Little Tykes car but bigger...

[CaptainCallisto]

I'm hoping to pick the MN hive mind for some sort of solution to my garden issue. DS1(9) is autistic and has had a Little Tykes car since he was 2. It is still the only thing he will play with in the garden, in spite of the fact that he's ridiculously tall (wears age 11-12 clothes) and hasn't actually been able to fit into it for well over a year. He sits sideways with his legs sticking out and he and his brother take turns pushing each other.

I've been looking all over the place for some sort of equivalent, but big enough for him to fit into. The closest thing I can find is a go kart, but the ones big enough for him all seem to be electric (and ££££). If I can't find anything else, I'll have to go for one of those and hope he manages, but I thought I'd see if anyone could suggest anything equivalent that might be a) cheaper, or b) more like the Little Tykes car

Any thoughts most gratefully received!

They do a grande version but I'm not sure it would be much help as I don't think it's suitable for older children.

Another idea might be to post on fb groups or ask around to see if you have any clever people locally who could make something suitable?

Oh, now that's a thought! They do a big soapbox derby in the nearest city to us each summer; there might be someone around who could help us to build something. Thank you Same4Walls - I can't believe I didn't think of that before

He loves watching the Red Bull one on the telly each year (the crowds are too much for him at the local one), so I might be able to convince him that his own soapbox car would be a good alternative. Thankfully they've got a 16+ age limit for racers so I won't have to worry about him trying to enter it into the race!

Following as 8yo DS also has ASD and would love something like this. We actually have a battery powered little car, but he is a thrill seeker and so it isn’t a sensible choice for him!

@CaptainCallisto

Oh, now that's a thought! They do a big soapbox derby in the nearest city to us each summer; there might be someone around who could help us to build something. Thank you Same4Walls - I can't believe I didn't think of that before

He loves watching the Red Bull one on the telly each year (the crowds are too much for him at the local one), so I might be able to convince him that his own soapbox car would be a good alternative. Thankfully they've got a 16+ age limit for racers so I won't have to worry about him trying to enter it into the race!

So glad I could be helpful. Fingers crossed some clever person will be able to chuck something together.

You could try asking www.remap.org.uk/.

Try googling pedal go karts. Something may be suitable.

Would a ride on like this work, the original didi cars have a high weight limit, even adults can ride them (and yes, its fun) takes a bit of getting used to the way they work but plenty of children just scoot them round at first. DIdi car

Huffy green machine or a kettler pedal go kart (they do a larger one, although not as many places stock it) were the two options we looked at. However both seemed like they would need a pretty large space to ride in so didn't work for what DS wanted.

I don’t know how to do links but google muddyknees go karts, it’s a build at home pallet go kart that might interest him if he is keen on the soapbox races? Good luck!

These are fun too although need a smooth ish surface. We used to visit a kids play centre where they had a barn with a circuit to ride round, DS would happily spend most of the day there
EzyRoller

Thank you so much everyone. I've spoken to him this morning, and he seems quite keen on the idea of building a go kart/soapbox kart. He asked if we could try and build one that looks like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo

DS2 said that the dad of one of the boys in his class enters the big soapbox in the city every year, so I dropped a message in the class WhatsApp group. His wife says he's happy to do a little kart building workshop for any of us who are interested! How brilliant is that?!

Thanks again for all the suggestions - I bloody love MN sometimes

DS2 said that the dad of one of the boys in his class enters the big soapbox in the city every year, so I dropped a message in the class WhatsApp group. His wife says he's happy to do a little kart building workshop for any of us who are interested! How brilliant is that?!

That's absolutely lovely and made me properly smile. Some people are just lovely human beings. I really hope DS enjoys making his own mystery machine kart and it sounds like lots of his peers will also now get to experience learning a new skill. So that's a great outcome.

in an ideal world this is what he needs 😁

Oh my goodness, Bumper that is probably what he'll end up driving at 17

Another one for your DS 😁
(I spend too much time on Instagram , saw this and thought of you...)

Brilliant!