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I Built a 4x4 Radio Controlled Mower!

Matt Denton

395,945 views

This is my home made version of an R/C petrol / electric lawn mower mulching machine! You can buy these from China but they are quite expensive and its way more fun building one yourself!
Some of the parts I used are listed below.

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Parts in the U.S.
4x4 conversion kit (slightly different tyres) : https://amzn.to/4rtiucb
L-Faster Agricultural Wheel/Motor :https://amzn.to/4rslTrO
L-Faster Off Road Tyre :https://amzn.to/3O3WyGd
L-Faster Motor Brackets :https://amzn.to/3Mnwp4N
Linear Actuator 100mm 500N :https://amzn.to/4ryfdZw
High Temperature PLA :https://amzn.to/45JHlAe
One Hand R/C Controller :https://amzn.to/46gpKA4
LifePO4 batteries 30Ah :https://amzn.to/4tfdXfl
Googly Eyes :https://amzn.to/3MhhpW9
Shoulder Bolts :https://amzn.to/4r2d08O
Lawnmower Throttle :https://amzn.to/45Ln90Y
E-Stop Button :https://amzn.to/4qWZ2VJ
2020 Extrusion :https://amzn.to/3M9rMeC
2060 Extrusion :https://amzn.to/4kcbYEm
2020 Corner Plates : https://amzn.to/4tgfWA1
2020 T Plates :https://amzn.to/4a9xxRh
2020 Corner Brackets :https://amzn.to/4kbl986
2020 Strong Corner Brackets :https://amzn.to/49Wf0t9
2020 flat plates :https://amzn.to/4asgZWa
2020 T Plates :https://amzn.to/4c5GjCr
2020 T Nuts M5 :https://amzn.to/4kcfe2x
Hammerite Krust :https://amzn.to/4qaQut7
Hammerite Black Paint :https://amzn.to/4bEj1nj
Red Oxide Primer :https://amzn.to/3OiOnpA

Parts in the UK I've listed extrusion here, but I buy from Ooznest in the UK
4x4 conversion kit : https://www.l-faster.com/items/4wd-el...
L-Faster 4x4 Kit (8" On-Road Wheel!) 4Kph :https://amzn.to/4lLgYQq
L-Faster Motor/Wheel (agricultural) :https://amzn.to/4m1hdGA
L-Faster Motor Brackets :https://amzn.to/4m2kci8
L-Faster Agricultural Wheel :https://amzn.to/44HKDUy
Linear Actuator 100mm 500N :https://amzn.to/4f3j6k3
High Temperature PLA :https://amzn.to/46YJMjN
One Hand R/C Controller : https://amzn.to/4o17S3z
LifePO4 batteries 30Ah :https://amzn.to/4m6FhYQ
Googly Eyes :https://amzn.to/4o2FLkw
Shoulder Bolts :https://amzn.to/3GF4cno
Tension Springs :https://amzn.to/4lKcWb4
Lawnmower Throttle :https://amzn.to/3TUrSHh
E-Stop Button :https://amzn.to/4kVhQAT
2020 Extrusion https://amzn.to/46HmLlx
2060 Extrusion https://amzn.to/46XGbCy
2020 Large Corner Plates :https://amzn.to/4m0BQCS
2020 Corner Plate :https://amzn.to/46oybKI
2020 Corner Bracket :https://amzn.to/3GDJcxl
2020 Strong Corner Bracket :https://amzn.to/45fAaQh
2020 T Plates :https://amzn.to/45inAzS
2020 T Nuts :https://amzn.to/4o1ZlNR
Hammerite Krust :https://amzn.to/4fmOvhy
Hammerite Black Paint :https://amzn.to/46znAN1
Red Oxide Primer :https://amzn.to/41fxj7D

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00:00 Intro
00:58 Lawnmower Test
01:53 AS Lawnmower
02:43 R/C Drivetrain
04:23 CAD Model
06:12 Lawnmower Strip down
08:56 Chassis Build
12:14 Initial Chassis Tests
15:50 Re-Build & Re-Test
17:39 The Engine
20:30 Sheet Metal Parts
22:32 Deck & Engine Assy
26:50 Deck & Chassis Assy
28:31 Dead Mans Handle
29:10 Power Source
30:33 Electrical System
34:46 Final Assembly
35:06 Mulchy Round 1
37:10 Mulchy Upgrades
38:01 Mulchy Round 2
40:10 There's More to Mulchy!
40:44 How Long Will It Last?

