Golf carts rule on the farm

[SmokyMtnMan]

no, just a pond. An acre and a half, 6-12 feet deep. Looks big to me too. I'm sitting here waiting on the well driller as I type. Only way I could fill the pond. Use to have a small stream but due to elevation problems with the dam, we had to cover it up.
Was wondering how that Cub Tractor 'sneaked' up on poachers, etc. I've got a little of that problem here. As long as they get the coyotes, I'll leave them alone.
you must have a good muffler on that thing.
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[SmokyMtnMan]

I've been looking here in Western NC for about 2 months. Only ones I've seen used are around $7500-8000.
We don't have an EZ Go Workhorse dealer around here.

That's alot higher than here. Go to www.johndeere.com and use their machinefinder and see what you pull up. Might be worth a drive to save a few thousand.

[LazyJ_Arabians]

Nono, that don't read right. I'm saying the cart does all that other stuff with much more convenience now and the Cub don't do much but mow the yard anymore. Bottom line what I'm trying to express is that the cart and the Gator aren't the same family of tool anymore than a gocart would be.

[8NTX]

I bought a 1998 EZ-Go (electric) a couple of months ago on E-Bay for $1,250. We use it on weekends to get around our 18 acres in the woods. It goes up and down the fairly steep slope to the lake with no problem at all. We sometimes pull a little utility trailer with it to haul around rocks and plants for landscaping, tools, etc. The top and windshield keep most of the rain off of you. A hard-driving rain would be a different story. The kids and grandkids love it. I did not buy it to be a workhorse, but a fairly safe and cheaper alternative to a 4-wheeler. I have two tractors for the tough jobs. But all in all, I have to say it has been a great investment and lots of fun.

[wingnut]

High maintenance?
Hmm .... you have a completely different experiece than I do! I've been using a Club Car electric for over 8 years for tooling around the farm ... first back in Alberta for previous wife who was so crippled up with arthritis she was unable to walk any distance. The cart allowed her to tour all 160 acres and takes the dogs for walks/runs. No lift kit but she (and I) went over some pretty rugged (rocks, limbs, molehills (big ones) terrain.
Now current wife uses it daily to go back and forth to the barn. It gets used a bit to haul 100# feed sacks from the garage to the barn.
High maintenance? Well, I clean and fill the batteries twice a year ... and I just jacked up the back end and put the winter chains on it. I grease it once a year. If that's high maintenance, I'd hate to hear what you call my ATV or the tractor or any of the other stuff with gas engines!
I don't consider the Club Car as a work vehicle, it's transportation. I'd love to have a Mule ... but my Timberwolf gets me wherever I need to go and I can pull whatever I need with it ...

pete

[Hayseed]

In all fairness, Wingnut, I will say that there are nine guys driving the cart at work and I can assure you none drive it like it is their own. Even so, not all break downs can be blamed on abuse/neglect. Right now as I write this our cart is broken down with a transmission problem. For a while it would go in reverse and not forward. Now it won't do either so we are afoot. The cart was just in the shop six months ago for a complete overhaul, including fixing a cratered transmission among other things.

The cart was bought used about two years ago but looked practically new when we got it. In that two years the springs have been replaced, the steering has gone out, the electrical system has failed several times and the transmission has been worked on at least three times. That is what i call high maintenence. There are at least three dozen other carts in the plant and the maintenence history is similar on most of them. The only carts that seem to have much lifespan are the ones that are driven M-F during the day and are parked the rest of the time.

Maybe I am comparing apples to oranges because work carts get more of a workout than one owned by an individual, but after having a golf cart at work for thirteen years I just get the impression they are not very durable.

[wingnut]

Wow!
I can see why you call it high maintenance.
I bought mine from a cart dealer in Alberta who swore (and had no reason to BS me) the cart was used by his mother to tool around the resort village she lived in on one of the lakes. He bought her a new one and was selling this one and it was the only electric he had (the gas carts are popular with the courses since they will run all day ... and therefore make money). He replaced the rubber and put new batteries in it and I bought it for $2k Canadian. That was 8 (pr maybe 9) years ago. Total costs of repair since then ... about $20 for replacement cables (I neglected to ensure the terminals were cleaned and the batteries topped up). Oh, and $35 for the chains for winter driving.
I wish all my vehicles were this low maintenance. But, mine may certainly be an anomoly.
The carts they use at my worksite are also ClubCars (well, some - the rest are Cushmans) but they're all gas ... and - as you say - get driven like they're the companies. But they certainly aren't in the shop as often as the trucks and vans.

[Stoneheartfarm]

Not being familiar with the construction of these vehicles, is there a big difference in the drive line between gas and electric? (aside from the engine?) I've seen both, but from different manufacturer's.

SHF

[wingnut]

I don't think there's ANY similarity at all .... the gas units use a normal engine-drivetrain arrangement, while the elctric units have tractions motors on each drive wheel ... at least the few I've seen.