As a young man I raced a ton, from 8ys to 21yrs old. Now as an adult I am getting back in, and I’m excite!!! As a kid it was myself and my dad, now I need to be self sufficient. Obviously the hurdles I come up with are loading/unloading and getting the kart on a work stand.
I have googled of course and come up with what I think are solutions. Stone Kart stand offers a one man tilt style stand that looks decent, anyone have first hand experience??
I found this for garage storage
Looking at Ford Transit vans, I need to go look at one with a tape measure but have heard they work well. I think I could find a way to get it in and out on my own.
Is anyone else here in the same situation? And if so I’d love to hear how you get around the one man show hurdles.
I found that it wasn’t hard to find a strong young person to help me lift kart off stand in pits. However, I would probably buy a stone or similar one man stand now. I did use an electric stand for a bit, which was nice, but they are heavy to transport.
I am a one man show as well, I use a kart lift stand with an electric winch to get my kart in and out of my van at home. Since that electric stand is so heavy and bulky, I just take a folding stand to the track and ask someone to help me take the kart out at the beginning of the day and when it is time to go home. The electric stand is also good for working on the kart at home.
Don’t have too much to add (yet) as I’m a one man show myself, but for my truck using s kart stand allows you to just push the kart onto the bed, maybe you could use loading ramps for the van and push the kart up on the stand. I’ve been working on designing a one man lift kart stand myself. Rough draft but here it is.
Depends on what your current vehicle situation is now. Im 1 man operation and just toss everything in my truck bed. I have a standard kart stand that is perfect height to slide the kart in and out with. I have added hooks to it so I can load it on the ground, similar to what this video shows.
This little setup has helped me a lot. bought a couple pulleys and had a cheap harbor freight winch. before the trailer, i had an f150 2WD pickup, and it was the right height where i could just slide my kart in straight off the kart stand.
with this winch setup, i can move everything without needing any help at all.
If you plan to practice at a location where there may not be many folks around, you need an electric or tilt stand. The downside to the tilt stands is the small wheels they use suck on anything other than smooth surfaces. The downside to electrics is the weight.
As for transport, I would look at an inexpensive open trailer. You can manhandle a kart up ramps or lift one end and then get it situated. Same with stand. This doesn’t require an expensive vehicle purchase. If you want something covered, look at an enclosed trailer. You can find something small that a car can pull for far less than a new vehicle.
I currently put it all in a 3/4T truck bed. I can load the kart by myself, but the kart stand is evil to load and unload. Thankfully it’s my teen sons kart and he is around to help load/unload 90% of the time. If we continue in this beyond next year I will have to do something different. Not comfortable having a kart in the bed on longer trips and we have already gone New Orleans, to Midland, to Amarillo, to Kansas with it in 2-1/2 years.
Chuck, thanks for the input. I am in the PHX area and the paddock at the local kart track is not completely paved, so I do need to consider that for a work stand. I spoke to the guy at the local shop and he said the stone stand is great for getting the kart on and off but isn’t exactly confidence inspiring as far as stability goes, due to the pivot point. So in a Rocky/dirt paddock, maybe not great.
I have already decided that once I get my feet back under me in the kart I want to travel to the west coast tracks. So like you I want something more secure than an open trailer for that. I have a townhome with a 2 car garage, I will downsize to one vehicle to make room for kart storage/work space, unfortunately I dont have space for an enclosed trailer, so van life it will be!!
I think I have what I am going to do laid out but all input is certainly appreciated as I’m sure I didn’t see all options in my research!!
By all means, pay attention to the wheel design then! I have seen lots of stands with tiny wheels struggle in sandy/rocky conditions. Last year our regional race a Midland was tough for lots of stands due to the dry sandy conditions. Saw a few tipped over. Larger pneumatic tires are much preferred for rough ground.
I am a one man operation too and have the stone stand. My yard is gravel, has steep incline to the basement where I store the kart. Holes ruts. I push the kart in and out to my garage, rain or shine. Mud, snow, stones - it has seen it. And the step to my garage is 100mm or so. So pulling over this step gives serious jolt. I have had the stone stand for 4 years. This is the 5 season. Not once I have had any stability issue with the stand/kart combo. I have never had to fear that the stand would fall over. You could possibly pull the thing in a forest
I use the stone on a shifter kart so theres plenty of weight up high
The wheels are big - they work on my yard so they will work anywhere
I made a electric winch system to my flat bed truck before this. I could use the winch to lift the kart by myself. Super slow and cumbersome. I have never gone back to the winch system after buying the stone stand. The stone is light too so its easy to pack with other stuff
After all the good things said - stone should send me at least a christmas card
Similar to the Stone but not ideal for loose stone and grass is the Italian Motors stand. Works well on hard surfaces and it comes apart for easy transportation too.
Mikko, exactly what I was hoping for, first hand experience, sounds good!!!
I found a Mercedes sprinter tall roof I really
Like, between the rear wheel wells is 53 inches (all the vans I looked at are about the same) just a tad too narrow for the rear, I didn’t take a front width measurement, will the front/middle fit without going
Over or tilted on to the wheel wells?
I’m sure a little more google sleuthing will get me my answer. It already has fold up shelves, tall roof is for sure nice!! If’s buddy wants to come we could even transport the karts vertical, but that wouldn’t be possible on my own I dont think.
Need to do some research on known issues etc with these vans before I get too excited…
Is that Amazon blue? We have an Amazon distribution center near home and they go through these vans. I don’t know what their maintenance plan is but I know their drivers do their best to drive the wheels off of them.
Speaking of which, I was behind one of those yesterday and he did a zoomie. Electric? Had some giddyup for a big box. Amazon box truck that was the new type they use.
Strapped to the wall vertically is your best and safest bet for transportation. I’ve seen some messed up karts transported on rolling stands when they collapse going down the road.
Find a van with tie down points already installed on the walls or add them yourself. If you are out at PKRA go look at the Compkart/J3 vans. They normally have it loaded up with half a dozen karts stacked vertical. It’s really space efficient.
The Dalmi stand is expensive, but the only electric stand I think I can get in the back of my 3/4 ton truck and fit under the rack I built. The Dalmi has an option for 4 large wheels. I live 3-4hrs away from any tracks, so a trailer really increases drive time. I have aluminum ramps that attach to the deck and I roll the kart onto the standard folding stand. I haven’t bought a Dalmi cuz I’ve been on a break from racing to build a shop.
