Electric Trike for hunting.

[Doublewide]

I'm considering purchasing a E-trike and was wondering if anyone has any experience with them for hunting. My reasoning for a trike is the safety/stability factor especially when riding to a morning stand in complete darkness. I do have a steep hill that it would have to climb so I assume a 1,000 watt motor and 4" fat tires would be a necessity. I also like that trikes have good sized racks that e-bikes seem to be lacking. I am concerned about the ground clearance as the derailleur appears to hang lower than any other equipment on the trike. I reread the E-bike thread from 2022 and didn't see any mention of trikes. I did look at omicron 1792 post regarding the Volcon Grunt bike and noticed they now feature an electric side by side that is 1/3 of the price of the Polaris electric which might be worth researching if there isn't a decent trike around.

 

[Bill]

Not for hunting but we have one that my son used to ride to the beach pulling a surf fishing cart with all his fishing gear. I've thought of taking it to the farm to use as you say. My only concern is it has no rear suspension (not a huge deal) and the drive wheel is the front tire making it 1 wheel drive. I suppose that would be OK if you don't have the greasy mud we do in MO. I still may take it some day. Knowing I couldn't use it in wet weather.

 

[Foggy47]

My brother in law has COPD.....and bought a trike to drive to his deer stands on his property. I helped him finish some of the assembly....and then drove his trike. I had a hell of a time operating that trike in the most simple driving. I have an electric bike.....and have zero issues riding it......but his trike is NOT intuitive to ride by any stretch of the imagination. You cannot lean or operate it in bike-like fashion. Everything seems bass-ackwards when I drove his.

Maybe he just has a bogus brand???.....but I would suggest anyone interested in a trike to drive one before buying.

My SIL says that is why they make two wheels in the front on some of the Polaris "trikes" they sell....so that they steer easier. I dunno....but based on my drive....I'd pass. I thought I was going to run into some trees or otherwise kill myself.

My 2 cents......Get an old golf cart or a new electric side by side from one of the big box stores. The prices are pretty good now.

 

[MN Slick]

I know a guy that might be selling a real solid one. PM me if you want information.

 

[Perdix]

My brother in law has COPD.....and bought a trike to drive to his deer stands on his property. I helped him finish some of the assembly....and then drove his trike. I had a hell of a time operating that trike in the most simple driving. I have an electric bike.....and have zero issues riding it......but his trike is NOT intuitive to ride by any stretch of the imagination. You cannot lean or operate it in bike-like fashion. Everything seems bass-ackwards when I drove his.

Maybe he just has a bogus brand???.....but I would suggest anyone interested in a trike to drive one before buying.

My SIL says that is why they make two wheels in the front on some of the Polaris "trikes" they sell....so that they steer easier. I dunno....but based on my drive....I'd pass. I thought I was going to run into some trees or otherwise kill myself.

My 2 cents......Get an old golf cart or a new electric side by side from one of the big box stores. The prices are pretty good now.

This is key. My 87 year old father has had 2 ebikes over the past 4 years and loved them. Due to some recent balance issues, he bought an upright trike last year, rode it once and hated it. There is little to no stability with them. You can ride really slow, but because they can't lean into a turn or countersteer, your turns must be painfully slow. Offroad doesn't seem the way to go. If it were me, I'd look for a fat tire e-bike and a trailer to keep the gear off the bike.

I did test ride an electric recumbent trike the other week (two wheels in front and low to the ground) for my dad since he still wants to ride. That thing was cool and even though you can't carve a turn like a standard bike, the center of gravity is low enough you won't tip. The downside to them is costing nearly what I paid for my last (nearly new) Triumph Scrambler motorcycle!

 

[Foggy47]

This is key. My 87 year old father has had 2 ebikes over the past 4 years and loved them. Due to some recent balance issues, he bought an upright trike last year, rode it once and hated it. There is little to no stability with them. You can ride really slow, but because they can't lean into a turn or countersteer, your turns must be painfully slow. Offroad doesn't seem the way to go. If it were me, I'd look for a fat tire e-bike and a trailer to keep the gear off the bike.

I did test ride an electric recumbent trike the other week (two wheels in front and low to the ground) for my dad since he still wants to ride. That thing was cool and even though you can't carve a turn like a standard bike, the center of gravity is low enough you won't tip. The downside to them is costing nearly what I paid for my last (nearly new) Triumph Scrambler motorcycle!

Not sure why trikes drive the way they do......but to me, everything seems counter-intuitive when riding a trike. As Perdix says the stability in turning really sucks for me....especially on rough terrain. Some of those e-bikes with huge balloon tires look interesting.

 

[Doublewide]

I know a guy that might be selling a real solid one. PM me if you want information.

Thanks! I appreciate that but after a few of these responses my view of them is starting to waiver,,,

 

[Foggy47]

Just did a google on electric trikes.....and read a few experiences of others. Seems I'm not alone. I've driven Honda 3 Wheelers and many other bikes and a trike as a kid. But, riding the e-trike seemed almost surreal to handle for me. Anyway......here is a recap of what I read:

AI Overview
Learn more

E-trikes can be difficult to drive because of their inherent stability issues due to the three-wheel design, which makes them less maneuverable than a regular bike, especially when turning sharply, and requires a different riding technique where leaning into turns is not effective; additionally, their larger size and weight can make them harder to control, especially at higher speeds, and may require more space to maneuver properly.

 

[SD51555]

This sounds like the crossbow of walking.




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[bigboreblr]

Not sure why trikes drive the way they do......but to me, everything seems counter-intuitive when riding a trike. As Perdix says the stability in turning really sucks for me....especially on rough terrain. Some of those e-bikes with huge balloon tires look interesting.

The rear tire on the inside of a turn need to turn slower. Alot of people look at me weird driving a pickup truck in 2wd in the snow as much as I can. But, fighting wheels equals loosing stability.

3 choices here. Solid axle wheels fighting, drive one rear wheel with poor traction and different handling left vs right turn, or have a differential for the tires. Option 3 is hard to get. I used to have a trike when I worked at a power plant facility in NYC. 970mw and 2 400mw units right next ot each other and 20 or so gas turbines. Everybody wanted to borrow that thing.

Since you do not need to pedal, you can use your feet for stability. Just get some cheapie marine navigational lights for some extra red light pointed down.

Im lazt and dont care, I walk when I can see light 2 times out of 3. Yeah I miss some, but they're idiots during the rut too.