20 Comments

@JasonSmith-utube 2 months ago Pinned

Better title: Foreign guy spends 2 million dollars farming out all fabrication to sponsors, while using a lawnmower engine and surround and a purchased motor kit that includes the receiver motor control in 1.

@bando404 1 year ago

The best past is definitely the one-hand remote, leaving your other hand free to hold your beer.

@thirdwheel1985au 4 days ago

I would add an electric starter so you don't have to go and hunt it down or bring it to you when it stalls.

@WilliamGuerrero-Ruiz 1 year ago

I own a lawn care company, try and put a side discharge for the deck, it will be much easier on the mower! Also if you raise the front cutting part 1/4 inch it's called negative rake, it will mulch the grass much better, the front swings cuts at higher height, the back cuts at a lower height!

@El_Chompo 1 year ago

imagine your neighbors seeing you while you pull yourself in a cart while drinking a beer and controlling the mower by remote

@marudnymarud 1 year ago

If you add wifi and arduino then you're one step away from adding GPS RTK and making Mulchy autonomous. Great stuff!

@martykath4427 6 days ago

I had a rough lawn with slopes that makes it impossible to safely use a ride-on. Once the initial mow is done and in my case my wife pulled the front of the mower with a rope across the worse slopes. Once mown a few" times it was easy to mow with a self propelled slasher that has a limited slip differential. This gives me very necessary exercise, a good thing.

@cobalt01snet 3 months ago

now add a pixhawk , you can teach it, then have it cut the grass by itself, Tj

@thewhitedillard 13 days ago

Use Phosphoric acid on that deck, two coats let sit for 30 mins each or so. Makes a crystalline structure that should never rust.

@MultigrainKevinOs 1 year ago

Clearly the next step is to build a racing sim setup with POV to mow from the convenience of indoors.

Awesome build!! Great work and a fun watch!

@boost0722 1 month ago

Replace the gasoline engine with a electric motor and two additional batteries To run the mower blade.

@segue2ant395 1 year ago

The garden-trailer attachment idea is genius. As my Mum gets older I've been wanting to make something for her in the garden - I've been doodling 'e-barrows' for a while, designs cobbled together from off-the-shelf parts - but the idea of just having a tiny driverless tractor unit and attaching a regular garden trailer is super-smart, more versatile, and probably more cost-effective too...

@Volvoalgot 1 month ago

A flat blade, and some iron spike wheels , and more height , and cut of a bit of the cover at the bottom to get more air under the blade😁

@alasdair4161 1 year ago

I built a similar machine that I have used for many years, I based mine on a cheap used mobility scooter which I added servo driven (regular kingpin) steering. One thing I had to do early on was use an oil additive to allow the motor to run at extreme angles. I found LiquiMoly have
a molybdenum additive that will protect the rings and bearings when starved of oil. My first engine (a new Chinese 6.5HP) lasted about ten hours before it started smoking and it developed a rod knock, I found the bore scuffed and the big end galling. I replaced it with the identical model engine (for spares) and slightly overfilled the oil as I had on the original, but also now added the molybdenum disulphide additive and that engine is now ten years old, still mowing the same bank at the same extreme angles and is still developing full power with no oil consumption. I'm not normally a big fan of additives in oil, but in this case it worked wonders, and still does. I also added a Daihatsu Charade alternator that is tiny, and that provides around 20A to keep the batteries fully charged. I also occasionally run an FPV system on mine, but keeping the cameras stable was a real challenge due to vibration. Still good fun though. Cheers.

@jeanlawson9133 1 month ago

The trailer needs a lounge chair with cupholder and a umbrella..❤

@BPBomber 1 year ago

27:24 Absolutely incredible, so satisfying.

@chomershaphal6674 1 year ago

Love this! If your tires wear too much you should consider making a set of over tire tracks, you could 3d print the chains using that tough stuff you used on the mounts and embed with skateboard bearings and use old tire treads for growsers. I know they use tread over tire add ons for skid steers. Your motors would work perfectly for tracks...
plus, tracks are just cool!

@StephenButlerOne 1 month ago

That's a great like tank of a machine. If be tempered to automate it, and give it some ai. So you can give it voice commands. "Go an mow the hill" or go and get get the trailer and bring it here"

@bomberaustychunksbruv4119 1 year ago

I am in an R/C flying club and we made an R/C mower out of a petrol lawn mower and an electric wheelchair, if worked a treat but everyone just looked at the thing in horror, the potential for an accident was just too high. Shows that just because you can doesnt mean you should, Hahaha.