Image: Lahminewski Lab, CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the Wikipedia page, which summarizes and links to all sources that are available online:

The chukudu is a two-wheeled handmade vehicle used in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is made of wood, and is used for transporting cargo. The chukudu generally has an angular frame, two small wheels (often of wood, sometimes wrapped with rubber), handlebars, and a pad for the operator to place their knee on while propelling the vehicle with their leg. On a descent, the rider stands on the deck like a kick scooter. On flat ground, the rider can put one knee on the deck and push the ground by the other foot like a knee scooter. Rubber mud flaps and shock absorber springs may be added.

In Goma, where chukudus form the “backbone of the local transportation system”, chukudus are made of hard mumba wood and eucalyptus wood, with scrap tires for wheel treads. These chukudus take one to three days to build, and last two to three years. The most commonly used size is about six and one half feet long, and carries a load of 1000 lbs. However, the largest chukudus can carry up to 800 kilograms of weight.

A small chukudu can be built in about three hours, using dimensional lumber and materials available in a hardware store. The chukudu is customizable to carry different types of cargo. To haul firewood some chukudus have a hole drilled in the middle of the sitting deck, and the operator can insert a stick to hold firewood in place. Others have a large basket to carry various loads.

Chukudus image colection.

DIY.

Thanks to Spencer Cappallo.

The German-made Carla Cargo is a three-wheeled cycle trailer with an electric assist motor. It can be pulled by any type of bicycle (including a cargo cycle or an electric bike), and it allows you to carry heavy (up to 150 kg) and bulky cargo (a loading platform of 60 x 160 cm). Uncoupled from the bicycle, the Carla Cargo works as a hand cart for large or heavy loads. The vehicle weighs 40 kg including the battery, and has a range of 40 to 60 km.

The electric motor is built into the front wheel and can produce 250 watts as a trailer (up to 23 km/h), and 500 watts as a handtruck (up to 6 km/h). The lithium-ion battery has a capacity of 11 or 15 Ah. The vehicle has two disk brakes and a parking brake, which are controlled via the handle or the bicycle handlebar.

The Carlo Cargo sells for about 4,000 euro. The construction manual is freely accessible online, but only in German for now. The trailer/handcart is present at the International Cargo Bike Festival, April 16-17, in Nijmegem, the Netherlands.

Previously: 8-wheeler cargo cycle.

Mike Merrell writes us:

“I’ve really enjoyed reading articles on your site since I found the article on the Chinese Wheelbarrow. I stumbled upon it when I was looking for information on the wheelbarrow, and I was immediately hooked. It turned out to be some of my inspiration for our new product we’re calling the Honey Badger Wheel. Our Kickstarter project began March 10th and will run until April 30th.”

“Because you provide awesome content for all of us interested in simple technologies with big benefits, would you be interested in running an article on your site about the modern interpretation of the Chinese Wheelbarrow? My hope is that it would add value to your audience, especially since it’s in line with with new and exciting info for us techies. On a more personal note, I appreciate the boosts of small inspiration from your site that lead to big ideas.”

Denmark’s Tripl electric motorbike has more cargo space than a Mercedes E-Class estate. The vehicle is aimed at goods delivery in large cities. Heated and refrigerated cargo boxes are available. Some specifications:

• Cargo volume: 750 litres
• Load capacity: 200 kg
• Electric motor: 4 kW
• Top speed: 45 km/h (28 mph)
• Battery: 5.3 kWh / 6.7 kWh / 8 kWh
• Charging time: 5.3 – 8 hours
• Range: 70-100 km (with 8 kWh battery), 50-80 km (6.7 kWh battery), 30-60 km (5.3 kWh battery)
• Weight excl. battery: 221 kg
• Weight with 8 kWh battery: 301 kg
• Length: 241 cm
• Width: 127 cm
• Height: 1170 cm
• Wheelbase: 150 cm
• Turning diameter: 7.5 m

The proliferation of technology has penetrated virtually every aspect of truck design, from Bluetooth systems that enable drivers to talk on the phone safely to GPS-oriented telematics systems, computer-controlled integrated powertrains and high-pressure common-rail fuel injection systems.

Yet, more fleet managers are becoming less than enthusiastic concerning trucking’s technological explosion. That’s because all the new technology found on today’s commercial vehicles comes with tradeoffs – and many fleets cannot see an end to the new problems that have piggybacked these high-tech models. The most glaring unwanted burden has been skyrocketing truck prices…. At the same time, the exponential leap in new and advanced technologies found on today’s trucks is stressing the industry’s service and support network, which already is struggling with a crippling technician shortage….

