Golf Cart on the Farm...Advice?

salmonslayer · #1 03/12/10, 12:42 PM

I am looking to buy a golf cart and modify if for DW and MIL to use on the farm and looking for advice as to what brand, what to look for or avoid, electric vs gas, do you recommend any particular modifications etc. I am a pretty good mechanic but have zero experience with anything to do with golf carts.

We would love to have a UTV but the prices are more than we pay for a truck and on Craigslist we can find a lot of golf carts for $1000 to $1500.
It would be used for light hauling of gardening and general acreage maintenance stuff over 11.5 acres of gently rolling mostly pasture. MIL is in her 70s and very active and DW has a bad hip from too many years of skiing and this just seems like a good relatively inexpensive option.

Any pointers would be appreciated.

tamsam · #2 03/12/10, 12:55 PM

I had an electric one that I used at work. It was ok but I would never use one that I would be far from base with or try hauling things on. My brother had one at the coast that they rode all around and he used it to haul stuff for the yard and to the waterway to fish. Opps it was a gas one that when you stopped it turned off and when you pushed the accelarator the engine would start and go.

Ed Norman · #3 03/12/10, 12:59 PM

I spied an EZ Go gas cart parked behind a house for a few years and finally made an offer. Got it for $150. It is a 1980. I got it going with some work, but it is simple to work on. After several years, the engine was worn out and I rebuilt it in a few hours. It is great around here. Take off all the golf bag holders and make a plywood cargo box. It hauls all the feed we can stack on it. We put a pipe on the roof to hold a shovel. Under the cargo box is an old cooler full of tools. There is a basket in front with wire and gloves and pliers. A couple of cheap driving lights mounted just under the roof light up the world at night. The golf ball holder has a golf ball in it, strangely enough.

We had a 1965 electric and I thought that is the way to go but after the batteries began wearing out and needing equalizing, I decided gas is the way to go. We fill the tank maybe 4 times a year.

I got a 4" lift kit on sale a while back because it does sit low. This winter we never had much snow and I haven't put the lift in yet. It will make it easier to get it in the back of the pickup when we take the cart shooting gophers.

I fabbed up a trailer hitch and we move boat and snowmachine trailers with it, and have a little 4X8 trailer to haul all sorts of stuff. Last week we pull started a dead pickup with it.

Ours is in constant use by DW. A few times a day the neighbors drive by in a UTV and they look at her in her $150 cart.

Tricky Grama · #4 03/12/10, 01:19 PM

LOVELOVELOVELOVE ours!!
It's gas tho b/c we don't live on the 20 ac yet & don't have elect. Goes ALL over the place. We haul stuff. What I want is an Indian "travois" to haul stuff behind it-like brush & small limbs.

Patty

Ed Norman · #5 03/12/10, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tricky Grama

LOVELOVELOVELOVE ours!!
It's gas tho b/c we don't live on the 20 ac yet & don't have elect. Goes ALL over the place. We haul stuff. What I want is an Indian "travois" to haul stuff behind it-like brush & small limbs.

Patty

For that kind of hauling, we tie a rope or chain around the brush and the hitch ball and off we go.

**Roadking** · #6 03/12/10, 01:53 PM

EZ-GO or Yamaha. Electric has more torque, but not as much run time, plus the disadvantage of battery maintenance. Gas/oil mix run 24/7, more speed, can doo just about anything (even towed my 18' rowboat and trailer to the lake with it.
Plus, just for fun to see what you can add on, look at www.buggiesunlimited.com . Lift kits, dump bodies, rear seats. Carts are really useful.
Matt

MoonRiver · #7 03/12/10, 02:11 PM

Too bad you didn't get one of those free electric golf carts last year.

John Stossel

Razorback21 · #8 03/12/10, 03:03 PM

Hilly terrain they are great for riding fence or whatever...electric is good for a small acreage. One thing we found out was you need to change out the smooth tires most carts have for a set that is better out on pasture. Your local EZGO dealer can set you up with some. Also, those battery powered ones are pretty easy to work on. I didn't put a lift kit on mine, but one of the golf cart mechanics showed me how, and it would be pretty easy, even for a non-gearhead like me!

