Author Topic: Golf carts (Read 1477 times)

patw · « **on:** August 25, 2003, 10:11:26 AM »

Does anyone have any experience with golf carts for hunting. They are jacked up with ATV tires. I have seen some on the hunting shows. Just wondering how they would work on a ranch in west Texas.

Pat

markc · « **Reply #1 on:** August 26, 2003, 03:22:39 AM »

although I never did purchase one, before i bought a Kawasaki Mule, I looked into all of the golf cart mod's and Polaris, and other available at the time. Here's just my humble opinion.

If you are not going to be riding too rough, just mostly dirt roads and such, the golf carts will work fine. BUT no matter how high someone jacks them up and how big of tires are put on them, they are designed for golf courses. Last time I checked, golf courses didn't have too many boulders and rocks, ruts, mud, steep hills, snow, rain, cactus, logs or other such obstacles common to a ranch on them. If you plan to add many accessories, you will find that the money you initially saved by buying the golf cart rather than a Polaris Ranger or Kawasaki Mule, will be spent adding things that come standard on those two vehicles.

If you even think that you will work the cart hard, hauling feed, hunters, game, etc... I would seriously consider the Ranger, Mule, or in Feb 2004, the ultimate vehicle which Yamaha is coming out with called the "Rhino 660".

Yamaha does make two different side by sides other than the new Rhino 660, which are more like golf carts.

I looked at a "Workhorse" the other day. It was cool looking, and kinda fast at 36 mph, with the governor deactivated. When we raised the dump bed, I noticed that the belt drive was totally exposed. Like a golf cart. It doesn't take much mud or water to make that thing come to a screaching halt until the water dries a little. Polaris and Kawasaki are tough machines and although they are not cheap, they have really improved over the past few years and will go places and do things that will suprise you. Read the comparison between the two at www.atvconnection.com
Good luck
markc

bullet maker · « **Reply #2 on:** August 26, 2003, 06:18:43 AM »

Hi Pat

I agree with Markc on this issue, I too looked for a long time before I went ahead and forked up the extra money and got a Mule like Markc has. I have never been disappointed. I haul hunters around, drag out there deer, even haul firewood out with it. By the way, the mule will carry 1/3 of a rick of wood. So three trips in to those really hard to get to areas, and youve got a rick of wood. :grin:
I too looked at the golf carts and they just are not going to stand up to the abuse you will be getting into, in the real world.
You might do what I did when I got my mule, and that was go to the dealership, which you should go about now, and buy the last years models that I`m sure they have one or two parked around. You will save anywhere from 1 to 2 thousand dollars. I did, I saved 2.000.00 dollars. If they won`t , then I`d find myself another dealer, that wants your money.good luck and happy hunting.
bullet maker

patw · « **Reply #3 on:** August 29, 2003, 05:44:32 AM »

Thanks for the replies. We would of course prefer to get a Mule, but the catch for us at this point is that we can get a rigged out gas golf cart for around $3600, and I am sure you know that they are not giving the Mules away. We already have a four wheeler and some four by fours, and this would be mostly to get to the blinds or to drive around the roads. Decisions decisions.

Pat

markc · « **Reply #4 on:** August 30, 2003, 01:41:18 PM »

you are right. They aren't giving away the Mules. The small Mule, the 550, goes for around $5000.00. Alot of money, but if you are gonna be using it for more than just the dirt roads, it earns it's keep. Hard to pass up $3600.00 if the cart is rigged the way you want it though. I would check into the brand you are looking at, the engine etc.. Do an internet search and see if there have been any problems with them, recalls etc.. For me, if I can somehow find the $ in the next year or so, I will be trading the Mule in for the Rhino 660.
markc

patw · « **Reply #5 on:** September 03, 2003, 03:35:41 PM »

Update: We talked about it and we decided to bite the bullet and get the golf cart. With a little more looking we got a 2000 Yamaha gas golf cart decked out with lift kit, tires, dump bed and lights delivered to us for under $3400. A 1999 model would have been 400$ cheaper.

A few things motivated us to go this route: the gas mileage is 65 mpg, the replacement engine is only 550$ and fairly simple to work on or change when things go wrong, and the whole thing is portable in the back of a pickemup truck.

We will be putting it to the test in the next few months in the Texas hill country and will give a progress report.

pat

markc · « **Reply #6 on:** September 04, 2003, 10:22:45 AM »

atleast you went with the Yamaha. Have you checked into their web site? They do sell two different golf cart based utility vehicles and some accessories. I don't think the motor will be what fails you, if anything does fail, but rather the suspension or even the frame itself over time.

You should be able to find a full cab enclosure easily for it, for the cold winter months. Good luck and post a pic when you can. Don't forget the all important cup holders. You gotta have those installed. LOL Mine get used regularly. :lol:
markc

patw · « **Reply #7 on:** September 14, 2003, 10:20:40 AM »

The golf cart came in lat week, and by chance I got to drive a diesel Kawasaki Mule two days earlier.

