Golf carts at the Lake

[lindy rig]

We have a seasonal place at Mille Lacs. I don't mind the walk to the shore, but once you add coolers, tackle, rods, extra clothes and everything else it's too much to carry and we usually drive the truck.

I am thinking about getting a golf cart, with a fold down rear seat to carry people and/or gear.

What are the pros and cons to electric vs. gas? What are your experiences?

[Sota2Florida]

If it's just for the lake I would say you will be better off with gas. Golf cart batteries loose a lot of juice in the colder months, and can obviously be expensive to replace should you freeze them by accident in the winter. Gas carts are pretty dependable in my experience. If your not running it all over a tank of gas will last a long time.

[JumpStart73]

Some resorts only allow electric

[lindy rig]

What sort of maintence is required with a gas cart? Or is it like any other small engine, add fuel stablizer, fog the engine, ect?

[bturck]

I had both types of cars when I was doing a lot of golfing. I would never go back to electric. As mentioned very expensive to replace the batteries, and if you make sure you have gas in your car you won't ever have to walk because your battery went south. For maintinance I put in stabilizer throughout the year, and changed plug every other year. I ran it for 6 years and never had a problem,,,,,electric car was no where near as dependable, only used it one year and traded it....

[bturck]

I had both types of cars when I was doing a lot of golfing. I would never go back to electric. As mentioned very expensive to replace the batteries, and if you make sure you have gas in your car you won't ever have to walk because your battery went south. For maintinance I put in stabilizer throughout the year, and changed plug every other year. I ran it for 6 years and never had a problem,,,,,electric car was no where near as dependable, only used it one year and traded it....

[DRH1175]

Electric by far! My Inlaws have an electric Club Car. They use theirs alot and a charge lasts a couple weekends if not longer. They are totally quiet, always start, and are fume free. Seems like the ones who have the gas ones are always having problems, and they are actually quite loud. Also they have owned it for around 8 years and have put in batteries once, The originals were over 10 years old. Electric is the only way to go.

[CJH]

Gas all the way. We had nothing but problems with the batteries in the electric we had. Sold it after one year.

[Sota2Florida]

DRH is right in that Club Car is the only way to go if you go electric. Rumor has it the last couple years they "downsized" batteries and are paying the price for it. As a golfer Yamaha is garbage in electric, EZ Go is ok. I'd still take gas if I were you but Club Cars are nice.

[leech~~]

Gas all the way. We had nothing but problems with the batteries in the electric we had. Sold it after one year.

Plus +1 Throw in some stable and pull the "one" battery in the fall and done. Who wants to keep up with 4-6 batterys and keep all the connections clean. For the cost of one replacement cart battery I can run my old gas Ezgo cart just about all summer!

[Ballyhoo]

I have a gas Club Car at the lake. I add some stabil towards the end of the year, hardly go through one tank of gas per year. I never remove the battery. In the spring it starts right up. If you get gas make sure you get a 4 stroke, they are quieter. The old 2 strokes are loud. I had one and upgraded after a couple of years because it was too noisy.

The newer electrics are fine, but you have to maintain them. Fill the batteries once or twice per year. They also need to stay plugged in all winter. The chargers are smart and will kick in every so often to keep the batteries charged so they don't freeze.

[Wanderer]

We ran a fleet of electric Club Cars at a property I managed and I was much happier going that route than with gas. We ran them inside and outside all year. They're actually better in the cold for regular use than gas cuz they just go.

BUT, we kept them in heated underground parking overnight and charged them daily. With a little maintenance the batteries lasted for some time. I bought replacements from Batteries Plus for much less than we budgeted for based on dealer estimates.

It's not the lake, I know, but it was daily use in all types of weather.