Wis Bang 2 · #9 03/12/10, 04:02 PM

I used to work for a guy who bought old electric ones by the trailer load. he had the guys in our weld/fab shop work on them when they were slow. Make 5 - 6 good ones out of 10 - 12 and scrap the rest keeping the motors, controllers, etc for the next batch. They would make a little metal pickup bed and he sold them [mid 80's] for $750.00 each and sold 'em all...

We used one for 1001 errands around the truck yard keeping it in the shop. Charging the batteries and maintaining/replacing them would make me think the as ones would be more practical...since the truck yard was all gravel, you just needed to be going full speed thru the muddy spots...better tires and a lift would help on a farm.

salmonslayer · #10 03/12/10, 04:22 PM

Wow, I had no idea they were that popular and the stuff on that link..thanks. I sense yet another hobby project as I can never just buy something and just use it as is.

My inclination is to lean towards gas but I've used both while golfing and I suspect I will be more driven by price and condition since either seems like it would work on my small holding.

Dont suppose anyone has a picture of your rig to share eh?

Ed Norman · #11 03/12/10, 04:57 PM

One thing we learned about electric... when the batteries die, it is dead. Hard to get back to an outlet. When the gas runs out in the back 40, it's easy to hike back with a gas can and drive home.

**Roadking** · #12 03/12/10, 05:03 PM

Let me dig around, I fabricated custom tops and convertable tops for mine, and even sold a few. I had an 87 EZ gas that I bored out, made the new top, and put a hot rod rake to the roof. Changed out the original belt with one about 1/2" smaller, removed the govenor, etc; I could smoke the tires and even had neighborhood watch clock me (at my request, that is) at 37mph (not advisable in a field, but on blacktop...you can have some cheap (or expensive) fun with these. Had a total of $600 in it, including custom paint job, etc, and sold it for $1000 when I found another.
Matt
The site I posted earlier has a forum, including "readers rided"...I love the deuce coup, and the high-boy styles. Even fabbed my own out of fiberglass once.

salmonslayer · #13 03/12/10, 05:27 PM

Good point Ed. I've been hanging out checking the buggiesunlimited site and its a whole other world. There is everything from lift kits to dump boxes to just about everything you can think of to customize your cart. This will be way more fun than just buying a UTV.

Quote:

The site I posted earlier has a forum, including "readers rided"...I love the deuce coup, and the high-boy styles. Even fabbed my own out of fiberglass once.

I had to dig a little to find it but now I'm hooked, I'm looking for more utilitarian but then again...HA! Hope you can post a pic of your old custom cart.

I can see a lift kit with tires and wheels (plain steel but wider), a utility bed, brush guard, seat cover, new steering wheel (and gotta have a spinner)..maybe some diamond plate and a paint job. DW reeally wanted a UTV but I think for 2K or so we can get something pretty useful and have a blast doing it.

Ed Norman · #14 03/12/10, 06:14 PM

Order the Buggies Unlimited catalog and be amazed. You want the polished aluminum wheels or the stainless steering column cover or the cigar holder or the $100 steering wheel, they have it.

Our tires were shot and they were the golf course slicks, so we got some with some tread but not too aggressive because we drive on the lawn and pastures. They work fine, even in fairly deep snow.

Ours is an old 2 cycle, you step on the gas pedal and that starts the engine. The dog likes to ride along. One day DS was driving and stopped and got out. Dog got in, leaned on the pedal, and off he went. He drove 75 yards, missed the new planted orchard, jumped a trench, and got knocked off the pedal. DS finally learned to shut the toggle switch off whenever he got out.

Wayne02 · #15 03/12/10, 08:15 PM

We never had any luck with the battery powered golf carts on the farm. Not enough power or ground clearance, plus the whole electrical thing was a big pia. They just did not last and we were forever getting the things unstuck.

The kawasaki mule with the little diesel engine has been the best. The little diesel will run for many many hours before needing any major service. Best of all it uses farm diesel which is already available on the farm, so there is no screwing around with gas cans and such for fueling the cart. Easy to work on, simple systems etc.

