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Golf cart/ 4-wheeler for carrying lake gear


ac88926

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The wife and I have recently purchased a lake house and we are moving in in a few weeks. There is about a 100yd walk from the garage to the dock. I was wanting to get myself a golf cart or 4-wheeler to carry all our boards/cooler/junk to the dock on. Yes, I am lazy and don't wanna make 3-4 trips. Thought about getting a golf cart or 4-wheeler and putting a wakeboard rack on it to hold boards and other stuff. Wanted to check in with the crew to see if anyone else has any ideas or other toys that I haven't considered yet that may be better options. 

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Congrats on the cabin!  They're like boats - keep adding $ and time, but well worth it.

We've got about the same distance from the garage and shop to the cabin and have a golf cart with a rear facing seat instead of the bag rack.  Boards etc. fit between the seat and the safety bar.  It gets a lot of use back and forth, even a couple miles down to the corner store and back (the road is a designated ATV route).  It's easy to put a trailer hitch on them for a small trailer but I have not done that.

Electric is the way to go IMHO because of the short distances and not having to worry about more cylinders.  If you buy a used golf cart make sure to check out the batteries by taking it for a long (at least 6 mile) test drive.  Most of the used ones do not have the back seat though.

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I live in a small town with 3 golf courses, not to mention the lake. I live about 2 or 3 blocks from any of it. So golf carts are everywhere. UTV are specifically not allowed. Occasionally you'll see one that has been modded a bit. So I bought an older EzGo Marathon, lifted it, modded the stock engine to go faster (22 mph downhill with a tailwind), then upgraded the engine to something a bit faster (28 mph), installed some ATV tires on it, painted it, built a back seat out of an old teak swimstep, installed a SkySki rack on it & drove the hell out of it for a couple years.

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A few years later I attended a buddies wedding down in Canyon Lake, CA., which is another community with it's own golf course & lake, and tons of golf carts (UTVs also not allowed). But being SoCal, they take it to the extreme & mod their carts to the inth degree. When I saw some of the rigs there, I knew I had to have one. The bigger & badder, the better. After doing a little digging online, I figured out that people in Phoenix are  also big into these carts. So I figured out that I wanted an EzGo cart with a Terraflex IFS front suspension & a Honda 24 hp v-twin engine (which were fairly common & known for being tough). I put the word out here on TMC that I was looking for some help from someone in Phoenix & got an answer from one of our members. He helped me out by test driving it, making the actual purchase for me, and getting it on the truck to Washington state (thanks John!). All said & done, I was into it for less than $5k (just try to find a UTV for that kind of money). It does about 35 mph, hauls a trailer, tills the beach, plows snow, hauls 4 people easily & is more usefull & more fun than the old cart. I built a flip rear seat for it, installed a stereo in it, installed a SkySki rack on the side & a gear rack on the roof. It has a full cage & seat belts for 4 on it.

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Obviously this is the extreme, but it just goes to show you what you can do to have a little fun.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
  • Like 3
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A UTV would work really well for you. Has the power and driving abilities of a 4 wheeler, but can carry stuff like a golf cart. I would suggest one with a small bed similar to this http://www.massimomotor.com/product.php?productid=152

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That's what I'm taking about! Thanks guys. I need to be on the lookout for a cheap cart and start fixing it up. Keep em coming 

Edited by ac88926
Typo
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This was a cart that got my juices flowin. We borrowed it at my buddies' wedding in SoCal. It's a sparky, did about 30 mph. But the batteries were toast so they ran out of power quickly & had to be charged like every hour or two.

There is a forum similar to TMC but for hopped up golf carts called http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/

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Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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I would recommend gas.  Have had both, current one is electric and really wishing we had gone gas.  You can buy a lot of gas for the $600-$900 that it cost to replace all the batteries.  

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Go electric.  Here's my old Marathon, still kicking strong.  Batteries are $75 each, last a good 5 years or so.

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Edited by Michigan boarder
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9 minutes ago, blk93jeepzj said:

I would recommend gas.  Have had both, current one is electric and really wishing we had gone gas.  You can buy a lot of gas for the $600-$900 that it cost to replace all the batteries.  

