Lets talk golf carts.

[/pine]

Have used an electric golf cart for the last 18 years or so (it's like the energizer bunny)...it is perfect for our needs and we would not be without one these days...

Electric is far superior over gas for instant torque and jumping up hills...take care of the batteries and they will take care of you...I have left ours stock for practical purposes...a little more ground clearance would be nice but the low CoG is very stable and the cart takes our mountain lanes and trails just fine at stock height with standard size wheels and tires...

 

[TnAndy]

We bought a used 2011 48v Club Car some years ago and got rid of the Yamaha 4wheeler, which seemed was always needing maintenance. Cart was 4 years old when we got it (off lease golf course cart...$2500). Original batteries lasted 2 more years, I replaced in 2017. As someone else said, take care of the batteries and they will take care of you. We plug it in every night, and I check the water monthly, put in distilled as needed. Maintenance on the cart is nothing compared to that fool 4 wheeler.

Did put a lift kit on it....just so I could put some more aggressive tires (wet grass or least bit of snow, originals are useless)....huge improvement. Also put some really bright LED driving lights on the roof, front and back....great for night use....original lights aren't much.

Back seat on ours folds down to make a flat deck, position it stays in all the time...we carry garden produce, eggs, etc. Wife uses it daily to go to the chicken house (1/3mile), go down to the gate for mail, etc....we probably put 3-4 miles/day on it. HIGHLY recommend them for around the farm use. Great thing is we can both get in the seat, step on the peddle and go. We'll never be without one again.

 

[kcflhrc]

We moved to our 10 acre place about 6 years ago. Bought the tractor first and then started looking at UTV's. Those things are crazy expensive and didn't really think we needed to spend $10k on one since we just spent $20k on the tractor. We have an awesome Cart dealer within about 10 miles of our place. We ended up buying a used 48v Yamaha from him. It's been great and does everything we need. I added the rear seat set up so 5 people can ride. The seat also flips out to make a flat bed on the back. It's perfect for what we needed. Absolutely hated the gas one's and you can sneak up on the wildlife with an electric.

 

[Industrial Toys]

My friend had a Gas Cub Cadet UTV that he get's to use in the summer as they use it for snow at his work in the winter. Close your eyes and you'd think you were in one of those tin garbage cans with a lawnmower! Here you can here those things coming 1/2 a mile away along the road!

 

[dannoGT]

Dad had one of those old 3 wheel golf carts from AMF Harley Davidson it was left outside all winter it always sat outside in the rain, it never got any maintenance and yet that thing would always start and run. It was always overloaded.
It went places no golf cart should ever have gone. The last time I saw it was on the scrap pile and I asked Dad what was wrong with it and he said nothing mechanical just the tires rotted off of it and he wasn't going to fix them.
I wish I had it now just for coolness factor of having a Harley golf cart!

Dan

 

[jwstewar]

We had a 36volt E-Z Go. It was a good cart, but about 3 years is all we could get out of batteries. Really liked the instant torque it had, but top speed was a limit when we took it to our county fair. It also had trouble if you put 4 people on it. It pulled OK, but the charge sure didn't last long. It started rusting pretty badly. Then a few years ago right before the fair it started acting up. Needing a golf cart for the fair we went and bought a used Club Car gas. Night and day difference. Gas is much faster, but doesn't have the off the line torque. Might have to get a little bit of a run at something. It has no problem hauling 4 people including some visitors we had to the farm that were LARGE, LARGE folks. I felt sorry for it that day. Also, the other thing I like about the Club Car, the frame is all aluminum. A little bit lighter and no rust. Since we have had it. I've change the oil a couple times, changed the plug once, drive belt, and air cleaner just so I knew when they were all done. Goes forever on a full tank of gas. We've only had one issue and it quit running. Had to take the carb apart and clean it. Other than that no issues.

Oh, the old electric one we had, turned out it was just a bad battery. Didn't look bad from the outside and actually read voltage when tested with a multimeter but wouldn't carry a load. All batteries were very weak, but we replaced just the one so that we could sell a "running" cart. I think we got $800 for it. Maybe with new batteries we could have gotten 12 or 13 hundred but we would have had $500 worth of batteries in it so it worked out the same.

We use the cart at our county fair. We also use it for going back and forth to the barn carrying tools and also carrying milk to and from the barn. That can be anywhere from 1 gallon of milk each way to almost 20 gallons of milk each way.

 

[Industrial Toys]

AND, for what it's worth. I can plug my 48 volt Gator into my 3000 watt 220 Volt, Telecom Inverter for emergency power. Beat having a rack of lead acid batteries in my garage that never got used and only got old. Connects with heavy cables and an extra Anderson connector wired to the cart batteries (including a fuse).



Of course, the sucess of this scheme relies on how charged your batteries are. But then, the Gator, doesn't get used in winter.

 

[check 6]

Had a golf cart for years and finally bought a Kubota RTV 500 and wish I had done it sooner. It rides better as it has four wheel independent suspension, It hauls more and is just a better utility vehicle for around the property as I can easily take the utility trailer to Home depot for stuff for the yard and unhook it and then up the th RTV and pull it around the yard. Golf carts are nice ... for golf courses and retirement villages but not for doing work

 

[Industrial Toys]

Hence the electric Gator. Best of both worlds. No, but not a rough terrain, all season work vehicle. Agree colf carts belong in a retirement community, but can't dispute their value, quality and remarkable durability and resistance to abuse.

 

[morris lipham]

I have a Cushman Hauler with a Kawasaki 401cc engine, has a 6 lift and lots of low end torque. Absolutely love it