I've drooled over Makita's battery-powered wheelbarrows, which would make yardwork and homesteading far easier. But they run about $5,000, and they're Japanese-market only.

Another Japanese company, CuboRex, designed this E-Cat. It's a retrofittable electric wheel that can be added to any wheelbarrow. However, it costs $1,261.

The latest competitor in this category is the eBarrow Kit, designed by American engineer Dr. Ivan Vesely.

It's easy to retrofit, by design; the brackets can be lined up with the existing mounting holes on standard one-wheel wheelbarrows commonly sold in the U.S.

After bolting it on, you run the wire back to one of the handles, attaching the thumb throttle with an included strap. Dr. Vesely reckons installation can be done in four minutes.

The installation does indeed look easy:

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Dr. Vesely held a successful Kickstarter for the eBarrow Kit, where they sold for $350. Alas, now the campaign's over and these are up to their market price: $500. Which just about matches a similar object designed for baby strollers, the $495 Easy-Way.

One concern with buying such a pricey add-on is longevity: How long will this thing last for? If Dr. Vesely's other work is any indication, hopefully a long time: Though his first degree was in Electrical Engineering, Dr. Vesely has a PhD in Biophysics, and invented/developed a successful exchangeable heart valve.