Dogs are a big part of my family life. Only one lives in my house, but between my nearby in-laws, as many as nine canines are running around my yard on any given day. So when I stumbled on the WooFDriver YouTube channel, I was like, hell yeah. I’ve found my people. This guy has figured out how to exercise a pack of high-energy animals with delightful and wacky vehicles that they pull around roads and trails. I love it.
The concept here is pretty simple: Man loves dogs, man is creative, cute adventures ensue. Basically, Bill Helman (the self-described “WooFDriver”) modifies pedal-power vehicles, mobility-assistance vehicles, and even some unusual ATVs to either walk multiple dogs simultaneously or use the dogs themselves as propulsion. It’s like dogsledding but with bike wheels instead of skids.
Many of the vehicles showcased have some kind of hybrid power, in that they use an electric boost or pedals to supplement the dogs’ muscles. His website is loaded with an unbelievably wide range of designs and ideas. Seriously—you should check it out, it’s a fun slice of old-school internet in the best kind of way.
All the dogs in my family love being together and love running. My sisters-in-law and I have figured out how to get them to look the same way to pose for photos in our dog-testing car reviews, now we’ll just need to teach them to run the same way.
A lot of the videos on this channel are outside the template of what you see on YouTube. I found Helman myself through a BBC article about “the hidden world beneath the shadows of YouTube’s algorithm.” There are songs, completely silent videos, and long single-shot sled-cam clips that most people probably won’t be inclined to sit through.
However, the series on the WooFDriver’s “Dog MotoSports” should be particularly interesting and enjoyable to any of you who appreciate shadetree mechanic’ing and industrial creativity. And, of course, cute canines.
Here’s another interesting one from a “Dog Roading” video—the UTV makes it easy to walk four huskies at once!
And finally, when the dogs need to cover more ground than their paws can take them, there’s Helman’s “Dog Limousine,” a six-door Ford Excursion with special seats for animals.
Seen any other dog-powered cars we should talk about? Drop the author a note at andrew.collins@thedrive.com
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