Riding Mower or Golf Cart

[dragos28]

Here's my situation.
I have a 2 year 4 month old son who loves to ride is powerwheels ATV out in the foothills.
Whenever we go out I have to run after him, his powerwheels is a 24v so its quick... and me running after him is quite a chore when he wants to be out there for a couple of hours.

I've got a go kart thats almost done, but i'm really not happy with it, with the way i'd have to get in & out incase he needs me is a bit challenging with the low seating position.

I have two choices here local, one is a craftsman riding mower, the guy only wants $100 for it. its missing the deck, which is great because i wouldnt want it anyways.
the other option is a yamaha gas golf cart, the guy wants $600 for it.

here's the consideration, the foothills are about 2 miles away so i'll have to load and unload either cart in the back of my truck.

if you had the option, which would you recommend?

i like the golf cart because it has some suspension and i'm assuming it will have a higher top speed... but transporting it would be a PITA
The lawnmower seems like it would be much easier to handle, and i've seen some people put bigger tires on them for going off road. I'm just not sure of what its top speed is... not that id want to go 30mph in it anyways.. just wondering if will be able to keep pace with my son's powerwheels...

Help me decide!

 

[rocketkart]

id go with the golf cart cus you can just ride it down to the foothills and u probably wont get as many complaints cus the mower would probably be louder thin the golf cart plus you can drive more friends and family on the golf cart the a riding mower.

 

[Oxymoron]

Definitely the golf cart. People bring those with them and ride all over the campground I go to every year. I wish I had one!

 

[dragos28]

id go with the golf cart cus you can just ride it down to the foothills and u probably wont get as many complaints cus the mower would probably be louder thin the golf cart plus you can drive more friends and family on the golf cart the a riding mower.

No, i couldnt ride it to the foothills, it would have to be in the back of my truck... to get to the foothills i have to take some main roads, i would have to transport my son & his atv also & that wouldnt fly..

i do like the idea more of the golf cart... im just worried about transporting it there... it'd be just my son & i... and that would be really heavy to lift....

 

[dragos28]

Alright... just got off the phone with the golf cart guy!
i'm going that route..
i'll have to find some motorcycle loading ramps and hopefully those will work.. if not, then i'll have to buy a small trailer...

 

[rocketkart]

make or buy a small trailer for it.

 

[Jimmy_B]

I load my EZ-GO in the back of my truck with some foldable aluminum ramps from Northern Handyman. No problems.

 

[OzFab]

I would also go the golf kart, for one very good reason; more than likely, it will have a TC drive system so it can climb hills, the lawnmower will not...

It's a pity those pesky roads are in the way, otherwise, you could simply put the powerwheels on a small trailer hitched to the golf kart & off you go...

 

[dragos28]

Well here it is

At first it backfired and sputtered quite a bit... so i drove it very slow, just a tad above idle. that was all it really needed to keep up with my son.

after about 20 minutes it warmed and i was able to drive it faster without it backfiring.

Now i'm going to have to look into some offroad tires, a lift kit, mods mods and more mods! lol

 

[OzFab]

Well here it is

Sweet

At first it backfired and sputtered quite a bit... so i drove it very slow, just a tad above idle. that was all it really needed to keep up with my son.

after about 20 minutes it warmed and i was able to drive it faster without it backfiring.

A little bit of general maintenance should fix that; give the carb a quick clean, maybe replace, or at least service, the spark plug...

Now i'm going to have to look into some offroad tires, a lift kit, mods mods and more mods! lol

Oh, this'll be fun

 

[Poboy kartman]

I think a small trailer would make life easier and you would never regret it. Doubles hauling capacity and can be multi-purpose.

 

[dragos28]

Yup... i'm already scouring CL... only there are a few problems... one my wife is already pissed at all the toys i have..
I have a boat... so thats taking up part of my driveway.
and the next problem is i have to spend more $$$....

so it'll be a while, maybe after the holidays.. until then i'll use my 2x6 boards to load it on my truck

 

[landuse]

Thats a cool little golf cart. Like Fabroman says, a little bit of TLC and the engine will run great

 

[Oxymoron]

Yup... i'm already scouring CL... only there are a few problems... one my wife is already pissed at all the toys i have..
I have a boat... so thats taking up part of my driveway.
and the next problem is i have to spend more $$$....

so it'll be a while, maybe after the holidays.. until then i'll use my 2x6 boards to load it on my truck

Dude... I feel your pain. I have waaaaay too many toys to be living in a townhome. Every new toy brings a new scowl to my girlfriend's face. I offered to build her something, but that didn't work

Cool golf cart, lift that baby and throw some shiny wheels on it :thumbup:

 

[OzFab]

Dude, I have a garage big enough for 3 cars & I'm still out of room...

 

[dragos28]

LOL... seems like we have a "collective" obsession on here

I'm still waiting on the keystock for the axle spline to arrive for my go kart..
i'll see how it rides, but most likely i'll give it to one of our friends who has a 14 yo son, he is doing very well in school but the family is not doing that great financially.. i'm sure that he will enjoy it much more than me...

I found a 4" lift kit for this golf cart on ebay.. but i'll wait until i have the engine running right.
I ordered a new spark plug and some seafoam spray. I heard that stuff works great..

 

[Oxymoron]

Seafoam is pretty good stuff, I use it the first time I run something after winter. There's no replacement for a good old fashioned carb clean though. I'd just take it all apart and clean it up real good, then run the seafoam after.

I'm excited for you!

Wait... no. I'm excited for your golf cart

And yes, I think all of us here are mildly obsessed with this stuff. I wasn't... but the more I work on stuff, the more I want to work on stuff. I work on things as often as I can without pissing off my girlfriend. When I do, I just fix stuff around the house, or install new lights somewhere she wants and then she's happy again. Quite the balancing act :sly:

 

[dragos28]

Well, I got my go kart running and i dont like it... at all... sucks...
i put it back on CL and hopefully i can recoup some of the $$ i put into it..

but I really do like the golf cart.. its smooth.

so far i've ordered pretty much everything needed for a full tune up.
still waiting on the spark plug and air filter to arrive
I drained the engine oil, put in some castrol 10-30 full synthetic, drained the transmission oil, put in some 85w full synthetic oil. changed the gas filter

the original one was just a little bit dirty

someone who owned it before must have been a meth addict, the wiring was that bad... all spliced and disgusting.. i ripped all the unnecessary out, all the spliced, corroded, and cleaned it up.

also the original cables were precariously close to the belt, i like all my wires to be as far away from any moving parts as possible.

I dont like wrenching... but boy do i love messing with wires!

 

[OzFab]

Well, I got my go kart running and i dont like it... at all... sucks...

Really? Why?

 

[dragos28]

several reasons... and its just a personal thing.. nothing against the go kart, but i feel that it would be best for a teenager... or someone who is not 215lbs and with a bad back

its low seating is difficult for me to get into and out of, the ride was really bumpy, the engine needed to rev up all the way for the clutch to engage and slowly move forward.. it might have something to do with the passenger weight. also the wheels tug to the left. I think that the frame might be tweaked a bit, i'll have to see if i can do anything about that before i sell it.

and really its difficult to enjoy the go kart when i have the golf cart, the golf cart is like driving in a cadillac with its smooth suspension and comfy seating position...

either way, i have no regrets, i wanted to pick up the go kart as a project, as i always need something to do... lol... OCD & ADD are expensive diseases LOL...