What is the strongest type of one-inch PVC or plastic pipe for building a tricycle frame?

Question

The trike I'm building has some similarity to the vehicles on this site:
www.americanspeedster.com

Answer 1

Underground heavy duty rigid water pipe should be strongest. You'll have to paint it(When finished) for u.v. protection. I don't know how good these things are,I'd imagine they flex a fair bit. Should still be fun though. Sounds like a good project

If you want to get serious, even a little flexing will play havoc with your steering geometry. If you do a general search using "trike design Ackerman compensation" you will turn up plenty of useful information about getting the steering right.(be warned heaps of terms to get up to speed with.)

Carbon fibre tubing is available in one inch tube and you can get a reasonable selection of fittings to glue them into. (most good fibreglass retailers will help you). You will need to be sure of your design, as mistakes will be expensive.

As another alternative, You might like to buy a frame, (or the whole trike) off the shelf, in alloy or crom/moly. All the hard work has been done.

http://www.trimuter.com/Tricycle-Frame-Parts-C6.aspx
http://www.actionbent.com/products.html

P.S.
(If everybody reads the detail they will see that these things are made of P.V.C tubing and save themselves the embarrassment)

Answer 2

Strongest Pvc Pipe

Answer 3

Wow those trikes are cool! Now I want to make me one too! I wouldn't have guessed that PVC would be strong enough to support your weight though. I think that schedule 40 is the strongest. The shcedule is printed on the side of the pipe and may be shortened to sch 40. It has a thicker wall than the sch 20. When you go to Lowe's, Home Depot or where ever it is that you are going to buy the pipe, ask the sales associate what the strongest pipe is. That is what they are there for. Good luck and thank you very much for bringing these cool "little toys" to my attention.

Answer 4

PVC or ABS should work. From the photos on the site, it looks like they are using 1" 1/4 or 1"1/2 - standard size pipe for kitchen and bath vanity sink DWV (drain, waste, vent) connections. I was a plumbers apprentice many years ago and at that time, ABS was more abundant, glued and stayed together better (PVC had more steps in the glueing process and was more toxic). The ladder frame construction should give you plenty of strength (don't listen to Mr. Mechanical Engineer student) if you are careful in your prep of each joint. Like copper pipe, you should lightly sand the contact areas on your pipe and fitting before glueing to get the maximum reaction between the pipe/fitting plastics and the glue. Also, make sure that your pipe cuts are not angled - you want all the material you can inserted into the fittings. More surface area with glue, the stronger the joint.

Answer 5

PVC is NOT strong enough for a tricycle frame. learn to weld and go for steel or aluminum instead.