[Tom C]

I am doing some more planning... and Villagers have some really nice golf carts.

I want to accumulate a listing of what YOU EXPERIENCED DRIVERS may deem as "Needed" or "Most Useful" golf cart accessories.

Right away, I would like to have these 3 upgrades or improvements on any cart that I would be getting for us:

1) Seat belts - Safest thing that I can think about adding
2) Good lights - both to see and be seen
3) Fuel gauge - it's a long story, but lets just say that I will never run out of fuel (again).

PS - the two things that have saved my marriage are a GPS (takes ALL the pressure off the navigator in the car) and a meat thermometer for when I am grilling (my beautiful bride does NOT like her steak under-cooked). Again, those are stories for another time and place...

What are your top 3 Golf Cart accessories that you get the most use / most enjoyment from / what you could NOT do without? and why (in a few words)??

[Topspinmo]

Bad back, nice comfortable seat

We like the adjustable seats since I am too short to reach the pedals
Shopping bag we use this all the time
Directional lights

[Aloha1]

Speedometer. $80 bucks versus a $250 ticket for exceeding 20 MPH. Also LED lights around the headlights to add both accent and safety. Wrap the roll bars in the back. if you have an accident and are thrown bout, the cover could help save you from a broken something.

[rjm1cc]

curtains.

[Fredman]

Hard sided enclosure

[Kenswing]

Nitrous.

[Tom C]

Curtains - is that to keep the rain out when it is wet ? the sun off you when it is hot? the wind off you? ... or is it just to hide (LOL) ( sorry - this is all new to me...)

[JoMar]

Shelves....one at the front top, one at the rear top and if your cart can accommodate it, a compartmented shelf across the cart behind and slightly below the steering wheel. Especially useful for golf

[BobnBev]

We LOVE our fan.

[Fredster]

I applied a dark tint film across the top 7-8” of the windshield.
It really helps when I’m driving towards an early
morning sunrise.

[JerryLBell]

It's not really an accessory, but I strongly recommend you and any other potential cart drivers in you household take the FREE safety class offered monthly by The Villages Insurance (you don't have to be a customer to take the class) in conjunction with the local police departments. It's less than 2 hours long and gives you a lot of really good information to keep you safe.

A golf cart doesn't legally need any of these things to be driven in The Villages, but all are worth having and most come with a standard packages offered by most dealerships:

A roof
Side curtains or hard sides (sliding doors)
Head lights
Tail lights
Brake lights
Rear view mirror
Side view mirrors
Turn signals
Extra lighting on the side of the cart for visibility
Fuel gauge
Speedometer
Seat belts
Custom, adjustable seats (lots more comfortable and really useful if one of you is shorter than the other)
Storage (basket in the rear, cooler, roof shelf, cooler, etc.)
Way to secure golf clubs and hold a sand bottle (if you're a golfer)
Individualized keys (too many carts use a "master" key that will work on too many other carts)
Insurance for liability
Insurance that covers getting towed, emergency charges or gas fills (if you have AAA, you're already covered)

Ours also came with a GPS but we figured that since it wasn't built-in (it was just suction-cup-mounted to the windshield), it would probably disappear on us quickly so we removed it. You can get a Villages-specific GPS app, complete with golf cart (aka "multi-modal") paths for under $10 for your phone (iOS or Android). However, we found we used the app only once or twice and then got to know the routes we take and never bothered again.

I sometimes envy the neighbors who have the hard-sided enclosure as they are so easy to open and close for the rain. However, I've only been caught in the rain (and not even raining all that heavily) a couple of times in nearly 2 years and it seems like the enclosure would trap a lot of heat the rest of the time, so I'm mostly glad I didn't spend the extra coin.

I do wish I had some secure storage on my cart but all that was offered on my model was glove compartments that you could pop open with your pinkie if you wanted to. I just learned not to leave ANYTHING of value in the cart when I wasn't there. The crime rate is very low in The Villages, but that doesn't mean it's zero. Purses and phones and such do go missing from unattended carts, just like they do from unattended and unlocked cars.

You can spend a LOT to have your cart customized, ranging from custom paint to decals to body modifications to whatever you can imagine, if that floats your boat. The only customization I did was to put on a couple of small decals to identify mine from the many similar carts out there. Anything beyond that isn't worth it to me, but I gotta admit I get a kick out of all the custom carts I see being driven around. Some of them are amazing.

Keep in mind that if you don't buy something "off the shelf" for a cart, it can take weeks or months to get. We ordered ours during a visit about 2 months before we actually moved here to be sure it was there for us from day 1.

Good luck with your cart purchase decisions! I still get a huge kick out of driving mine into one square or another or off to the grocery store or down to one of the pools or to a rec center or the mail box or... Well, I'll use pretty much anything as an excuse to drive it. It just pounds home the message that I am NOT driving to work!

[VillageIdiots]

Patience! For those that can’t seem to get anywhere fast enough, even if it means passing you when you are doing 20 with oncoming traffic. Or, if you prefer, as was mentioned earlier - nitrous - for that oh hell no you don’t pass me moment.

[Nucky]

Wheelie Bars, Spinner's, Hooker Header, Parachute, Ghetto Blaster Stereo!

If you have unlimited data on your cell phone plan instead of spending whatever an AM/FM radio system for a cart goes for nowadays just stream your music or news to a nice Bose speaker.

I put some battery powered lights on the inside of the roof and that works out nicely. Check your messages for the last recommendation. Good luck.

[Bay Kid]

Deadman steering wheel knob. Makes steering so much easier at slow speeds, or stopped. As always a comfortable seat.