DIY

For several years now, Sevastopol inventor Dmitry Chulkov has been constructing electric vehicles. One of these is a universal modular chassis, equipped in the base configuration with a control unit, battery, and two hub motors, the power of which can vary from 1 to 3 kW. To improve ride smoothness, the module is equipped with Read more…

Velocart

Velocart

Several years ago, I made a small bicycle car for my sons (or, judging by its size or construction, it would be more accurate to call it a bicycle kart). The children liked the machine, and they, together with the neighbor kids, spent hours racing it on quiet streets. I took as a model the Read more…

“Trainee” radio

DIY Radio-Controlled Sailboat Model: Complete Build

A radio-controlled model of a racing sailboat yacht can be made from the most accessible materials. And instead of expensive branded equipment, you can use a remote control set that comes with modern toys. The model’s hull is made of packaging foam or PS-4-40 grade, reinforced with a flat wooden frame cut into the hull Read more…

HERO TRAILER

HERO TRAILER

Many builders — future homeowners or summer residents — have to solve the issue of transporting local building materials over short distances, such as soil, sand, stone. Some owners, having their own transport equipment (car, tractor, or even a walk-behind tractor), buy a trailer for it. However, the price of an industrial trailer is such Read more…