After the bumper car (the "Chaise") at least half-passed its first endurance test on the bike path, it was time to test it in the field. A vehicle with no suspension, street legality, or brakes demands a fitting destination. The choice fell on Vadirito in Bad Kreuznach. More specifically: their drive-through window.
The Logistics: 200 Kilos of Sore Muscles
Before you can casually order an ice cream from the Chaise, a massive transportation problem stands in the way. With all the built-in tech, the bumper car weighs a good 200 kilograms. Since we hadn't built a loading ramp beforehand, our logistics concept consisted of a Sprinter van and pure muscle power. With four people, we heaved the behemoth into the van and lowered it back onto the asphalt on site.
The Technical Setup for the Road
To make sure the drive didn't suddenly go up in smoke at the window, the system ran on a significantly more robust setup on this shoot day than during the first test:
Power: Two 12V car batteries wired in series (one 681A and a Varta 654A), both freshly balanced, provided a stable 24V foundation. These were found while testing discarded batteries from a local car dealership.
Converter: A new 1800W / 40A step-up converter pumped the 24 volts up to the typical 100-volt carnival operating voltage. Another step-up converter was ready as a backup, just in case the first one gave up (again).
Performance: On the smooth steel floor of a carnival ride, the Chaise would reach around 14 km/h. Due to the extreme rolling resistance of the hard rubber wheels on cobblestones and asphalt, we realistically hit 8 to 10 km/h. Without shock absorbers, however, that speed feels like 50 km/h anyway.
The Drive-In Mission
The whole thing went more smoothly than expected. We unloaded the Chaise and drove it through the drive-in several times to get different shots, drawing quite a few looks. A huge shoutout at this point to the Vadirito crew, who played along, gave us a warm welcome, and even treated everyone to free ice cream.
The entire stunt caused such a stir that we even ended up in the local newspaper.