YMMV...  It probably depends on your climate and how much use (number and length of trips) it will get.  We had gas and got tired of fussy carbs and old gas and starter batteries going out.  Our golf cart battery bank (with the right charger) is going on 10 years now.  If we were off roading at all, or were regularly going over a mile, then gas would be the way to go.  We had a John Deer Gator (TX Type) and got rid of it the Nth time it wouldn't start.  Maybe it was just a bad unit in an otherwise great JD lineup but I take care of a lot of cylinders and that one was the worst of them all.

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This thread seems to have turned into a gas vs electric cart thing. I have had both and would definitely recommend gas over electric ( generally speaking) . Our Club car has been going strong for more than 15 years and it gets borderline abused. But, as stated above, we use the hell out of ours. With what your planning on using it for I could see how an electric may suit you better

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We've enjoyed our ezgo RXV with regenerative braking.  I'd prefer a 4 seater Polaris Ranger, but its overkill for the short trip to the boat dock.

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From what I can figure out, gas carts are less expensive to make go fast or haul big loads. Taking care of them is just like your boat..... Which I can understand. Put gas in it (with Stabil if your not using it all the time), change the oil once a year, install a battery tender on it, done.

Electrics are quicker off the line, super quiet, and completely foreign to me. Their heavier, which can be a problem on the frozen lake. Obviously I use mine as a UTV. Its really only 1 wheel drive, but gets around good on trails, paved roads, in deep sand or snow up to like a foot deep. I've even considered making a skidplate out of a piece of an old truck bed liner so it'll slide over mud or logs easier. 

I guess it just depends on how your going to use it. Gas seems simpler & more versatile to me.

Picked up my buddies mega-leaf muncher.

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Tilled the sandy beach.

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Horsin around on the ice. I have the stuff to make it a Zamboni too.

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  • Like 2
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I'd  look at s side by side. Plenty of upsides to that, you can haul gear back and forth, use it for yard work, ride for recreation, plow snow if you live in a cold area, etc.

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We were thinking cart because they are relatively inexpensive. With the purchase of the lake house and remodeling, not a ton left in the budget for expensive toys.

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4 minutes ago, ac88926 said:

We were thinking cart because they are relatively inexpensive. With the purchase of the lake house and remodeling, not a ton left in the budget for expensive toys.

It's like anything else though. If you buy the cheapest one out there, you might not get something reliable that does the job. A $1000 cart might need batteries or have other issues right away, might not have the power to make it up any hills in your area, etc.

I'd be all over a side by side too. But it would have to live on the trailer here in WA state & only be usable on private property. Whereas the cart is street legal all over town. Not to mention their thousands of dollars more. You haven't mentioned any local laws your dealing with regarding either carts or side by sides.

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Everyone knows that TMC is good for giving ideas on how to spend money. I think I need to block Bill for a while before I'm divorced!

 

  • Like 3
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Geez, I have far less invested in that cart than I ever had in a motorcycle or ATV. And depending on where you live, I'm able to drive it & use it more than either one. I wish I could use a UTV around here, but it would cost me $10k or $15k for the UTV itself plus I'd have to have a $2000 trailer to take it everywhere behind my truck.

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I was just out messing around at the beach with a couple neighbors. A buddy across the lake texts me that he wants to have a bon fire tonite. I asked if he had his dock in yet. Nope, but if I want to come push, maybe we can make it happen (main dock section is like 150' long, 6 pontoons that might slide across the beach if you have enough ooooomph). I ask if his beer fridge is full, and of course it is. So 4 of us go over & push his dock into the water, takes us like 45 minutes.

Afterwards I am heading home to feed the dogs & one of the guys asks if I can give him a lift home. Of course. We head over to his house, which is up maybe a 10 degree grade hill. He's SHOCKED that the gas cart easily goes up the hill at 20 or 25 mph. His 2 yr old, 48 volt sparky will go MAYBE 10 or 12 mph if you get a run at it.   :whistle:

Heading back down to the bonfire now. Don't wait up for me.

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55 minutes ago, Badger said:

I'm just laughing at my sudden urge to get a golf cart!  I'm blaming that on you!

Spent all afternoon at work checking out the BGW site and looking for a used cart myself...:whistle:

  • Like 1
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