Drive BUV

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Backward Progress

It’s a little embarrassing. Cars go backward, tractors go backward, even motorized Rascals go backward.

For the last 15 years, the Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV) has not been able to go backward.

That could all change as we try to add a reverse gear to the BUV.

It’s not that we haven’t been able to add one in all this time, it’s that we have been trying to find the right one.

We have customers who actually like the fact that we don’t have reverse. People crash into things if they go backward. If you’ve never driven before, driving backward is a problem. From the standpoint of reducing accidents, this has been a big help to people who are learning to drive.

Another issue is durability.

Small transmissions with the appropriate gear ratios that are robust enough aren’t made here in the U.S. anymore. Thirty years ago, there were tons to choose from. Nowadays, the reverse-equipped transmissions are made in India and China, and we’re hard-pressed to find one that will withstand the rigors of Africa.

When it comes to Africa, we need transmissions that are extra tough and extra forgiving. It’s very hard to service a vehicle anyway, which is why we use the fewest number of moving parts possible, and use extra durable parts (like pickup truck brakes, rather than car or motorcycle brakes).

But having a gear system where a driver can shift gears opens up the possibilities for damage. Right now, the BUV uses a speed reducer gearbox, which gives the vehicle a lot of torque, but the driver doesn’t shift anything, which greatly reduces the possibility of damage.

We’re testing a robust reverse gear

Despite the lack of availability of the right kind of transmission, we’re still testing and working to find the right kind of reverse gear. And we may be close.

We’re getting ready to install a gearbox on a new unit, which we’ll take to the testing grounds near Zionsville, IN, as well as run it in this year’s BUV competition.

Next, we’ll hire a team of teenage boys to drive it and see if they can break it. The plan is to overload the test vehicle and have them drive it in a field of moguls, and see if they can break the gearbox.

If they break it, it’s back to the drawing board. If they don’t, then we can start installing the new gearbox on the vehicles in 2016.

The power of neutral

We’re also considering other possibilities the new gearbox brings, such as a neutral gear.

Not going anywhere can actually be beneficial, because the BUV can be used as a PTO (power take-off) source.

A PTO is a way to take power from a source, such as an engine, and use it to run an attached machine or implement, like a grain mill, corn sheller, thresher, or water pump. This changes the BUV from “just” a transportation vehicle, to a multi-purpose tool that can do several jobs.

We’ll keep you posted on the test results, and how we fare in our quest to go backward.

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BUV at Conner Prairie’s Festival of Machines

We’ll be at Conner Prairie’s Festival of Machines this weekend (September 13 & 14, from 10 am to 5 pm), helping celebrate Indiana’s contributions to the world of machinery. From race cars and jeeps, tractors and planes, we’ll be with fans, engineers, restoration nuts, and gear heads.

Conner Prairie will have the following on display:

  • A collector’s showcase of rare vintage automobiles including a 1914 Stutz Bearcat and a 1974 Ferrari 246 GT Coupe.
  • Meet and greet with IndyCar driver Pippa Mann; rides in a Dallara IndyCar Factory 2 Seater ($20/limited availability).
  • Kids in motion: Pedal car and soapbox derby courses, engine tinkering, science experiments, hayrides, Radio Disney I-STEM Quiz Show, and much more.
  • Huge display of vintage fire engines, tractors, airplanes, boats and helicopters.


There will be a kids’ activity tent with all kinds of things to build and try, as well as food trucks.

You can find out more about Festival of Machines and view the complete schedule of events here.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for kids ages 2 – 12, and members and children under 2 are free.

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Why We Do What We Do – Our BUV Philosophy

Everything we do here at the Institute for Affordable Transportation (IAT) in creating the Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV) we do for one reason: to provide hope.
We do is about providing hope; so the poor and isolated in Africa and beyond can live better lives. By providing for people, we help those in need but also ourselves and our faith in God. By providing hope for the poor and isolated, we can help them rise out of poverty, educate their children, and live comfortably and without danger.
We do this by creating rural transportation that’s durable, simple and pays for itself. A lack of usable roads is often a major cause of this poverty. People can’t get to medical care, deliver their food to the markets, or have aid delivered to them.
So we design and help others manufacture Basic Utility Vehicles (BUVs). This lets our partners and local entrepreneurs create their own way of life and provide for themselves and their community.
That is why we do what we do, and it’s how we do it.

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BUV Design – Wooden Bed vs. Steel Bed

One of the main concerns we had in desiging and building the BUVs is maintenance. We have mentioned before that the Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV) is extremely durable with brakes and is simple with having a three input system (go, stop, and steer) but what about repairs?

Our overriding vision with the BUV is to build vehicles that are simple and durable. So in the even that something breaks, even the repairs themselves have to be simple.

For one thing, we wanted the BUV to have a bed that could be easily replaced. Since 2007, the BUVs built here in the United States have had wooden beds. Yes, it does receive a lot of wear and tear, but wood is also easy to find, easy to source, and easy to install. If a BUV driver lives in an area with all the materials around them, it’s easy to replace.

This does not mean that some sites don’t use a metal bed. BUV Tanzania uses metal beds in their design because the material is also easy to come by in their area, and there is a press brake in town.

When deciding the best way to build BUVs, we have to look at the things that are easier for the owners, not just easier for use. We design our units for what the owners will have to face if and when they repair their units. For countries in Africa where they have easy access to wood, then wood can be a good choice. For other countries, steel is the preferred material. It comes down to the owner or manufacturer as to which material is used in the BUV. 

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“Just Far” Becomes “Just Near” with a BUV

Here in North America, it is not hard for us to find wheeled transportation to go about our regular days, whether it be a bike, public transportation, or our own vehicles to get to where we need to go. We think of distances in terms of minutes and hours, not hours and days.
 
But in the rural areas of Africa, distances are measured in miles and many hours. Better yet, just think of it as “far.” If you can’t walk to it in less than an hour, it’s “far.”
 
We received a letter from a missionary partner in Malawi and there was a quote that struck us:
 
In our country our people have to walk everywhere they go. Hence, every place is ‘just far.’ But, when Americans come here they travel around the country in cars. That is very easy so we say the distance is now ‘just near.’ Therefore no matter how far you must go in Malawi, if you have a motorized vehicle ‘just far’ turns into ‘just near.’
 
This is our goal for our BUVs. We want to turn far into near. We want to make it easier for people to more easily travel to different parts of their country, to get the necessary items they need, and helping people get from ‘far’ to ‘near’ faster.

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