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Is it possible to remove the spare tire and replace it with a bubble machine?
have tried unsuccessfully to install a bubble machine on the roof (mounted to surfbaord on roof rack). it spilled too much all over the car to make it feasable.
now, i'm thinking about removing the spare tire and mounting one under the car. there are a couple different heights availalbe from about 6 to 11 inches.
here's the one i'd prefer:
12.75" Wide x 6.75" Deep x 8.25"(8.75" with top mounting bracket)
Since I don't know what a bubble machine looks like I was thinking, why not pull the fluid for the machine out of the washer fluid bottle? Just thinking out loud. Got a pic of this thing?
Since I don't know what a bubble machine looks like I was thinking, why not pull the fluid for the machine out of the washer fluid bottle? Just thinking out loud. Got a pic of this thing?
i can see where you're going here, if it were the case of bubble fluid in washer tank, could just replace the washer outputs with bubble hoops.
that way could bypass the official bubble machine entirely maybe with an air assist. auto transmission.
basically a bubble machine is a flat bottom box that mounts with a top handle. it has a spinning wheel inside that shoots out bubbles by the thousand. http://www.coolstuffcheap.com/b-250-bj-1q.html
it has an opening on both sides, one side just to allow air in, the other is the larger hole where bubbles come out of. this second hole can be ducted to allow bubble flow furthur away from the machine. soap can go into the second larger hole to load.
power isn't an issue, as they can adapt to a remote control or a surge protector with a on/off swich to the 1000W inverter where the passenger floorboard used to be.
roof mounting to the car, I had a lot of sloshing of fluid, but i wasn't modifying the machine too much with ducting as i decided to return it and didn't want to destroy the machine.
hadn't thought about beneath the car at the time, heck didn't even know I had a spare tire under there until more recently, but if bubbles came out of a false tailpipe and the lower the center of gravity, then the soap sloshing wouldn't be an issue.
or course, with a "s" hood scoop, could just mount it to blow bubbles forward.
BEAVR - this is all very interesting... but you still haven't addressed the most nagging question on many of our minds...
Why?
well, its an ice cream truck mini cooper.
last week in a local parade, a guy won who had the bubble blower mounted to his golf cart. now, its a right of contention. since i figured i had the idea for it before but couldn't figure out how to handle/mount it.
today i'm playing with a cardboard model of the machine to see if it'll bottom out
Saw your gallery, nice work BEAVR! To answer your original question, I think the spare tire cavity is large enough to fit those dimensions, but I'm not sure it would work. MINI is a rough riding vehicle and the sloshing may be just as bad down there (assuming you want to run the bubbles while moving). Also, bubbles coming out of a fake tailpipe would be fantastic, but I'm not sure that pushing bubbles through a pipe is something that works.
Last edited by rkw; 02-28-2009 at 01:59 PM.
Reason: proof reading
If you can get to the inside of the fluid storage tank, you could install some baffles (basically just a couple of vertical dividers in the tank with small holes or slits at the bottom of each divider). The baffles will basically divide the fluid tank into several smaller sections, and the holes/slits will let the fluid get from one section to another so that you can use all the fluid in the tank.
By having the volume broken off into smaller sections, you won't get the entire mass of fluid sloshing around the way you would in a regular tank. This is the same strategy that tanker trucks use so that thousands of gallons of liquid aren't sloshing around as one big mass, upsetting the braking/handling of the truck.
While your at it why not get the florescent bubble juice and mount some UV LEDs for a nighttime light show?
The remote control could help avoid all the extra wires for control.
just a picture i painted and then photoshopped some ice cream onto it to use for a quick logo. kinda makes the surfboard make more sense. but this is a beach comunity, so it works either way.
should post some new pictures, think i have the bubble blower figured out. covered it in a vinyl poster i had recieved from our ice cream vendor.
used previous eye-bolts hardware from first 2 surfboard attempts to mount it behind cone and onto the surfboard (still need a couple new longer j hooks for security), this reduces the elevation and eliminates some of the sloshing. the vinyl stickers act as an additional bottom seal. layered non fluid sections of the interior bottom with sponges. to see it in action is pretty amazing.
no way to get it to mount as spare tire without bottoming out.
I would definately buy ice cream from a mini. And I bet it is much more appealing to the kids, it being small and round instead of huge and industrial looking
i dont get it
2008 Clubman S, Man, LSD, SS/Blk/Blk, Pkgs: Prem/Conv/Sport/Cold
But why is there a zebra surfing? Any story behind it. 
