Golf Cart advice, gas or electric?

[kcflhrc]

My wife wants a golf cart to run around on our 10 acres. To take food and water to the chickens and goof around on. It's fairly flat with no real obstacles, just a couple of terraces. I'm thinking gas but electric may work too. Used prices for something decent seem to range from around $2k up to $4k. I thought UTV but they are just too **** expensive and I have a tractor for clearing snow and doing the heavy work.

Thoughts?

 

[sd455dan]

I could see advantages for both,
we were given an early 1970's oil burning Cushman Golfster by my FIL,
a few bucks for a re-ring kit and a few other small repairs and it has served us well on 10 acres, Also very surprised how well it gets around on the snow and ice in the winter.
One of the main uses is hauling chicken rabbit and horse feed

I think golf carts are under rated for use as a farm get around rig- especially for the price.

 

[Valveman]

I have tried gas carts and ATV's, but I like my electric carts better. I have several of them. I have made a pickup type bed on a couple of them, and the others still have tops and covers to use in winter time. The ones with beds we call "work horses". We use them for everything like hauling gravel, dirt, animal food, fire wood, etc. We even have a couple of small trailers we pull with them, then you can really stack the fire wood. You have to keep them charged and the batteries need replacing every 4-5 years, but it is better than hauling gas in and changing oil, filters, and stuff. Plus the electric ones are quite. I try to find older ones for 800-1000 bucks. Then with $500 worth of new batteries they usually work as good as new. I have replaced relays, power controllers, axles, and they are fairly easy to work on. Be sure and spray all the battery connections with some of that corrosion resistant stuff and they will give you years of trouble free service. Great fun when a bunch of kids show up on the place. With a little instruction it is a good way for them to learn to drive, but you got to keep an eye on them.

 

[jwstewar]

We've had two golf carts. First was a 2000 E-Z Go 36-volt electric. It did OK, but mom kept it at her house and only used it one week out of the year. Batteries wouldn't last. Finally just sold it last month. Only got $1300 out of it and it was in really good shape, but needed batteries. She bought a 2008 Club Car gas last year when the electric one wouldn't run. I really like it gas. It has about a 30 HP engine in it. We use it a lot as it has a rear seat that folds flat. We've had probably 1300 lbs on that rear deck. I've added a rear handle and a 2" receiver hitch on the back. The kids pull there market wethers on their chariot with the golf cart. Faster and quieter than a riding lawn mower. We will also pull one of the lawn carts off that hitch. We use it every day including my 8 year daughter just riding it around the yard. I fill the gas tank every 2 or 3 months.

Advantages to electric - VERY Smooth and silent. Cheaper to buy. Gobbs of torque. Make it easy to load slowly.
Disadvantages to electric - when its dead you are done till it recharges, the charger can be heavy to deal with. Batteries are expensive to replace - poor resale. A little harder to wire accessories if you don't know what you are doing.

Advantages to gas - faster (usually), when it runs out of gas, refill it and go. Don't have to deal with charger - especially if you are going to be at a campground or something where the charge could grow legs. Better resale. Can do heavier work without running the batteries dead. Can run headlights without affecting your range.
Disadvantages to gas - not as much torque - might have to use momentum to load it. louder and stinkier. Not as smooth. Have to change oil and make sure to treat the gas. More Expensive to purchase.

One thing I like about our Club Car. The frame is all aluminum. Don't have to worry about it rusting. We've had it now about 15 months and only had one issue and that was right after we bought it. I'm assuming it had been sitting and got dirt in the gas. I had to pull the carb apart and clean it. No issues since. I did wire in a set of LED backup lights though. That helps in the winter time when back away from the barn in the winter time so that you don't run over something.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have had gas and electric plus my RTV. The gas is better if you put a lot of miles between you and the electric charger BUT they also require periodic battery replacement of the starter battery that doesn't last as long as a normal starter battery because of the constant starting and stopping (every time you stop you have to restart the engine). I still have the battery one (sold the gas unit) that the wife uses when I am off with the RTV. Batteries are over $120 each ( I have replaced the 6 in it once)if you use the OEM replacements and depending on 36V or 42V you will need 6 to 8 of them about every 4-5 years so the cost has to be figured in for your usage. I also had to buy another charger because mine got fried by lightning. I got a used one for $450 compared to about $1000 for a new one. Another maybe expense that you can occur with the golf carts.
They are quiet running which is about all I can say good about the battery powered ones. I sure prefer my diesel engine RTV but a golf cart sure beats the heck out of walking. If you are taking it off road, check out the "Buggies Unlimited.com" website for all the upgrades you can do to make them perform in the mud or snow. It ain't cheap to do the upgrades, but it makes them a lot more versatile for the farm. The first time it snowed about 3" here and I couldn't get more than 10 feet out of my driveway, it ordered some tractor lug tires for it and the wife never got stuck in the mud again (nor the snow)

