[kittigadu]

My elder son who is 7 yrs old took a liking to tractors and heavy farm equipment after a visit to his ancestral village a year ago. Tractor toys in the market are only a few and not the right size he wanted. So, we sat down together and made a model tractor out of sun board/foam board for him to display in his room. I thought that the joy of building his own toy will slowly get him over his new obsession.



He was somewhat happy but wanted something more. Maybe something like a ride-on tractor or so. But, for his age & height, ride-on are small, expensive, and not practical. A few weeks later, when I logged into the home computer, I have seen a few browser tabs with images of tractors. He was searching for "big tractor toys" and 3 tabs in particular had these in them.



He never showed it to me nor discussed it with me. It is a DIY tractor bed built by some grandpa for his grandchildren. He called his grandpa, my Dad, and asked "Grandpa, do you know how to DIY a tractor bed ?"

The Idea:
Maybe he wanted something which is big in size and the bed seemed to fit his fancy. This is when the idea took shape. Why not get a tractor bed for him. I researched the availability of such beds in India and they are either made of plastic and expensive or flimsily built. Neither of them had installation and after-sales support. Most of them were characters from the Cars movie with stickers on panels stuck on either side. I wasn't interested in those. Importing is out of the question as it costs as much as a small car. The local carpenters either priced exorbitantly or ridiculed me on the build plan. Their standard answers were " Yeh aisey nai hotha saab" (doesn't work out this way saar) and had other options that didn't convince me. The only option for me is to get some plans and build one. But, unfortunately, I do not have the time, resources or the knowhow to embark on such an adventure. But, for a week after this, I have been reading a lot of DIY forums and had a fair idea of how to go about the build theoretically. My search for a builder has been ON but without much progress.

The Find: Srini
During a family gathering, I casually threw this idea to a cousin and she referred me to her friend who is a young entrepreneur (owns a factory that makes acoustic wooden panels) and could probably help. I talked to him over the phone and he agreed to help but only as a side project because their company is in the middle of a production schedule. So, eventually, progress is going to be slow. I was OK with that but a bit worried about the budget which I never discussed with him.
He asked me to share any particular design I had in mind, and I sent him the image which my son had on his desktop.



I also discussed the build plans I had read about online and he was affirmative of the process but with a few corrections based on design and availability of material locally. A few days later, he calls me and tells me that he had assembled a small team to work after hours on this and sent me a tentative bill of material. When I added up the costs, I was a bit relieved.


The Build: Make it modular.
The only instruction I gave Srini's team was to make it modular and easy to assemble and disassemble. 3 days later, I was sent a screenshot of a Computer drawing of the tractor. There were a few changes to the actual image I sent, but it was good. After carrying this thought in my head for weeks, I was finally happy that the idea is now taking shape. I still kept this a secret from both my wife and son. A few days later, I got a message that the cost of CNC would be higher for the selected material and they are going to get the same design cut on a thinner and cheaper material for 1/3rd the cost and use it as a template. I do not know the specifics but felt that they were optimizing cost.

We already have an extra mattress at home and when communicated about it, they adjusted the drawings to its size. With an eye on cost, time and available manpower, he discussed how they made and skipped a few engineering choices. Considering the fact that this is a first-time build for all of us, I was OK and never complained. Srini proudly said that they never intentionally used plastic for anything and this is 99.9% plastic-free. They kept sending me random pics of the progress every now and then.



The First Cut: Basic Assembly.
A few days later, I was asked to come to their factory to see a mockup assembly of the cut pieces and boy, I was super impressed.





The first thing that struck me was the size. It is about 5 feet in height and 7.2 feet in length & was holding a 3.5 X 6.5 feet mattress, (the size of a normal single bed). it was comfortable for my size as well. It had perfect openings to get in and get out. Upon enquiring, he said that his younger son is 8 years old and used his measurements as a reference during the design.

That night, I couldn't sleep as I was excited about how my son would get excited seeing a finished and painted tractor of his dreams. The next day, I asked my son as to what he wanted in his tractor if it were big size toy. Of all the other things, he said that it should be Red in color and with alloys just like our jeep. He loves some bling I guess.

