The Problem

Our family has property in Ontario on the Canadian Shield. If you’ve spent time in this part of the country you know what that means: exposed bedrock, uneven ground, steep slopes, trees growing straight out of solid rock, and leaf or snow covered terrain that hides everything underneath.

It’s beautiful. It’s also brutal to work on.

This is a typical section of the property. What looks like a gentle slope is actually a minefield of exposed rock ledges, root systems, and soft spots. Hauling anything heavy across this — firewood, tools, landscaping materials — is a constant challenge.

Inspiration

Some commercially available solutions do exist — but they’re expensive (typically $20,000+). They also tend to be gasoline powered, and I really want to extend my knowledge of electric drivetrains, lithium-ion batteries, and robotic navigation.

The Ferocarrier is probably the closest thing to what I have in mind — a tracked utility carrier with a flat bed, designed for job site work. Low, wide, stable, but with limited ground clearance.

The Muck Truck is another one I looked at. It’s a walk-behind dumper, 4WD, designed for moving material across sites where a wheelbarrow won’t cut it. But it requires an operator walking behind it the whole time, and I’m not sure it would handle our rocky terrain very well. It’s also quite expensive, and finding a dealer that carrys the electric version has been challenging in our area.

And then there are mini skid steers and mini excavators — versatile, powerful, genuinely capable on rough ground. But they’re large, require a trailer to transport, and are overkill for what I need. I want something that fits in the back of a Model Y.

None of them quite fit. So I thought — I’ll build it myself.