[Serenoa]

In all the threads about golf carts that we've read we don't think we've come across this: When you first buy one & are out joyriding or running errands in TV, what happens if you stay out too long or venture too far away from home & run out of juice? Do you call AAA or Wally's Wrecker Service for a tow home? Are their charging stations throughout TV where you can pay xx dollars for a quick charge, or enough to get you home? I would think this would happen quite often, at least until you get to know the limits of your cart. I believe we did read that Outback Steakhouse had chargers at their restaurant? Do many other businesses, as well?
Thanks!

[JoeC1947]

There are several cart towing companies around that are all very good. We use K A R T AID for 29.95 a year. Definitely worth it. There are no "Charging Stations" but there are places to plug in if you need to like the mail pick up areas and other buildings. Just carry a cord with you.

[Serenoa]

at these "places to plug in" don't you have to pay? How does that work?
Thanks!

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Serenoa

at these "places to plug in" don't you have to pay? How does that work?
Thanks!

Its called stealing.

[philnpat]

If battery life is a concern, you might want to consider a gas cart...that is of course you remember to fill the tank once in awhile.

[John_W]

I have a Yamaha gas cart which is probably 40% of all carts here. It holds about 6 gallons and gets about 40 mpg, so you've got 240 miles there to play with. I even have an optional gas gauge so if I don't want to lift up the seat to look at the tank I can just look at the dash. I can drive to the golf course and back and play 18 holes of championship golf maybe 2 or 3 times and then also go to the square, which is about 4 miles each way 3 or 4 times a month and maybe use half a tank all together.

[ajbrown]

Originally Posted by Serenoa

Stuff snipped by Alan... Are their charging stations throughout TV where you can pay xx dollars for a quick charge, or enough to get you home? I would think this would happen quite often, at least until you get to know the limits of your cart. I believe we did read that Outback Steakhouse had chargers at their restaurant? Do many other businesses, as well?
Thanks!

I remember being told about charging stations up at Outback which were provided for customers. I assume you have to bring your charger unless the cart has one on board (put a lock on it ).

I have never looked into this as running out of juice is NOT a problem. IMO folks run out of juice because they do not take the hour or two to read about the relationship between how many volts in your pack and how far you can go.

Understand that, get a meter (voltage gauge) installed in cart and enjoy the fresh air.

[graciegirl]

The abandoned carts are usually electric.

We have gas.

[Uptown Girl]

I'm not an expert, but I was told that it takes a good 8 to 12 hours to charge up a golf cart if it's really run down. Not much is going to happen if you plug in for an hour while you are at Outback or somewhere.

As others have said, the gauge or volt meter will give you a good clue and there are a few different types you can choose from to have installed. (although ours is not street legal, we had a street legal speedometer, odometer and charge indicator added to our golf car.)

When our meter is about half way down, it's time to head back home.( the odometer shows how many miles we have covered) I should mention that our gauge seems to deplete a little quicker on the last half.

Our cart is now 10 months old and we have 2100 miles on it. We have gotten up to 56 miles on a charge, but don't typically try for this.
Running it at 30 to 35 miles between charges gets us wherever we want to go easily, and I'm told by our dealer this is the better way to run the batteries.

P.S. After being on the car for 35 miles at a crack, it's time for me to take a break anyway!

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

The abandoned carts are usually electric.

We have gas.

We feel fine today - - - we don't have any gas.



Bill

[Gerald]

Every time I try to drive my golf cart to see my kids back in NY I never seem to have enough power to complete the trip. I tried a long extention cord but it seems to pull out of the wall after about 100 or so miles. Also I have found that riding on the expressways to be very hard staying under 20 mph.

[Serenoa]

Thanks folks, for all the replies & helpful info, and thanks to admin for moving our question to the golf cart forum.......I had overlooked it.

and thanks Bill for the chuckle. sure hope gracie stays clear of any open flames!