Golf carts - gas or electric?

[Smoky1]

We are about to purchase a golf cart, not sure used or new, to accompany us into our new world of golf RV resort living at a retirement community El Mirage outside of Phoenix AZ.  We did not come west with the idea of acquiring a golf cart, but now that we have found a place for the winter, we like it so much we opted to buy a year round slot.  Just about everyone here owns a golf cart and we can see why.  Not only does it save cart fees on the golf course, but this park is huge, with over 2000 lots and a community of 4000 people (all over age 55) and their own post office.  Not sure how many acres it covers, but you can easily find yourself walking over a mile to get somewhere.  Thus golf carts come in very handy.

We are trying to decide whether to buy new or used.  and even tougher, to decide between gas or electric.  Also, we see from perusing ads, that some golf carts are considered street legal, and we see folks driving into town to pick up groceries etc.

We would especially like help deciding between gas or electric.  We will buy street legal if we can afford it, but our main goal is to be able to get around the RV park and to play golf.

Anyone have experience with golf carts?

We do not expect to travel with the golf cart.  When we are gone for the spring and summer it will stay here in our shed.

 

[Tom]

Smoky,

I'm not a golfer, so maybe I shouldn't answer this one, but I'd opt for electric. They're so much quieter and emit zero odor. I suspect there's a decent supply of used ones in a golfing community, but you pays your money and you takes your choice.

Glad to hear you've found a good place for winter retirement living.

 

[Smoky1]

Thanks Tom!

Aye we can see there are pros and cons for electric vs. gas and you hit on a big one. 

When the electric ones go by I don't even see them unless I happen to look up.  They certainly would fit into golf course ethics better than the gas ones.  In fact today a gas cart stopped at our corner, and when he started up through the stop sign he backfired.  Sounded like a 9 mm going off!  I don't think a golfer about to make a swing or a putt would find that cart to be very welcome on the course. 

Another pro is that the electric would be much easier to "refill".  No trips to town for fuel or dangerous storage.

OTH, I am wondering about what charging an electric cart would do to our electric bill.  This will be the first time we have ever been charged electricity. with our own meter and electric bill.  I am told air conditioning becomes unnecessary in the Phoenix area in the winter months, but not sure if this is hype or fact.  But we also have a heat pump in addition to our LP furnace.  So the heat pump might be running at times the air is not in use.  We prefer the heat pump to the LP furnace unless the temperature drops below 40, which I am told is unlikely in Phoenix.

Oh well, I guess pretty soon we will find out if the electric bill is going to be as frightening as the recent diesel bills have been LOL!

I might as well open the topic a little wider by asking for general tips and info about golf carts in addition to seeking opinions on electric vs. gas.  I am assuming that maintenance costs are low on golf carts.  Hope this is true, as the maintenance costs on the pusher are enough for us to worry about. 

 

[Tom]

Smoky,

Hadn't thought about the possibility of noise interfering with a golfer's game, but it makes a lot of sense. I almost mentioned the maintenance issue too, based soley on gut feel, but don't have experience of ownership to know for sure.

You should be able to estimate the re-charging costs if you know the specs (current draw) of the golf cart and estimating your driving hours/day.

BTW I'd assume that a roof on the golf cart would be mandatory protection from sun, and possibly removable isinglas curtains for rainy days. Oh my, I'm starting to realize how little I know about golf carts.

 

[Smoky1]

Tom:

Every cart I have seen go by here had at least a roof on it, presumably for sun protection.  And I did see a few curtained ones as you are describing.  I checked the newspaper today for used golf cart prices and the recent vintage used ones were running $2500-$3000.  Do not know if they had curtains or not.  We need at least a roof, and curtains would be nice if we can afford them.  Thanks for the reminder on that.

 

[Tom]

Smoky

$2,000-$3,000 is the kind of range I see used carts advertised for in our community. This is predominantly a boating community with more houses on the water than on the golf course, but many of the boaters also golf. Although the streets are patrolled by CHP, I'm told there's a waiver for golf carts within the community so folks aren't required to drive "street legal" carts.

A number of the houses have what I'd call a 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 car garage. When we first looked around this place I couldn't figure out why one bay of some garages had a "small door". I subsequently learned it's a bay for the golf cart.

Some houses also have a very tall garage bay and door - for the RV.

 

[rubysamm]

Just an observation from a non golfer.  I had a motor scooter that I used to take with camping and due to the "noise" I decided to sell it and go with the electric bike.  Also I remember some 20+ years ago my grandfather used to have an electric golf cart with the roof on it, (I remember because I flipped it over during one of my joy rides and crushed the roof!!!  ) But anyway over the last 20 years they have improved so much I would imagine electric would be the way to go.  Good luck with your quest smoky.  (by the way what park are you at?)
Lori

 

[CalTex]

Smokey

I vote for electric.  I have a golf cart I purchased used for $1800. It's used to run between the house and barn (about a two city blocks). It has a pickup bed on it for hauling. In five years I have had to repace the batteries and that's all the maintenance that has been done. It's quiet and always runs. Has a nice strong top to keep the sun off and carry long ladders.

A lot of folks around here have the gas carts because they use them for to carry their stuff during the deer season.  Not too many places to plug in the charger in the woods.  To make them a little better off road they have lifts and large tires. They are noisy, sometimes don't start and do require a bit of work to keep them running. If finding a electrical outlet isn't a problem there is no need to put up with the noise and maintenance of a gas unit.

