This project begins with a golf-cart that my dad has wanted to take out to Burning Man for the last couple of years. I can't say with any certainty why it has become an elephant. The general proportions of an elephant cover the base golf-cart fairly well. An Asian / Indian elephant theme offers plenty of inspirational depth to mine. You might even imagine a backstory involving wayward gypsies making their way home from the Hippie Trail after years of roaming the Near & Far East. Perhaps adopting the local mode of transportation for their return after trading a VW micro-bus for a poorly remembered mystical, transcendental experience.
 

Designer
       Tom Wilson

Builders
       Tom Wilson
       Bill Wilson
       George Palmer

Interior Modification & Upholstery
       Debbie Wilson
       Ruthmary Wilson
       Denise Palmer

• Length: 16 feet
• Width: 7.5 feet
• Height: 11 feet+ (to top of canopy)
• Base Vehicle: EZ-Go Golf-Cart

• Lincoln-Electric Power MIG 180C
• Metal band saw
• Bench drill press
• Cut-off saw
• Grinder
• Misc power hand tools

• Mild steel tubing (.065" wall)
• Mild steel bar (1/4" solid)
• Misc. mild steel
• Misc. bike and go-cart parts (steering)
• Fiberglass shell
• LED lighting

Paint & Canopy In-Process
July 15, 2012
 

Canopy In-Process
June 21, 2012
 

Skinning an Elephant
May 27, 2012
 

Final design side view
April 10, 2012
 

Initial concept & color design study
December 28, 2011