They have an upright seating position and are very easy to get in and out of, which is especially important for older folks. There is also a two bench seat model (I think it is called a transport) which Grandma can use to take the grandchildren for rides around the farm. The one drawback on these is the ground clearance is sometimes lacking for rougher terrain, but there are some trade-offs present for the low step entry height which is old folks friendly.

Unless I stumble across an absolutely screaming deal on something, I'm through with buying items that were never intended for a particular application and then dumping a bunch of time and money into it just to make it halfway work. In my mind this is especially true if the item is to be used as primary transpiration around the farm for my wife and/or her mother. The last thing I need is a problematic vehicle in that role.

Here is one example off CL for $5700 with 500 miles (just barely broke in).
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/rvs/1640844636.html

Backfourty,MI. · #16 03/13/10, 04:35 AM

I don't know a brand but I know we got my dad a used one for Christmas 3 years ago. It was Elecetric for $1200.00. % of us kids went in on it together. He only uses it May through October when he here at his place, the rest of the time he is out west. Anyways this past summer the batteries were going & he didn't want to spend the money for new one's so we all decided to get him batteries. It takes 6 of them at $200.00 a peice!
I'd get gas!

jbos333 · #17 03/13/10, 06:02 AM

I can second what some have said about the gas cart. I have an older Yamaha gas cart at my camp and it gets used for many things. It is very good on gas and oil. If you put some knobby tires on it it will get you pretty much anywhere you need to go (except maybe the steepest of hills) or, like my farmer neighbor, find a set of small garden tractor chains that will fit on the rear. In fact, I also have a 4x4 Polaris ATV and I use the cart most of the time.....

Ken Scharabok · #18 03/13/10, 07:15 AM

Consider instead an early 80s model Ford Range. If solely to be used on the farm, have the environmental stuff taken off. Enclosed cab, roomy, parts are readily available and they can be had fairly cheaply. If used stictly on the farm it doesn't need to be licensed or insured.

Wayne02 · #19 03/13/10, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Scharabok

Consider instead an early 80s model Ford Range. If solely to be used on the farm, have the environmental stuff taken off. Enclosed cab, roomy, parts are readily available and they can be had fairly cheaply. If used stictly on the farm it doesn't need to be licensed or insured.

That can be a good route as well. One of the big benefits in a small pickup vs the UTV is the bed length/size is far more conducive to hauling the tools that are needed for work around the farm. The utv beds are ok for carrying a handful of smaller tools but we most often ended up towing a little trailer behind it as well for the larger farm jobs. On the ranger it was typical to take the doors off as they just in the way. The ranger was also harder to work on vs. the utv.

Finally, and ultimately the most important in some cases is often mom and grandma do not want a full-sized vehicle to tool around the farm property. If that's what they wanted there are plenty of trucks/cars that would fill that bill typically already on the property. They want something simple that is golf cart sized and has enough room to pack some 5 gallon buckets to take out to the blueberry patch for picking or the like. Or to run out to a relatives house to visit.

In addition we have found that they don't like others to mess with their utv and end up breaking it or using it right when she wants to use it. It doesn't need to be pretty, but it should be relatively reliable, easy to use, easy to fuel (like from the gravity farm diesel tank with pump handle), easy to get in and out of, and always available for her use.

While mom and grandma would not likely admit as much, the utv is as much a social thing as it is a farm work thing.

salmonslayer · #20 03/13/10, 02:51 PM

Jeez Wayne, you sound like you have a similar situation with the DW and MIL. We had considered a small older S-10 or Ranger for a strictly farm truck but you kind of hit it on the head. The ladies want their own UTV or something similar that is easy to maneuver, fuel up etc.

We would love to have a Mule or even a JD Gator but our budget is pretty much limited to 2K so I think we will be looking for a gas EZ-Go or Yamaha cart. That way they can use it right away and I can have some fun modifying it along the way. We only have 11.5 acres but the points about the battery issue are well taken and I think I would enjoy getting rid of the governor, tweaking the exhaust etc on a gas engine anyway.

I spent a very enjoyable evening last night cruising some of the websites looking at various rigs and tech articles and getting ideas. We just dont have them up here and I never knew customizing golf carts like that was so popular. Thanks to everyone for your input and recommendations.