Road Testing my Spud (prototype II)

[Dan Alexander]

PY, you sure do have a way with words

[JackJack]

Want! That's a very clever set up. I could pull that behind my car for winter camping and not have to sleep on the ground or buy an overweight pop-up.

[WaywardSon]

Nice idea....I like it. The first thing to enter my mind when I saw the first prototype was that I preferred the larger wheels.

As far as the niche market thing goes, so what? I think it's a pretty good sized niche. There are a lot of older riders, myself included, who would like to combine their love of riding with camping...but need something more than a sleeping bag & pad between them and the ground. The ability to carry hunting or fishing gear is a serious plus for many of us also. I see Spud as a good way for many to get back to outdoor activities that they had given up.

Good idea and good luck with bringing it to market.

Best........John

[kromagnum]

Parking that thing out in the open would be a magnet for bears and racoons. Better have a solid food locker, and gun box.

[PapaYolk]

Originally Posted by kromagnum

Parking that thing out in the open would be a magnet for bears and racoons. Better have a solid food locker, and gun box.

"I made it to to Dixie Town and beyond before dark. I camped among the trunks of tall timber reaching for light from a steep valley. Two cluttered hunter camps sided the dirt road. I pulled along a far table within a stone's throw of the privy making the third leg of a good defensive triangle. If a bear became covetous of my pork splattered galley a cross fire might aid my distress." ... "Light with a center of gravity lower than a set of truck nuts. The deep-cell is slung down between the half-axles and the gun locker is right over the running gear." -- this thread

[MAKETIMBER]

If I lived a little closer to Boise, I'd be atcher place drinking your beer trying to figure an angle to get Boise Inc. to finance these deals. Maybe offer to skin them in cardboard or pulp board. How about the Idaho potato growers association. Those guys have a pretty big marketing budget. Maybe you could explain that an Idaho Spud on wheels
could likely go international thus spreading the Tater good will. I can see it now; big old stickers on these dudes as they roll off the assembly line telling all the people that Idaho potatos are naturally happy, and thus are almost as good as
Granola and dreadlock soup. All financed by greedy farm loan bankers.

Mister, you have a good idea, and if there are guys here and now who want to buy one of these little gems, how about
offering these same good trailerless souls an opportunity to not only own the product, but to be an owner in the company who makes em. Yep, why not ask for payment in advance, and offer a one thousandth share in the company
as a bonus for not being greedy and investing and waiting for their Spud to roll out.

Get the Idaho tourism board involved and offer to put little Idaho maps in each Spud you sell to the guys who will ride and buy. These are the same guys who would fly and ride if these had an engine. And don't forget the accessories. Knobbies, aluminum handles, lighter than smoke frame, custom flames, convertible fishing rod/CB antennas, membership in the hottest club around "The Spud Gunners". Membership includes a discount card at the motorcycle shop, and an annual entry into the Eastern Oregon Antelope tag lottery.

I know you are serious about this, and I do wish you luck during the development of your cool as sheet idea. Chalk me in for a set of plans and the discount card.

[RZRob]

That's so cool. Goes all the way back to when I made a wood camper for my Radio Flyer then my friends and I pulled it to the local park and camped. Only trivial comment I had was maybe consider positioning the battery so that it doesn't take the brunt of a hit if you encounter an obstacle.

RZ Rob

[Crossthread]

Prob'ly one of the best ways to be successful at anything is to listen to all the nay-sayers and finger-pointers telling you why something can't be done or why its a bad idea, nod seriously to them...then go out there and do it.

Anybody who likes meat and beer is good with me.
Whenever you decide to sell plans, or have finished units for sale, I'll be there.

Carry on, sir. Carry on smartly!

[the darth peach]

That's pretty trick.

[PapaYolk]

Thanks for the brainstorming Maketimber.

I knew you were from Cal. when your post started with "Bitchen". "The Spud Gunners"... a free sch40 ABS spud gun with a can of starting fluid with each rig? Maybe not. Wouldn't want ATF to go all Waco on me. I've had a sit down with Idaho dep. of commerce... but public sector wheels turn so slow. With few point of sale venues for motorcycle camp trailers, units are shipped or picked up via road trip, making the manufacturing location a trip destination. There are no US moto-camper manufacturers in the west. I hoped to keep this rig's manufacture here in Idaho to make Idaho jobs, but If I don't get an offer soon I'll be contacting existing manufactures.

rzrob-- I want to keep the bat and center of gravity as low as possible. But in my proto it is adjustable, can be moved up for rocky roads.

Crossthread- I've added you to my "want one" list.

And thanks for the thumbs up, DP.

[slyeager]

I'd get some pictures of the spud behind an ATV, that will get you camping in some awesome hunting spots and expand the niche some.

I'm up for a preorder and maybe even a east coast distributorship when you get them rolling.

[PapaYolk]

To all who have expressed interest in building a Spud of their own. After counseling from a "good" lawyer (Dykas & Shaver, Boise) I have decided to sell plans/parts-lists to Spud. Details will be posted in the vendors forum. The offer will grant a licence to build one unit. The plans will be copyrighted and only delivered after receipt of a liability waver.

Now the fun part. A unit number tag corresponding to the licence agreement will be issued with each plan set. Units 0001, 0002, and 0003 will require a production quality build and commitment to hit a few shows this spring. 1-3 will need a submition to show the quality of workmanship the builder will attempt. All licencees can run as far and wide as they will with the concept understanding all inovation and improvments become the property of the licencor. For example, even a sidecar that opens into a bed would need a licensing agrement because it uses Spud's opening process.

How much would be a resonable charge? If one is granted the 0001 - 0003 build rights the price will be $1.

I picked up Spud II from the fabricators today because I want to go winter camping.

[Dan Alexander]

The plot thickens

[Whiskytoast]

nice work old man, subscribed

[trailrider383]

Originally Posted by PapaYolk

To all who have expressed interest in building a Spud of their own. After counseling from a "good" lawyer (Dykas & Shaver, Boise) I have decided to sell plans/parts-lists to Spud. Details will be posted in the vendors forum. The offer will grant a licence to build one unit. The plans will be copyrighted and only delivered after receipt of a liability waver.

Now the fun part. A unit number tag corresponding to the licence agreement will be issued with each plan set. Units 0001, 0002, and 0003 will require a production quality build and commitment to hit a few shows this spring. 1-3 will need a submition to show the quality of workmanship the builder will attempt. All licencees can run as far and wide as they will with the concept understanding all inovation and improvments become the property of the licencor. For example, even a sidecar that opens into a bed would need a licensing agrement because it uses Spud's opening process.

How much would be a resonable charge? If one is granted the 0001 - 0003 build rights the price will be $1.

I picked up Spud II from the fabricators today because I want to go winter camping.

Winter Camping? Good luck with finding winter around here this year. Bring on the global warming.