Electric golf cart charging portals
 

Hi all,
we have been to The Villages several times and will be renting in Spring 2021 for 3 months (yea...finally). Our rental house comes with an electric golf cart.

Are there any places in the town squares where electric carts can be recharged? We're aware of the golf cart gas stations....thx

There aren’t presently. However, if you charge the cart every night that should not be a problem. A cart can go at least 40 miles on a charge. It is 15 miles from Nancy Lopez Golf Course to Brownwood. You should be able to get from one end of our present Villages to the other with a round of golf thrown in. And at 20 miles an hour you probably don’t want to spend more than two hours a day in a cart anyway.

Once my neighbor played golf at Orange Blossom over the bridge in the historic section. That's about 10 miles from us in Tamarind Grove. After 18 holes and on his way back his cart died just as he was passing Mallory Country Club. He pushed it down to the starter shack and the attendant told him he could charge his cart there. In fact, he said any starter shack will let you charge but you'll need your charger and cables. He called and had his wife bring him his charger.

There is a sort of AAA for carts, there's about 3 of them. I've been with Kart Aid since 2011, and they are $60 for two years. I believe they are the biggest and have no limit on the number times you'll can call in a year, the other big company is 3 times a year. I've got a gas cart, so I've never had to use them, mostly my concern is over a flat tire. My neighbor got rid of the electric and bought a gas Yamaha like mine.

Kartaide home page

Shoot me now if I ever had to travel THAT far in one day in a golf cart. I have a Yamaha electric cart with all the bells and whistles, including a luxury seat with arm rests and lumbar support. It also has bright headlights and self cancelling turn signals. Such luxury!!! Still, I would never travel that far in our golf cart in one day.

So, my question for all the must have a gas cart owners........Why the need for a gas cart if one can travel from Lopez all the way to Brownwood and also throw in a round of golf on one charge in an electric cart? I know, I know, as the batteries age, they do not perform as well as when they were new, but still.....who travels THAT far in a day?

My cart is always plugged in when in the garage so I always start the day with a full charge of the batteries.

Just wondering if your neighbor started out his venture with a full charge on his batteries. Also....how old were the batteries and did he maintain them properly (ie: keeping them watered properly)?

You answered your own question with your statement that batteries do not perform well as they age. Electric carts with batteries that are over 3 years old are unreliable and with those you best have a road service plan. People in TV own gas carts for reliability, not to mention the resale value is so much better.
Ask the cart rescue company's how many electric carts they pick up verses gas carts. That will be the real answer to your question. Happy Carting!

He bought the cart used in 2011 and it was suppose to have new batteries. We started playing golf together in spring 2012 and this happened right before we started playing, so they were less than a year old. I don't know anymore of the details, after he started playing with me, we always took my cart because of that problem until he bought a Yamaha two years ago.

In a gas cart, we play Lopez with no problem, and we're in Tamarind Grove by Sterling Hgt Rec Center. We make it there in 40 minutes, play 18 and return, last time was just a couple of weeks ago. We go to Glenview quite often, that's only 25 minutes. We have real good central location, can reach 7 championship courses within 20 minutes.

Well most of that isn't true.....but if it makes you feel better great! The bulk of the calls are for gas carts that have run out of gas or a mechanical breakdown. Most electric cart owners know their capabilities and how to mange them....but there are those that won't charge them or will drive them past the battery reliability life. Yes, you do need to change them about every 4 year years depending on how far you drive. Several in our neighborhood are dumping their Yamaha's and moving to electric. Those that aren't suffer from range fear and that's ok, nobody should drive in fear. 10 miles and a round of golf is user error, no different than running out of gas.

You have provided a classic example of trying to mislead with statistics. The bulk of the calls are probably for gas carts but that would be because there are many more gas carts than electric carts. The only meaningful statistic, which I doubt you have access to, is the rate of breakdown. If I had to guess, I would say that most breakdowns are flat tires. I don't know of a single person who has gone from gas to electric but I know of several that have gone from electric to gas because they got tired of replacing batteries. I don't currently know a single person with an electric cart. The people I know bought gas carts because of lower operating costs, better resale value, and less maintenance.

I've been wondering, which is better...gas or electric?


:duck:

:p


:D

Just not hanging with the right people :). We have several in our neighborhood that switched from gas to electric and there will be more. Everytime the electric guys drive the gas guys they start to "get it". Not sure how gas carts have a lower operating cost, unless you include batteries but the gas guys carts (yes, the Yamaha F-1s) seem to spend a lot of time in the shop (of course getting an appointment with The Villages is not easy. Just admit that the guys that have electric are happy with their decision and the guys that have gas are happy with theirs. Same with cars, notice there are more electric cars on the road every year but there are guys here that would never give up their gas cars? Personal preference is just that personal preference. Why do either side try and convince the other that their decision is the only right decision.

You will find the charging stations right next to the place that gives out free gas to people whose golf carts are low on gas :bigbow:

Of course the operating costs include the battery replacements. I don't know anyone who has issues getting appointments for maintenance. I don't know anyone whose gas cart has had any issues. I don't care what type of cart people drive but I will address wrong information when posted.

JoMar. I am sorry but you do not know the true facts but of course you have your right to an opinion. I have personally been involved with the cart business for 10 years. Yamaha Quiet Tech and non Quiet Tech Fuel Injected carts outsell electric carts 9 to 1. As far as cost to operate goes it really is a wash when you factor in the cost of battery replacement verses fuel and maintenance of a gas cart. You stated that getting an appointment for service is not easy. Not sure what you mean by that as 9 months of the year you can get into at least one of the Villages locations with in a day or two after you call or stop by. If you have an emergency you can drop off the same day and always get a free loaner cart.
The bottom line is we all will get what makes us happy. Sometimes it just takes some unhappy to get there.
No I am not an employee of The Villages in any way.

I took a trip back to my hometown in California, a few miles from where the first Teslas were built. Now all school parking lots are covered with solar panels. about a third of the spaces under the solar panels have charging stations for electric cars. The charging stations are fed by the solar panels.

That would be a great thing to do here at the big rec centers and squares. It would give covered parking, and allow electric carts and cars to recharge.