Finally, fleet managers say, there is the issue of durability. “I talk to owner-operators leased to our fleet all the time,” says Margret Hogg, general manager of Toronto-based J.G. Drapeau, a long-haul hazmat fleet. “They all drive beautiful old trucks that are dependable day in and day out. They don’t want anything to do with all these new technologies because they run trucks that work when they need them to.”

Hogg believes vehicle reliability has never been lower than it is today. “We still have a 2002 model in our fleet that is far more dependable than a comparable 2012 model,” she says. “We’ve only had six major repairs with the ’02 truck since we got it. In contrast, the ’12 model has already had 11 major breakdowns. That’s not an isolated event, either.”

Read more: Low-tech truck revolution: will modern truck technology create a market for simpler, more affordable trucks? The picture is from Rainier Truck & Chassis, the first outside component assembler to market its line of low-tech models in North America.

The Johanson3 is a stable three-wheeler, with the driver leaning back rather than sitting (though sitting is an option). Feet rest on a plate, and pressing down on that plate creates a lean on the front wheel, turning the vehicle while the rear wheels remain solidly on the ground.

That makes for easy on-and off, especially for those who – owing to age, injury, or fashion choice (“skirts, saris, djellabas, and kimonos” are accommodated, according to Johanson3) – cannot throw a leg over a bicycle seat. Various models accommodate single riders or as many as three adults plus two kids, and can haul up to 660lbs of flesh and cargo. Read more: The J3, a trike that hauls freight, spares frocks.

The Johanson3 is available for pre-order and costs $3,150 – $3,900.

“The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which is the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, has selected a company to install a catenary system.”

“This is essentially overhead electrical lines that supply trucks with electric power, similar to how modern day trolleys or streetcars are powered on many city streets.”

Read more: Truck Electrification System to be Tested at Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach. Thanks to Paul Best.

Previously:

• Siemens rediscovers the trolleytruck
• Get wired (again): trolleybuses and trolleytrucks
• Trolley canal boats

The cargo cycle was designed and built by Berliner Nico Jungel. Find more pictures and videos at his website. The vehicle was spotted at the International Cargo Bike Festival in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. See all pictures of the event (including more images of the 8-wheeler). Previously: Cargo cyclists replace truck drivers on European city streets.

Click to enlarge. More pictures here.

Modern bags might have outshone Furoshiki, but recent years have seen its comeback as a green alternative to shopping bags, thanks to the ‘Mottainai Furoshiki’ initiative by Yuriko Koike, Japan’s Minister of the Environment, in 2006. “It’s a shame for something to go to waste without having made use of its potential in full,” said Koike. Like what beauty label LUSH has followed to produce, the modern Furoshiki Koike upheld was made of recycled PET bottles that, as the Minister put it, “can wrap almost anything in it regardless of size or shape with a little ingenuity by simply folding it in a right way.”

The above graph demonstrating different wrapping techniques went viral on the internet. A wave of shops emerged to sell fancy furoshiki. The Minister’s statement holds some truism because a furoshiki does wrap up almost anything of all shapes and fragility – from vegetables to bottles, from wine glasses to eggs, from a baby to a dog. Besides its diversity, Furoshiki is a great alternative to adopt also because of its portability, leaving almost no room for excuses like ‘I forgot to bring my own bag’. Most of the time very decorative because Japanese treat it as an artistic craft, a furoshiki makes a great scarf, headband or pocket square.

Light and small, it comfortably fits in your pocket or day bag, whilst some furoshiki clothes are big enough to a bag whose form you can change every other day. A personal experiment proves that it helps encourage shoppers to opt for less- or un-packaged options. To avoid unnecessary packaging I visit local grocery stores for unpackaged tomatoes and to the plastic bag addicts’ surprise, it is very easy and light to transport. Just think about how one piece of cloth has the potential to replace all shopping bags. Does it not make it one of the smartest solution to shopping bags and excessive packaging?

This is a guest post by Ren Wan, a writer and sustainability advocate who is based in Hong Kong. She runs JupYeah, an online swapping platform, is a managing editor for WestEast Magazine, and blogs at Loccomama.

The vehicle has two small wheels at the end of the horizontal bars, which are used to overcome the steps of Venetian bridges and staircases.

We have said it before: low-tech solutions are by definition local solutions. It is technology that adapts to the environment, not the other way around.

The picture comes from classified ads website Subito; the cart is for sale (199 euro). To be picked up in Venice, obviously.

Three more pictures here, here and here. More sustainable small-scale cargo options.

Source: EngRailHistory.

Found at the Museum of Tradesman’s Delivery Bikes, which has a collection of (mostly) English cargo bicycles dating from 1905 to 1982. This is one of the few tricycles on the blog.

Related: Tandem Cargo Tricycle (1940) & More Vintage Dutch Carrier Bikes.

Instruction manual. Thanks to Berto Aussems.

