RC Hot Dog Cooker

Measure the dimensions of the RC car (I.E. it’s height, length, and width). These measurements will be used to determine the width and height of the coal bed, and the space that is needed to be discarded from the related part of the car.

Use the tin snips and the tiny saw to cut the plastic body away from the base. This will leave room for you to drill holes in the plastic base and attach the coal bed later.

Now for the metal working. Take the dimensions found in step one to plan out the coal bed. In order to create the bed easily, it can be made of five pieces: one solid sheet, bent to form the base and the front and back of the bed; two rectangular pieces to form part of the sides of the bed, and two extended legs that connect the bed and base.

Note: Bed is not going to be the same size as the base of the car. The bed has to be large enough to comfortably house a hot dog on a skewer, so plan accordingly.

The legs for the bed of the car are a little tricky to plan. The coal bed has to line up with the base of the car on one side, and one side only, in order for the spool of the skewer to line up with the wheel of the car. So on that one side the leg will be straight. The other side is a different story.

The other side of the bed most likely hang over the edge of the car to account for the width of the hot dog. Therefor the second leg must be bent to have a flat edge connect the side of the bed, a small bend under the bed, and then straighten out to connect to the car’s base. (See Image 3 for example.)

Take the longest piece of sheet metal and bend it so that there is a 90 degree angle in the back (the height of the bed) and 60 degree angle in the front, which is also the height of the bed. Weld the two small rectangles so that they touch the 90 degree angle at what will be the back of the coal bed.

Before welding the “legs” to the bed, cut in the cold connections that will be needed to connect the bed to the car and the skewer to the bed.

The straight leg will have the most complicated cuts because it is on the same side as the skewer turning mechanism. An hook shape will be needed to be drilled and cut out of the metal in order to insert the skewer. See diagram for drill hole planning.

After these holes are drilled, you will need to use a band saw to cut through the metal to connect each hole. This will leave an open hook shape in the metal to easily insert and take out the skewer, while keeping it stable and from falling out when rubber-banded to the car’s tire.

After the hook shape is drilled, single drill holes must be inserted into the ends of each of the other sides of the legs. At the top of the bent leg, a hole needs to be made the same distance as the hole where the skewer will rest in the straight leg, so the skewer will be straight and even while cooking.

At the bottom of each of the legs, you will need to drill a hole that will hold a bolt that connects the bottom of each of the legs to the base of the car. (Holes will be drilled into the plastic in a later step.)

Note: When planning the holes for the base of the bed’s legs, make sure they are deep enough to be able to be drilled into the plastic base.

FINALLY, you may weld the top each of the legs onto the coal bed, where the tiny rectangles stopped. The legs should be close to the front of the bed, ending where the angled front of the bed begins.

Drill holes into the sides of the plastic base of the car. These holes will align with the holes at the bottom of the legs of the coal bed.

To connect the bed to the base of the car, insert the the washer onto the bolt, push the two through the hole in the plastic on the outside, and tighten the nut on the inside of the car.

Note: This step took me a while to complete… I found it really difficult to get the nut to catch the thread of the bolt because the inside of the car was so crowded with electronics, so be prepared for a struggle.

The frist step of the actual hot dog rotation device, is altering the hot dog skewer. I used a hot dog skewer with a rounded hook on the end, which I think made this process a lot easier.

Take the spindle and thread onto the skewer, until it is pushed all the way to the loop on the end. Take the epoxy putty and wedge it into the empty space inside of the spool that surrounds the skewer, so that the skewer is stationary.

Place the skewer trough the holes inside of the coal bed. Make sure the spool on the end of skewer is aligned with one tire on the car. Once It is aligned, make a small ball of epoxy putty and wrap it around the skewer so that it cannot slide out of the hole in the bed.

To get the skewer rotating, there are only two simple steps.

Get your thin long rubber band and wrap it around the back tire (or tire that is connected to the motor) and attach to the spool on your skewer.

On the outside of the tire that the rubber band is attached to, make a small lip with the epoxy putty. This will keep the rubber band from sliding off of the edge of the tire when you are driving the car.

You are DONE making the hot dog car!

Light coals in coal bed and let them burn out and ember. Skewer the hot dog. Turn on the car and drive around the neighborhood until the hot dog is evenly cooked through your hot dog rotisserie car.

Show of your awesome making skills to your friends and family, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.