Making a Cow Truck from Recycled Empty Milk Carton Box

I can vividly remember those hot summer days when my siblings, and I would use limes or lemons as wheels to our make shift cars and trucks.  Those days, we would get some old cardboard box, jugs or cartons then add some wheels.  That new found toy would bring us joy for days.  Our boxes would look like this..well kind of as we didn’t have Batman but, you get the idea 🙂Feeling a little nostalgic I decided to make something like this with my children.   I already had some the materials in stock – I’m not a hoarder but, if I see something that I can use on sale or at the thrift shop, I will get it and put it down for inspiration.  This craft took no time.  It can be completed in five minutes….after breakfast, lunch or dinner.  It’s the kind of craft that will have your children anxious to put animals, legos or cars inside.

You will need –

• Carton box / cardboard box
• Dowel (3/16 )- I got these from my restore habitat for humanity shop.  I bet any hardware store sells these
• Wood balls with holes /limes or lemons
• Knife for cutting window, and for inserting the dowel for the wheels (chassis area).
• Wire cutter to cut the dowel – the dowel is soft just need kids with muscles.  I allowed my children to cut them.
• Ignore the picture of the spool as we did not use these -that’s for another craft.

Any size carton should work, as the small ice box worked well.  If you are using milk cartons please rinse out and let air dry – leave the cap off, if not the inside can get really stinky.Get your dowel and let’s begin.  He first measured the length of the chassis.  I cut the holes for the dowels to go in.  Four holes …two on either side to make the chassis, put the dowel through then add the balls. Use a knife to cut out your windows or doors.   My daughter wanted hers to be different from her brothers, so she made her chassis longer.  She also added some of the balls before inserting in the box.

After putting on all the wheels you can test drive them.  The children had fun playing with especially the cow truck see video here.

They eventually ditched the cow truck and went back to the box with lime wheels.  They were fascinated that the limes functioned as wheels.  If only they lived in my time:)

Being nostalgic and all – the kids have been asking for a trip to Jamaica, to see grandma and grandpa.  I too long to see them. Photo from our summer trip 2016.