I communicated to Srini about the possibility of including alloys. He was reluctant at first because of the design change & cost escalation and said that he shall look into it and asked for a couple of days to think over. 3 days later, he calls and tells me that they can't give me alloys but would give something shiny so that it vaguely looks like alloys yet keep the insanity intact. He didn't divulge what their plan was but said that it is an out of the box idea and promised that we would like it.
Water-based paints would cost more and difficult to source but Srini preferred them over regular paints. Every prep product they used was also water-based and had no smell or vapors.

The Almost final Assembly:
3 days after the painting, I get a call to come to the shed. When I entered the shed, I was stunned. For a second, It looked like a real tractor. I couldn't believe that a picture on the desktop is now standing in front of me.



Most of it is assembled and ready.








And aah the alloys... well, I was overwhelmed and I knew my son would be too.

What they did was to take a large aluminium cooking vessel popularly called "fish cooking bowl" and used that to fit into a large hole created to seat this. Due to the metal, it looked like a real tractor wheel and alloy' ish too. They don't have to create an inner circumference out of wood and would be strong enough even if the kids stand on it and monkey around. They hid the bowl's ends under the wooden rings and painted a different color to add some bling.




They haven't fixed the lights and other accessories yet but promised to do it before my son arrives to take it home.
As part of the build, they also got a fuel pump printed onto a piece of scrap so that they can fix it as a door to the wardrobe making it look like a fuel pump.



I had no words. It looked better than I expected. But, Srini explained a few mistakes they did during the build and on how it could be further optimized and add underbody storage etc. Nothing mattered to me at that moment. All I could imagine was my son's excitement and the thought that his dream did come true. Even the team that built this thing was pretty excited at the outcome.


Corona Scare & Expedited Surprise :
One fine evening, Srini called me and said that there is a rumor about a possible lockdown in a few weeks and wanted me to get my son to see the tractor bed asap and they had arranged for a casual photoshoot. He said that they completed most of it except for the accessories.

That night, I had talked to my son about the tractor bed images I found on the computer and casually enquired if he wished he had one for himself. He said YES but told me that these are not available in India and very expensive otherwise and innocently said that even Grandpa couldn't DIY. Maybe he thought all grandpas make stuff for their grandchildren. He asked me to take him to IKEA to see if they had anything similar for kids. I promised to take him and sent him to sleep. But, I couldn't sleep all night. In fact, It has been weeks since I had proper sleep. The next day, I packed a pair of pajamas without his knowledge and took him to Ikea. After looking around, he was a bit disappointed and half-heartedly settled for a bunk bed thinking that this is the best he could get here. I told him that we have to take a detour as I have to pick up some documents on my way and drove him to the workshop.

We entered the shed and saw this.



At first sight, there was no reaction. Maybe he thought that it was a real vehicle. I held his hand as we walked closer and I could feel that he started to have mixed feelings. There seemed to be a conflict within him as he is seeing something like this for the first time off the internet. He was slowing down as we get closer. The silhouette in front looked somewhat similar to the one he has on his desktop. He sees a bed like a thing but as big as a real tractor which looks tractor but also looks like a bed. (phew, couldn't explain better) His hands clenched mine tighter and tighter as we walked closer and closer. I was acting normal as if I didn't notice it and was almost about to walk past the thing. He saw the mattress and the pillow and suddenly jumped out in awe.

At the top of his voice, he shouted ...
Dad look, a tractor bed. It's here, it's here...





His excitement and joy knew no bounds. He immediately made a video call to his mom and grandpa showing off his newfound treasure. He was there the whole evening and pestered me to take it home then and there. The team had to pacify him and promised to deliver only after fitting the other accessories and he reluctantly said OK.
Srini had arranged for some toys and stuff as decor for the photos. Since it was in an open shed, the messy boys' room effect isn't evident. But had no choice.




They promised to deliver in a week as they had to fix a few accessories like exhaust, rearview mirrors, LEDs in the headlamps, underbid proximity sensor, cubbies, book holders, tail lamps, reading lamp, faux dashboard & steering wheel for role play, stickering, Paint effects etc and also tie-up some loose ends. <img>

The 2 days after the photoshoot, Janata curfew was announced and since then the bed has been locked in the shed. My son's dream came true but has been temporarily been locked down. He is on cloud nine though. Waiting for his tractor bed to come home any day.<IMG>

Thankyou Srini & Team



The total price: 54K INR all included.
Time taken for the build: Roughly about a month.

