Poor man's ATV

   / Poor man's ATV #1  

duffer

Platinum Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Messages
870
Location
Aiken, SC
Tractor
'16 Mahindra 2538
Not really an ATV but friend game me 2 junker maintenance model golf carts that his employer was going to send to the landfill. I was able to clean one up, and bring it back to life with some wrenching, welding, re-upholstery, and a new battery pack, controller and tires.

Had to weld some support structure to the battery pack housing, get a new set of batteries, and a new electronic controller and rewire everything. Re-did the seats, added a windshield, and refurbished the maintenance bed with some undercoating on the inside of the bed and new paint in the bed. Cleaned all the mold and gunk off the entire cart and roof, repainted some of the roof supports, and painted the battery housing after cleaning the rust off of it.

Still need to do a little wrenching on it for front wheel alignment, etc, but overall works great for running around my 5 acres, going over to the neighbors, getting the mail at the bottom of a big hill about 150 yds away, and saves hours and wear & tear on my tractor which used to do these same chores. Really surprised at how fast it is. Almost 20 mph.

Used the 2nd junker to harvest parts like a replacement drive motor, steering rods, wiring harness, and other parts.
 

Attachments

  • Golf cart 1.JPG
    Golf cart 1.JPG
    1.8 MB · Views: 206
  • Golf cart 2.JPG
    Golf cart 2.JPG
    2.3 MB · Views: 194
  • Golf cart 3.JPG
    Golf cart 3.JPG
    1.6 MB · Views: 200
   / Poor man's ATV #2  
my first ATV was one of these ...

1669232351610.png


i think the golf cart is very handy, and would get through most areas of this property, and perfect for the road. nice buy.

i like things with wheels, motors, engines :)
 
   / Poor man's ATV #3  
My Son has a gas engine model. They live just outside the city limits of a small town. They use it a lot in town. They put a lift kit on it with some fancy wheels and big tires.

All that said, not sure I'd call it an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle). Not sure how well it would do in a hilly timber. :)
 
   / Poor man's ATV #4  
Junker my ash! That is a late 90s DCS drive Ezgo TXT. Nice score and with a newer Alltrax XCT controller.
We have been using golf carts for 4 decades on our family ranches for everything from feeding to visiting the neighbors.
Upgrade that solenoid and you should get yrs of service out of it.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2473.JPG
    IMG_2473.JPG
    4 MB · Views: 136
   / Poor man's ATV #5  
To me anyway one of the most satisfying things in acquiring older stuff for cheap or free is getting it running, semi reliable, and using it to do tasks/work again, if I fail or it can't be fixed without extensive buying of new parts $$ I usually try and repurpose its parts on something else, or part it out.
Imo one of the best things about your project is you got a parts one. I think it's one of the most important things when acquiring old used up cheap stuff.
 
   / Poor man's ATV #6  
Even more important when acquiring old used up expensive stuff.

Bruce
 
   / Poor man's ATV #7  
I don’t care for atv’s. Other machines can do most of the jobs they do, sometimes much better. I traded my old truck camper for a Dodge Durango, that wouldn’t pass state inspection. The enclosed and heated cab is very nice when it’s cold or rainy. The ac dont work on it, but the power windows and radio still do.

It has a great suspension and takes the ditches very well. It’s especially handy for running back and forth to the rifle range, at the back of our farm, and for many other tasks.
71E34F56-7255-43C4-BF29-77A6ACFE27CC.jpeg



AF07E168-794C-424C-A567-911D801EE63F.jpeg
 
   / Poor man's ATV #9  
I got my 1st one for free too.
I did a rush, rush job at the County Golf Course where they were holding a BIG tournament & 1 of their greens cutter was down..
I fixed it on site and was given my choice of bennies..
1) A years supply of greens fees w golf cart.
2) entry to the tournament w pass’s to buffet and meet and greet..
3) My suggestion.. a used golf cart..
They were more than happy to give me a cart that no longer started and they didn’t have the time to work on it..
I came back the next day and loaded it up on my trailer and took it to the shop..
First thing I did was steam clean the engine..
2nd was check the gas situation (forgot to mention it’s a GASOLINE YAMAHA)
3) was pulled out the spark plug..(single cylinder)
It was so caked with carbon, no wonder it wouldn’t start.!!
I took the plug to the sandblaster and cleaned it up..
Screwed it back in, hit the starter and it fired up.!!
I used that thing for approximately 6 years.!!
Till a shop fire took it out..
 
   / Poor man's ATV #10  
My second ATV

Attachments

  • IMG_20151207_150524186_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20151207_150524186_HDR.jpg
    463.8 KB · Views: 152

My first ATV

Attachments

  • tractor 015small.jpg
    tractor 015small.jpg
    207.6 KB · Views: 391
 
 
Top