 

[JRobyn]

I started off wanting an electric golf cart for shorter jaunts (1 mi or so) around our acreage. Mostly because of quiet. And figured I could find something around $2k. But I sure liked the idea of 4wd, lift and mud tires. That got me up to $3k-$4k. That put me in range of a used UTV, and I knew it would be very handy for light work like hauling and carrying a bed full of saws/tools. So I seriously considered Kawa Mules, maybe even a Kubota. But that would require $6k-$8k, even if I could find a decent used one. $10k - $14k new. And they were all LOUD!

Wound up with a very good condition used Polaris electric EV for $7k, and very happy. 1/2/4wd, massive torque, mud tires, high clearance and plenty of hauling capability. All with a golf cart-like seating. Once it's batteries give out, hopefully not for at least a year or two, I'd like to replace them with a Lithium Ion retrofit kit. Currently about $8k, but that would give me way more range on a charge than I would ever need and vastly improved weight and lifetime. Maybe reduced cost in a couple of years.

 

[mikeman1]

you can buy more aggressive rear tires for the golf car for better traction if needed. I too have had both. currently i have and I prefer electric for the quiet, I get tired of hearing gas engines on everything all day. mowers, trimmer, cars, trucks, chainsaw, etc. peace and quiet seems to be a thing of the past. pros and cons to both. I plug it in at night and it is on a timer. I added a meter so i can see when it is getting low on power. also put a 12v light from napa on the front,nothing much just enough to see .. with multimeter you can see which two batteries to hook up to to get your 12v.

whatever you choose you will have fun with it.

 

[zzvyb6]

I also have both. Each has its own purpose, abilities, and stamina. I have trailer hitches on both and fold down work platforms instead of a back seat. In winter, electric (EZ-GO) is better: weight for traction and ease of initial movement. The gas (Yamaha) one in winter is a bit stubborn to get going even with the choke. For long distance hauling around my back trails (1-2 miles) I feel better about chosing the gas one. I've pushed the electric one home just once and that's enough.

However, two days ago, the gas one's fuel filter got plugged with water and would not start. The electric one easily pushed it home with the steering wheel strapped to strait-ahead and the bumper nose on the gas's trailer hitch. I could steer them anywhere using this technique.

When its battery time, I'm going to try 4 12v deep cycles instead of a full complement of 6 8v batteries for cost reasons. Costco sells cart batteries, too, which is how I got my current set. You have to check the water levels all the time in the EZ-GO. For some reason, the charger rate causes a lot of water loss.

I bought junk carts and easily keep them going. A local cart repair shop services golf course carts and many parts are free from him (as in tires). My cart tires seemed to have a problem with slow air leaks around the valve stems at the wheel. I used some tire sealent glue on them and so now that problem is solved.

I have a Yamaha 4 wheeler that now sits idle because the carts start almost immediatly, have lots of leg room, kids can run them, dogs can ride on them, they haul trailers and are quiet.

Only one problem ever: If you are pulling a snowmobile trailer with 30 bales of hay on it, you have no brakes to speak of. EZ-GO but No-GO stop-oh.

By the way, we have lots of steep side hills on the trails, gas one maybe, but never a problem with potential rollover with the electric cart.

That's my opinion and I'm unanimous with it.

 

[4570Man]

I like the zero down time of the my gas mule. It gets used almost everyday. It has about 600 hours on it and most of them were put on it in the last 3 years. With its age I would have likely had to put in a set of batteries. I've had to perform zero repairs. My biggest complaint with a true golf carts is its lack of front brakes. The stopping ability of my Mule is much better. My second complaint is their terrible off roading. My Mule is only 2wd, but it still goes a lot better than a cart.

 

[oosik]

I looked at both gas & electric golf carts. My property is just to uneven, swamp areas, wicked steep hills & valleys & deep winter snows. I got a Polaris ATP(all terrane pickup) and its never given a moments problems. Purchased new in 2005. Used every day to go get the mail - still has OEM battery & tires. Has a bit over 7300 miles on it.