Regards,
Krishna.

[digitalnirvana]

Wonderful thread! Your narration took me along with you for the journey and am so happy that the kiddo got his dream fulfilled!

He'll forever look up to you as Superman Daddy who made his wishes come true

[Reinhard]

Ah lovely piece there! Enjoyed reading it. What a nice large workshop there. Wish I could play with machines in such a setup. Great imagination & idea about the bed I must say. Your son sure is going to enjoy it.

And I won't hold back saying this. I am envious of him for getting such a cool bed to tuck in every night!

[Dry Ice]

Beautiful thread! Loved reading through it, thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

And I won't hold back saying this. I am envious of him for getting such a cool bed to tuck in every night!

Count me in too. Infact I am so envious of the kids these days, they have all these cool little automotive toys that I could only use in dreams!

[Gill]

Way to go! One of the most unique threads on the forum.

[momsonlydriver]

Wow I wish my dad took the pain of making a car when I was a kid. Nevertheless I love your hardwork. Shows alot of dedication and love towards your child.

[turbo]

That's really nice. Some kids, though, never really grow up. A friend sent me this.

I too would have done this with a xenon bed, but that's like 5 feet long, and that, unfortunately does not suffice.

[Jeroen]

This is so cool, awesome. Great story and well told. I made some toys for our kids, but this is something else. I am sitting here with my 8 week old grand daughter Bella on my lap. Very inspirational, I will have to make her something like this too!

Jeroen

[JojyKerala]

Originally Posted by kittigadu

My elder son who is 7 yrs old took a liking to tractors

Beautifully written - I admire you for converting your son's dream into a reality.

Srini has done a commendable job here. His dedication and attention-to-detail is evident from the final product. Kudos to his team!

And finally, pictures of your son on his future bed is the icing on the cake. For me, it's like reading one of those fairy tales with a happy ending. Hope he gets to sleep in his bed soon!

[vermasach]

This is a real out of the box idea and some great engineering in choice of material and marvelously designed.

The kiddo will for ever remember treasure this toy and will always be proud of you even when he grows up!

The most important thing is the happiness we see in the young ones eyes which is like a dream come true. Really innovative stuff I must say. Loved reading this.

Sachin

[Aditya]

Wonderful theme for your child's bed. He is really lucky to have someone making something so unique for him.

Coming to the product, it looks really neat and not something that's made just for the heck of it. Loved the attention to detail - the wheels, the indicators, the towing points, etc.

However, I'm not too sure your will get over his tractor obsession. Once something gets into a child's mind, it sticks for a long time. You might have to build a larger tractor-themed bed in a short while.

[Slickshift99]

Wonderful narration and an even wonderful dream gift for your boy, even i as a kid used to dream of a ‘car’ bed but that was something far from sight in those days. The finished product looks excellent considering it to be their first make, kudos to their effort and cost effective planning! You truly have become a Superdad, Congratulations

[BoneCollector]

Simply outstanding. Brilliant execution would be a small thing to say about this project.

Your narration when you took him for first visit was amazing, I could feel that excitement. The product is superbly made. Fit and finish look great, no panel gaps that I could see. I hope with the lockdown over now, this Tractor finds it's way to home!

The idea and execution is amazing. Hats off to you and your friend who brought this concept to reality.

[jithin23]

The essence of team-bhp is people are passionate about almost anything on wheels irrespective of age.

I was shocked to see the results of the tractor bed and it looked like a real one! You're son is lucky to have a dad who understands his passion.

Brilliant job and that's one fantastic build. Thanks for sharing your experience of getting it done as well.

I'm waiting for a day when movable automobile beds would come

[Amrik Singh]

Nice DIY Project.

Talking of kids affinity with Tractors, Punjab is the state where kids are born and raised among Agricultural Devices and their affinity towards such Toys is their natural trait.
To cater to such demands, the Toy Shops are bedecked with eye catching things.

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Pictures of road side display, at a small town Fatehgarh Sahib, near Ludhiana