golf carts?

[jinman]

Cowboydoc and Shorty,
I agree with you CB-doc that the mule is a great utility vehicle. Six years ago I was lucky enough to see a golf course maintenance vehicle (Jacobsen brand, but made by EZ-Go) which was for sale for $550. It was on the side of the road with a sign. I stopped a the owner told me his landscaping crews were pretty rough on it and it had several problems. They also were prone to take it on the city streets which is very dangerous. He had decided to sell it and since the generator was not working, he didn't think it was worth much. Well, it had a hydraulic lift bed and an 18hp Onan engine into a 3spd tranny. I bought it on the spot.

The short story is that I was able to easily fix everything and even found an EZ-GO dealer who sells me parts at half the Jacobsen prices. I've replaced the clutch, shifter cane, clutch cable, and re-upholstered the seats. This year, I cleaned and filled the hydraulic pump/reservoir and it works great. The suspension is rated at 1 ton an I've hauled a bed full of rocks many times. From fence building to hauling my guests around, it has been a godsend. I know golf carts are tough, but I just can't imagine anything as tough as this little turf truck. I've attached a photo. I think many golf courses have these and I've seen several for sale, but not for the "steal" that I got mine.


JimI

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I shopped around and ended up at a local dealer. I was going to buy an elec.EZ-Go cart from him. But after talking about what I was going to use it for, he pulled out a gas powered Club Car. Soooooo.... I now own a Club Car.

So far it's worked like a champ. Thanks for everyones help. Next project is building a small dump bed for the back.

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

I heard that Ford is working on an electric car. Specifically they want to go after the golf cart market. Seems a lot of retirees are living in these gated communities and riding golf carts to get around. They figure a small electric car that is basically an advanced golf cart (and street leagl) might find a good niche market from which they can expand their technology.

SHF

 

[jinman]

Shorty, you can buy a 12 volt hydraulic pump and controls for around $400 which are normally used for a round bale hoist. This is probably far more power than you will ever need. I've always wanted to build a small dump wagon using a cheap hydraulic jack. I think it could be done pretty easily. The mechanism for the pump handle would be the real trick.

Just a thought./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

JimI

 

[JimBinMI]

Re: Lifted Golf Carts

Shorty,

I know this is late and that you already bought but thought that I'd share it anyway. I was looking for a golf cart for my wife two years ago and ran across these "Lifted" carts. They were too much money for my blood but I had this picture so I thought that I'd post it.

I ended up getting an '89 EZ-GO gas cart that is original stock. I'm thinking about buying a lift kit for it which I found on the internet for under $300. My problem is that the kids drive the cart like a go cart and it picks up cut grasses in the field and overheats. I think that if I lift it up, I'll get better air cooling and pick up less junk.

You'll notice that these lifted carts also have larger tires and one guy told me that they would go twice as fast as original...tires are twice as big as original. I drove one and it sat up really nice.

Enjoy, JimBinMI

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Lifted Golf Carts

Jim, nice looking carts. I don't think my budget could buy the tires and rims/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I've come across some of those internet sites that sell lift kits, and I rember reading "some kits require cutting the frame/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif" If you lift your cart, will you post back on how you like it and if it requires any changes to the cart(like steering or drive belts)

Jinman, I missed your post. I have and old electric/hydraulic motor and 2 small cylinders that came off of a pickup truck lift gate. I thought about using it for a dump bed, but instead bought a cheap garden trailer from Wal-Mart. My biggest problem is to many projects and not enough time.

 

[jinman]

Re: Lifted Golf Carts

<font color=blue>My biggest problem is to many projects and not enough time.
</font color=blue>

If you ever find a cure for that, package it and sell it. You'll get rich!

JimI

 

[heehaw]

Re: Lifted Golf Carts

i like the looks of these carts, even though as the picture was loading, an the cart was up even with the top of the building, i was thinking "thats a real lift kit"..what does something like that cost??
heehaw

 

[JimBinMI]

Re: Lifted Golf Carts

shorty,

Thanks for the heads up on "some kits require cutting".

If I do lift it, I will post some pictures.

JimBinMI

 

[JimBinMI]

Re: Lifted Golf Carts

HeeHaw,

I don't remember the prices exactly since it was about two years ago but it seems like they were around $3,500+.

They did the lift to newer used carts and repainted them.
Did you also notice the extra seats facing backwards?

JimBinMI