To start with, there is no doubt that the Mule is all business. It looks and feels tough, and that roll cage is nice. On the negative side, the engine is loud and the mule did not go as fast as I would have thought. However it did feel like the engine could have let us crawl up any hill or pull any load. I also thought that riding in the passenger side was cramped even for my 5'8", but the suspension was good. My five year old daughter rode in the bed and enjoyed it. The owner loves it, had nothing but good to say about it, but mentionned that accessories like the cab enclosure cost an arm and a leg.

The golf cart was what I would have expected. The engine is fairly quiet, but it is going to take a while to get used to the motor starting when I push on the gas pedal and stopping when I let go. The dealer did not adjust to governor to let us have more speed like he said he would. However, with two of us riding the speed was more than adequate, especially since the cart did feel a little top heavy when taking turns. More speed than the 10mph it can do would only tear up the suspension and invite a rollover anyway, so it will stay as is. A big plus is that it fits easily in a pickup. The power was more than adequate, no problem going up the 30 degree incline going up the ramps to load it in the truck, so it should not have problems with where we will be driving in the Texas hill country. Being a two wheel drive is definitely a big drawback compared to the Mule. Parts and accessories for a golf cart are relatively cheap and easy to find. The windshield and a full cab enclosure were under a hundred bucks each. And it did come with four cup holders built into the cart, not sure if anything we put there would not get sloshed out on the dirt roads though.

Between the two, I would of course prefer to have a Mule, but considering the difference in price, the cart made more sense-so far anyway. I will try to post a picture a little later, and will give a progress report after it has been put to the test in Rock Springs for a couple of months.

markc · « **Reply #8 on:** September 15, 2003, 03:43:11 AM »

if you don't mind me asking, what did the cart end up costing you when you got it ready to go home? Yeah the bigger Mule 4X4 ain't cheap. I wouldn't care for the diesel myself and the gas engine is quieter a bit cheaper too. Mine is the Mule 550, which is the smaller 2WD Mule. Top speed on it was 22mph, before I added the cab. The complete hard cab, minus the doors was $700.00 on my Mule. Not sure what the larger mule cab would cost. Mine also fits in a full size PU bed. Wish mine was 4WD, but it isn't. Good luck. Look 4ward 2 seeing your pics.
markc

patw · « **Reply #9 on:** September 17, 2003, 04:04:06 PM »

The 2000 Yamaha golf cart with the lift kit installed, , dump bed, lights, windshield and gun rack came out to just under 3400$ delivered. One thing we did notice today is that they gave us some 20x7x8 knobby tires. If you buy the lift kits, they come with 21x11x8 tires, so if we buy another golf cart, we will install the lift kit ourselves (it looks like one or two hour's work), get the better tires, and keep the original tires as spares-live and learn. I could not stand it, I ordered a set of the 21x11x8 tires today (less than a 100$ a pair with the rims), that way we will have spares.

markc · « **Reply #10 on:** September 18, 2003, 03:30:39 AM »

that sounds like a pretty good price. Most folks end up doing some type of customizing anyway to better fit their particular piece of property. What is the ground clearance on it? That is one drawback to my Mule is the small 6.?" ground clearance in the back end. THe skid plate keeps it from hanging up on things though. markc

patw · « **Reply #11 on:** September 19, 2003, 12:21:10 AM »

I would bet that the clearance on the golf cart is less than on the Mule, but will measure it later today.

I don't know why the picture did not show up on my last post, so I will try again. The picture is there on the preview today, dont know what happended yesterday

patw · « **Reply #12 on:** September 22, 2003, 03:25:50 PM »

I will try again with Imagestation, as the other site is not working out.

markc · « **Reply #13 on:** September 23, 2003, 02:39:05 AM »

the picture showed up. You know I think one of the most positive things about the golf cart conversion is the multitude of accessories and parts for them. The Yamaha makes a really nice engine as well. Is yours the 2 cylinder model? So are you gonna camo it or leave it as is? I have found that the white cab roof really help me to find where I parked the darn Mule in the woods if I have strayed off of the main trail. Sometimes I will leave the road or trail and make my own on the lease if I ahve a hog or something to pick up. Finding where I parked the thing in the thick brush and woods can be diffucilt sometimes. The white roof sure helps.

markc

264 WIN MAG · « **Reply #14 on:** October 07, 2003, 01:11:23 AM »

I have a buddy that had a golf cart for hunting. Word of advice.........if you loose traction and the tires start spinning leave it there and pull it out or push it out, but don't try to drive it. We got in a slick place one time and put a bind on it and broke the rear axle like it was nothing. That is the advantage of the mule, ranger, and rhino.....much tougher.

If I had to pick between all of them I would choose the Polaris Ranger because I have a buddy that has one and it is a very tough machine and has much more power than the mule, good top speed, will go through just about anything, and will tow a whole lot to boot. We have taken that Ranger through some rough terrain and always made it back and that is with about 4 people riding on it at the same time.

I am not a Polaris person but that's just my 2 cents.........