Homemade Ice Cream Cart

So for the past 12 years my family throws the annual end of the school year party. It consists of all three of my kids inviting all their classmates to our house at the end of the school day and they all go in the pool and hot tub. We have a DJ to play music, we serve pizza and the annual treat is we have an ice cream cart.

The highlight every year is the kids always have a contest to see who can eat the most ice cream bars.

Typically, the cart and the ice cream runs about $200, which is about 50/50 in cart rental and ice cream purchase. Last year I decided that I would see if I could cut expenses and build a cart, that I can use for the next couple of years, till my youngest son, Michael, graduates.

I started with a freezer chest. Found one on sale at the Depot. Originally I decided to remove the electrical wire and to utilize dry ice to keep the ice cream frozen, this is what the rental company did. But I ended up adding a cleat and wrapping the cord close to the bottom. By keeping the cord in tact, I had the option of using the dry ice, or plugging the freezer in the night before I use it, and it maintained the temperature.

Afterwards I took the wheels off of my sons old bicycle, which were 12 inch rims, and I drilled a 3/8 inch hole through each side of the freezer chest (this side is intended to be the side where the cart will get pushed from). Then I fed a threaded rod through the hole and used the rod to hold the bike wheels on to the freezer chest. I had to adjust this a few times, ultimately I put a nut and washer on either side of the wheel to keep the wheel from rubbing up against the freezer chest.

I then went to Harbor Freight and purchased some casters to utilize as the front wheels of the ice cream cart.

Subsequently I had to add casters on the underside of the freezer, to support the weight because the threaded rod began to bend. This kept the bike wheels suspended off the ground about 1/2 inch, which was fine, because my goal of having large wheels accomplished my goal of looking like an old time push cart.

Next, I removed the freezer chest lid, which opened like a treasure chest. and used a laminated piece of 3/4 inch plywood and attached two piano hinges- while keeping the center 10 inches stationary, so that the each door opened side to center, rather than front to back.

In order to further that old time cart look, I took some old 3/4" electrical conduit and gave it a slight "S" shape bend, and added the hand grips from the same bike I got the wheels from. I took some 1 1/2 inch stainless screws and nuts and attached the handles to the sides of the chest.

Lastly, I purchased a $10 umbrella from Kmart and and drilled a hole in the center of the stationary portion of the lid. Thereafter, utilizing 1 1/2 inch PVC I created a number "8" with elbows and Tees.

This kept the tip of the bottom of the umbrella stationary. The chest came with a basket, so I centered in the cart and ran the umbrella through it: this did two things, first it gave me a place, that was out of reach of the children to put dry ice. Second, by running the umbrella through, it locked the basket from moving, so no one played with the dry ice.

I ended up painting the lid with a white latex paint (giving it a crackled finish) and getting a local sign maker to cut me some vinyl letters and pictures as decorations for the sides of the chest.

All in all, I am into the project for $180, which means the cart should pay for itself in 2 end of the school parties.