Moreover, the information is easy to navigate and you can consult the specifications of the vehicles without even a basic knowledge of foreign languages. The description of most models also includes a link to the website of the manufacturer. Check out the Nutzrad Cargo Cycle Database. 

Read more:

Cargo cyclists replace trucks drivers on European city streets.

In Los Angeles, at the Electric Vehicle Symposium, German engineering company Siemens announced that it is conducting pilot projects using trolleytrucks:

“The eHighway concept is the electrification of trucks and select highway lanes via overhead electrified wires similar to how modern day trolleys or streetcars are powered on many city streets.”

Trolleybuses and trolleytrucks offer sustainable electric transportation for a bargain. Trolleylines are relatively cheap to build and can be very easily integrated into existing highways and infrastructures. Furthermore, the vehicles do not require large batteries, which means that trolleybuses and trolleytrucks do not have the disadvantages of electric cars. Trolleybuses are still around in many countries, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, but trolleytrucks have become very rare.

Siemens uses hybrid diesel electric freight trucks with built-in technology and software to connect to overhead electrified wires. “The trucks are designed to use both electricity and diesel power and will automatically switch to electric mode when they detect and attach to the overhead lines.

Once the truck leaves the lines, it switches back to diesel. As the technology becomes more widely adopted, the company believes every truck equipped with an electric drive system will be able to use the eHighway regardless if it’s a diesel electric, pure battery, fuel cell range extended or CNG combustion engine vehicle.”

Previously: “Get wired (again): trolleybusses and trolleytrucks“.

Hat tip to Stefan van der Fange.

Dog owners looking for a more sustainable means of personal transportation should not look any further: the dog sulky is the answer. Dog powered vehicles have been used for the transport of goods and passengers in some European countries during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Compared to those vehicles, the modern dogcarts offered by ChaloSulky promise to deliver a much smoother ride. The carts benefit greatly from the use of bicycle wheels, suspension and brakes. Moreover, the dogs are not confined between two shafts. Instead, only one shaft goes over the animals’ back, making the vehicle lighter and giving the dogs more freedom of movement.

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The picture above shows the “Suspension Sulky”. From the website:

The sulky’s seat is behind the axle. When you sit on the seat, your weight lifts the shaft up. The shaft has upward lift on the harness. Think see-saw. Think lever and fulcrum. When the dog is pulling, your weight actually makes him lighter on his feet. Adjust the seat location relative to the axles/fulcrum by loosening the handle of the seat slider. A light weight rider sits further aft than a heavy rider. Mountain bike suspension forks allow the suspension sulky to ride smoothly on rough ground. Each wheel flexes over rough places independently from the other.

Picture above: The Simple Sulky. (ChaloSulky)

Picture above: the Bicycle Sulky. (ChaloSulky)

Above: the dog cart. The traditional type, improved by the use of bicycle wheels, is still available. (ChaloSulky)

Above: Belgian dogcart, Brussels, late 1800s. (From: dog drawn carts in the 19th and early 20th centuries)

Thanks to MP Hartog.

Related articles:

• How to downsize a transport network: the Chinese wheelbarrow
• Pack goats
• Camel trains
• The best invention since the wheel
• Pedal powered flatbed truck
• Vintage Dutch carrier bikes
• Low-tech indoor truck
• Overview of early electric trucks
• Guido Vigevano’s wind car
• Ostrich car
• Aerial ropeways
• Trolleybuses and trolleytrucks

The ingenious Chinese wheelbarrow lives on in Angola, Africa. The contemporary design is similar to the Ancient Chinese vehicle, except it uses straight boards and a car tyre.

The machine and the men pushing it are both called “roboteiros”.

Picture credit.

More pictures: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12.

Thanks to Marco Cecilio.

“Goats can be excellent pack animals. A good pack goat will carry at least twenty-five percent of his body weight (a two-hundred-pound wether will pack about fifty pounds), will follow you like a dog, will feed himself along the trail and around camp, and will be a pleasure to have around. Goats have been used as a beast of burden in Europe and Asia for thousands of years.”

Read more:  1 (quote) / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5.

Picture found at American Goat.

Related: Pack camels / Pack horses.

“Barge haulers on the Volga“, a late 19th century painting by Ilja Repin.

In the 19th century Egyptian rulers gifted several large 1500BC obelisks to Paris, London and New York, all of which are still standing today. We already know how these things were erected, but how did they get there? The images above and below (from a 1878 article in the French magazine “La Nature”) show the vessel used for the transportation of the fragile 250 tonne heavy granite stone which is now in London.

A special vessel (the “Cleopatra”), was constructed around the obelisk, rolled into the sea, and then towed across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to England. It sank on the way, but miraculously drifted to shore and was saved. The barge consisted of a steel cylinder enveloped in wood. The Americans, the French, and (much earlier) the Romans used different methods.