A battery-operated beach cart for transporting paraphernalia to the beachside, said beach cart being manually steerable by an operator and operable over hard and soft surfaces, said beach cart comprising, in combination:
- a chassis and drivetrain assembly having an electrically driven motor and a gearbox mounted thereon;
- a cargo container disposed on said chassis and drivetrain assembly, said cargo container having a floor, a front wall, a rear wall, a right-side wall and a left-side wall, said right side wall and said left side wall each being formed from a web of flexible material, said web of flexible material selected from a group consisting of a polymeric laminate, a high-strength mesh, a woven technical textile, and a high-strength net, said web of flexible material of said right-side wall being storable under spring tension on a first spring roller, said web of flexible material of said right-side wall being storable under spring tension on a first spring roller, said web of flexible material of said left-side wall being storable under spring tension on a second spring roller, said cargo container further comprising:
- a gear selector panel enabling selection of reverse gear and one or more forward gears;
- a pair of front wheels with a yoke for manually pivoting said front wheels, said pair of front wheels mounted on said chassis and drivetrain assembly for steering said beach cart;
- a handle attached to said yoke and extending forward beyond said front wall enabling said operator to manually steer said beach cart;
- an actuator mounted on said handle adapted to enable said operator to provide power and restrict power to said drivetrain assembly and thereby adapted to control the speed of the beach cart to match the walking speed of the operator;
- hinge means for respectively attaching said front wall and said rear wall to said cargo container floor, said front wall and rear wall each being positionable between an open position for carting and a closed position for providing a planar table-top for beachside use, wherein a compartment is formed between said floor of said cargo container and said front wall and said rear wall, wherein said compartment is for storing said first spring roller with said web of flexible material of said right-side wall stored on said first spring roller in said closed position and said second spring roller with said web of flexible material of said left-side wall stored on said second spring roller in said closed position, wherein said web of flexible material of said right-side wall and said web of flexible material of said left-side wall are operable between a rolled condition and an unrolled condition;
- and,
- bracket devices affixed to said front wall and said rear wall for respectively retaining said web of flexible material of said right-side wall and said web of flexible material of said left-side wall;
- a wheel assembly depending from said rear end of said chassis and drivetrain assembly, said wheel assembly further comprising:
- an axle, said axle having a pair of cavities;
- a pair of hubs disposed on said axle;
- a pair of rings disposed on said axle and set opposite said pair of hubs, said pair of rings each having two major surfaces, said pair of rings disposed within said pair of rear wheels;
- a pair of compression springs coiled around said axle, said pair of compression springs when compressed between said pair of hubs and said pair of rings providing an interconnection between said pair of hubs and said pair of rings;
- a first pair of flat washers adjacent said pair of rings, said first pair of flat washers set against said major surface of said pair of rings opposite said major surface of said pair of rings adjacent said pair of hubs;
- a pair of cotter pins adjacent said first pair of flat washers opposite said pair of rings, said pair of cotter pins removably disposed within said axle cavity;
- a second pair of flat washers adjacent said pair of cotter pins opposite said first pair of flat washers;
- and,
- a pair of machine screws securing said wheel assembly;
- whereby upon removal of said pair of cotter pins, said pair of compression springs are extended thereby disengaging said pair of hubs from said pair of rings, thereby allowing for manual operation.