 

[Betty Brewer]

We do not expect to travel with the golf cart.? When we are gone for the spring and summer it will stay here in our shed.

Smokey,
Beware of the dreaded shed.  Murphy's law will suggest that anything you  leave in the shed while you travel, will be needed the instant you leave.  I can't tell you how frustrating it is.  Our shed was originally purchased to house our bikes as we hauled them all over with not much riding. It is now filled to the brim with stuff!

Betty

 

[Tom]

Our shed was originally purchased to house our bikes as we hauled them all over with not much riding. It is now filled to the brim with stuff!

Betty, where does Terry keep the golf cart?

 

[BernieD1]

Smoky

The cart of choice in our community is electric. Quieter and much easier maintenance. I would think used would be a smarter choice, there are always a number of them available. I haven't seen one yet without a top, but side curtains are a rarity.

In AZ, street legal carts are only allowed on streets with 35mph speed limits or less, so you will need to plan your routes accordingly if you want to use it off site.

You will use your A/C very little from now (assuming no great change in the weather ) until next May. But use your propane wherever you can; furnace, refrigerator, stove, etc. as opposed to electric. Much more efficient and cheaper.

 

[Ron3]

Our shed was originally purchased to house our bikes as we hauled them all over with not much riding. It is now filled to the brim with stuff!

Where are the bikes now and are they where they are easily accessable for use? ??? ???

 

[Betty Brewer]

Where are the bikes now and are they where they are easily accessable for use? ??? ???

Bikes are still in the shed and in a prime spot for removal if the desire to ride should strike.  However we have been walking an hour each day and I go to Curves 3 times a week and to The YMCA for Water aerobics 3 times per week.  Leaves little time to ride.  We do not own a golf cart. Weather has turned beautiful!

Betty

 

[Tom]

We do not own a golf cart.

What, Terry the toy man doesn't have a golf cart?

 

[Phil2]

We are about to purchase a golf cart

Smoky,

Mine is electric and I love it.  I disconnect the battery when I leave for the summer.

Phil

 

[Ron3]

What, Terry the toy man doesn't have a golf cart?

Hmmmm, ?Jim has a golf cart. ?Maybe jim will jump in with his opinion.

 

[Smoky1]

Thanks all for your opinions.  As always, I attach VERY high weight to the opinions I get in this forum.  (BTW Tom you proved correct about Northern Quilt  :  )  As a result I am now on the hunt for an electric.  Heck we can take the toad into town for groceries, that is why we have one isn't it?  ;D

And special thanks to Bernie for the winter tips.  I had no idea propane would save us money, so we will begin cutting them all over to it.  I guess now that I pay for electric, it makes more sense to use propane heating rather than heat pump heating.  Just have to remember to keep a close eye on the propane gauge.  The park here will automatically fill the MH if we leave a red tag in the window.  Do not even have to be here when they do it.

Lori we are staying at Pueblo El Mirage for the winter.

http://www.robertsresorts.com/pueblo/

 

[larit]

We are about to purchase a golf cart, not sure used or new, to accompany us into our new world of golf RV resort living at a retirement community El Mirage outside of Phoenix AZ.  We did not come west with the idea of acquiring a golf cart, but now that we have found a place for the winter, we like it so much we opted to buy a year round slot.  Just about everyone here owns a golf cart and we can see why.  Not only does it save cart fees on the golf course, but this park is huge, with over 2000 lots and a community of 4000 people (all over age 55) and their own post office.  Not sure how many acres it covers, but you can easily find yourself walking over a mile to get somewhere.  Thus golf carts come in very handy.

We are trying to decide whether to buy new or used.  and even tougher, to decide between gas or electric.  Also, we see from perusing ads, that some golf carts are considered street legal, and we see folks driving into town to pick up groceries etc.

We would especially like help deciding between gas or electric.  We will buy street legal if we can afford it, but our main goal is to be able to get around the RV park and to play golf.

Anyone have experience with golf carts?

We do not expect to travel with the golf cart.  When we are gone for the spring and summer it will stay here in our shed.

Hey, for me the electric cart is much better than the gas one because of the motor which will last for a very long time in comparison to a gasoline engine.

 

[Isaac-1]

I know this thread is a bit old, but for those of you considering an electric cart, keep in mind they are not all the same.  There is a world of difference between a 25-35 year old "resistor" cart vs a modern AC drive system cart.  Those old resistor carts needed to be driven around at near top speed as they ran at lower speeds by shunting power to resistors (electric heaters) under the cart, making them not only over heat at low speed, but also terribly inefficient.  By contrast the latest generation of AC drive carts are perfectly happy to creep along at 1 mph all day long, they also have regenerative braking that charges the batteries as they slow down.  The end result is a modern AC drive cart with a range of 20+ miles using the same amount of batteries that would power an older DC drive cart for less than half the distance.

Ike

p.s. DC drive carts are still built today, though they tend to have better control systems than the old resistor heaters, they are generally the lower end products though.  For example the electric EZ-GO TXT is a DC drive cart and the RXV is an AC drive cart.  The biggest downside to the AC drive carts is they use computer controlled drive systems and must be repaired by someone that knows what they are doing, go poking around in the wiring system and you can easily fry the $1,500 controller board.  A common example of this is people that don't know what they are doing try to add a volt meter into the key switch on an RXV like they would do on a DC drive cart and fry the controller as the key is a digital input to the controller on the RXV, not a common electrical switch.

 

[LarryL60]

Have to make sure the thing is secured at night! I am sure those are an easy target for a busy campground, which is a real shame.