Backyard Rides

I want to ride those! They look awsome!

Now I MUST get my own rollercoaster. In my backyard. Hm...maybe after college.

Here's what my cousin's neighbors did with their kiddie coaster....

 

 

It's on top of a huge hill and you can see tracks from the car running all the way down it. Looks like a lot of fun to me!

In the wrong hands that'd make a perfect toy. Spose you could make/buy straight elements and stuff for one of those?

Like extra sets? Strange, because I was thinking of that before. They could make expansion packs with small hills and curves or something. Then you could build your own legit jr. coaster =D

This isn't technically a "backyard" ride but a few years ago when I lived on a horse ranch my friends and I found an abandoned horse walker thing. You tie the horses to one of the four arms and the arms all turn or something like that and it makes the horse walk around in little circles. I'm not sure if that's accurate because I've never seen one in use, but it sounds correct. Or maybe the horses pulled it around and it was an itty-bitty grain mill.

Anyways, my friends and I took the swings off of his swing set and connected them to the horse walker thing. My friends would sit on the swings (which were on opposite sides of the newly converted horse walker) and I would push the big steel arms. It wasn't difficult once you got it going, whatever the arms turned on was nigh on frictionless. I could get that stupid thing spinning terrifically fast. Neither of my friends were as strong as I was so I always got to push the arms, which was fine by me.

Soon after we discovered this joy I discovered that the arms had a braking mechanism. I tested it out while my friends were going around full blast, and found out that if I did it right I could get the swings to start moving like a Darton Hurricane or a Huss Swingaround. Until I moved away that was one of our many sources of fun at the ranch.

got any pictures of it? Also anyone made any past the last month if you have tell thanks and post pictures x

i would love to get funding to make my own, lol. a small, tacky one that was (or will be) connected to a car battery or two, winches you up the hill, down a 6/7 ft hill, and up another hill. rocks backwards and forewards

if not, im saving up for a ride, then lending it out to people

edit: latest update: its now being developed. we may introduce a gravity-based spin aswell

also: if anyone knows any blueprints for a backyard rollercoaster, could they post links here please?

thanks in advanced

James 'Corkscrews turn me on!' Collins

Sounds really good!

I was catching up with Yahoo! News and I happen to see this. It look pretty good for a homemade roller coaster and kind of dangerous as well. I thought I should share this. This was homebase in Oklahoma and I'm guessing it is called Oklahoma Land Run. What do you think?

The video clip didn't work in this seciton so go to Official Website... http://www.jeremyreid.com/ for more information... It look's pretty clever!

Wow, that's really cool. I wonder how long it took him to build that and what it cost. Dangerous? Probably, but so are things like walking (for me, anyway- I walked into the edge of my door the other day) I'd ride it!

Looks Really fun. Wish I has the money, and the room.

www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=609&highlight=backyard+rides&sid=f3fec22e1da1956308307620237aea0e

This topic has come up alot, so be sure to search before starting new threads.

Either way that sure does look awesome!

^ Hey Thanks... I thought there wasn't any even I look through before I posted it. I guess I didn't look hard enough. That thread look awesome! Thanks

Haha, you guys didn't get my post. The bold "R" was supposed to be the the first letter of "repost". Ya'll were supposed to finish it.

Oh well, different forum games.

Wow, just read the other topic... This is cool! Didn't know it is kind of cheap to build such a coaster yourself.

To rent a coaster you already pay more!

Ideas….

Wonder why no one has built a launched backyard coaster yet. Would not be to hard. Just need a pulley and weight system with quick release latches (don’t use rope). Build the track as a shuttle style ride and hope you build the return spike taller then your velocity

Hey 8 – 15’ tower with enough weight and I’m to lazy to do math right now but I would guess very possible to reach 25-35 mph with avg. adult weight.

(Backyard boomerang) Any takers?

As for braking. Automate. 2x4’s with rubber strips fixed to load springs (go to the junk yard and grab some auto springs to cut), hurray friction brakes :o) (Would inspect often, also water dummy, water filled blowup doll whatever you have test before riding)

Not that I would be anywhere NEAR that thing for its first test but still. It would be cheaper, and could be built out of wood or steel. Just make sure your math isn’t too fuzzy on the launch and stress of car and frame.

Then once complete you need this guy’s backyard monorail. This rock.

Only things missing on this guys project is better details to the cars & a spiel in Spanish.

http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/Niles.html

Cheers!

Backyard boomerang has been done in a sence. Go look up a ride called "Timber" As for the launcher, I've been pondering that aswell, and I have a good backyard for a shuttle..

Yeah, I just saw it the other day...

Anyone know if you can contact Jeremy Reid for a ride like you can the guy with the Blue Flash? or is it for his own fun?

BOX.

Boxes are a lot of fun, when you get a big one...

Blue flash looks really interesting, though.

-Mike

I once made a home made coaster when I was about 12. Nothing special, just a 9 foot ramp propped up on some bricks that lead into a brake.

It was basically two long pieces of rectangular wood nailed together in a track-looking way and a modified skateboard with some skids on it to keep it locked in the track. The brake was just two pieces of wood nailed into a wedge shape and then nailed into the ground with tent pegs. It all worked pretty well and smoothly apart from the brake which worked a bit too well usually resulting in me flying off the end.

I'll have to dig it out of the shed and give it another run some time. Maybe even add to it!

I did have some photos but unfortunately I can't find them now

I'm going to start working on Project wildcat again, but I have a few questions first off:

1)How do those first gen boomerang lifts work? I'm thinking of doing something like that for the back spike.

2) Can I safely include a bunny hill in the ride using only top wheels, and a bigger wheel on the underside, grasping to the two main rails?

As for the layout, it depends on question 2. I plan on making the basis of it two verticle spikes, with some trick track in the middle. Depending on how gravity works, I might make the trick track into a curving hill, resulting in a S shaped layout. Also, I'd like to make the front spike past-verticle, but I dont think thats possible unless I modify the carriage with a set of undertrack wheels.

As for the actual track, I'm thinking use 2x4s and such for the base of the track, then cover it with a few layers of plywood to smooth things out. The verticle spikes will come out by linking the track pieces up at a constant rate of 18 degrees per increment. (It should take 5 segments to get it smoothly from horizontal to verticle.)

I'm thinking of making some sort of skycoaster. All I need is some conviently placed sturdy trees, and some strong cable. Then just rig it correctly.

BAD IDEA. I tried that and the cables broke with me about 25ft off the ground. So needless to say I fell about 25ft and hit the ground. OMG It hurt so bad. But yeah... Bad Idea.

~Matthew

But. . . you probably got your daily dose of airtime in for the day!

I want pics of Wildcat!!!

I'd love to show you, but sadly I wont be home again till May>.> First I need some answers to the questions before I can start construction.

I'm thinking of doing A backyard coaster too not that high like 10 or 15 feet but this might take 3 to 7 years on the count of school and money whies. And I made a NL rec of what it might look like to give you an idea of what I'm going to build. please if any one could give me an idea where to get supplies for this I would like to know PM me or tell me on this thread. ps. I probably wont make a lift i'll just push it up the hill and get on it.

mybackyardcoaster1-0704101733430075556.bmp

Here is the NL picture