These Stand-On Motorized Wagons Have Given Rise to an Intriguing Modding Community

      Via Tim Jaster

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      In July, we shared information about a useful device called the StepRanger. It’s essentially a motorized cart—one that you operate while standing, featuring a twist throttle and a handbrake. Since then, the company provided me with a unit for testing, and I had the opportunity to speak with the co-founders, who shared insights about it. While there are many impressive aspects of this electric utility cart, I’m particularly fascinated by the various ways people are utilizing them.

      To give you a brief overview, the StepRanger is compact enough to fit in a pickup truck bed and strong enough to carry 1,000 pounds. It boasts a coil-sprung front suspension and a rear differential resembling a compact Ford 9-inch. A pedestal can be lowered and secured with pins, and that’s where you stand while driving it. There’s a kick-down lever to select between high and low ranges, and a rocker switch on the handlebars allows you to adjust battery power between low, medium, and high settings.

      I’ll share my own review of the StepRanger soon, but for now, I’m taking inspiration from users like Rob Bitinas in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He has an All-Terrain model equipped with a rear hitch and a boat rack that fits into the standard 2-inch front receiver.

      Via Rob Bitinas

      “He transports a 12-foot aluminum jon boat with the outboard motor still attached from his home to the water,” StepRanger Co-Founder John Harrington informed me. “His driveway is 400 feet long and steep. He lives half a mile from the ocean, so the machine is exposed to salt air.”

      Then there's Ed Lucas, who creatively repurposed the shipping crate for his rig. The StepRanger comes in a crate, and instead of discarding the plywood, Lucas customized it to serve as enclosed side panels, which look almost factory-made.

      Via Ed Lucas

      One of the most innovative uses I’ve seen is in a logging context. I regularly cut and transport a lot of firewood, and the StepRanger is perfect for that task. However, Tim Jaster in Colorado has taken it further by adding a rear hitch to mount a custom-built timber trailer.

      This trailer straddles each log, equipped with a moderate-sized tong attached to a hand-crank reel to grab them. After securing the front of the log with a chain, Jaster tows them back to his band sawmill with the StepRanger. While it might not haul a large 20-foot oak tree with an 18-inch diameter, a typical limbed spruce cut into sections should be manageable.

      Via Tim Jaster

      The last example shared by Harrington and co-founder Aaron Jones comes from Turnkey Logic Control, a hydraulic repair service in Ohio. They have completely removed the sides from their rig, and what seems like grip tape around the edges prevents items from sliding off. There's also a substantial vice at the front, which likely facilitates field repairs effectively.

      Via Turnkey Logic Control LLC

      StepRangers are great for indoor use as well, being battery-powered and compact. They even feature a relatively loud horn activated by a simple button, alerting others when you’re turning a corner on the factory floor, for instance.

      Many other StepRanger users have customized their wagons to suit their requirements. Harrington and Jones mentioned one customer with limited mobility who installed a remote lift to assist in loading it onto his Chevy Avalanche’s hitch-mounted platform. Another user with multiple sclerosis added a hand crank for loading and unloading heavy items. Perhaps the most unconventional usage they cited was a makeshift spelunking cart that navigates through caves.

      It’s fascinating to hear about the community of makers that has emerged around these machines. Harrington and Jones are well-aware of the various applications of their wagons since they handle all customer service themselves. Harrington left his position at Google to manage StepRanger full-time, while Jones still operates a company that designs heated outdoor furniture, but he is now focusing significantly on StepRanger as well.

      I wholeheartedly support people modifying their vehicles for greater efficiency. I just had no idea such ingenuity was happening with these small, manned vehicles.

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