You know what would be a good idea?
 

The other day we saw two golf carts with elderly riders broken down. A few weeks ago we helped push a cart over the golf cart bridge. I just heard about another cart that didn't make it over the bridge.

Wouldn't it be a good idea for the rec centers to have an area with golf cart chargers for all the different types of carts?

Obviously it might not make sense to have a charger for every type of cart ever made, but they could start off with the most popular ones like Club Car, EZ Go Yamaha and Par Car. That way if someone nows they're getting low they could stop by and get a 1/2 or hour charge that would get them home.

If they start noticing that other brands are becoming more and more popular they could add those chargers down the road. Or maybe there is a universal charger available for a quick charge.

I just think that with the number of carts in the Villages a service like this would be a no brainer.

Now this would be a fine opportunity to start a small business. What a great little job for someone (not me) to have a vehicle and a cell phone (kinda like AAA) and bring gas, electric charge or whatever to the villagers that get stuck.

A company already exists that does something similar. They will tow/truck your cart home for a small annual fee.

A similar proposal was made to have charging stations at the executive courses for those who have to drive a long way to the course. (Such as from Chatham to the Palmetto course.) After researching it, it was not approved. An alternative suggestion was to see if the cart barn at the championship courses could be used to get a small charge. But then whose responsibility is it to have all the different types of connectors needed. I think the Par Cars have onboard chargers and only need a 110V outlet.

This is probably the reason gas carts are outselling electric as TV grows.

Just have everyone in a gas cart carry a 6 foot tow rope. :a040::clap2:

if I lived here yr-round I might hafta design/build portable/towable charging stations and take one to a parking area adjacent to each town square! might even carry a 5 gal gas can. of course, then I would need 3 smart phones with the gizmo to take credit cards, too! but it still seems doable!

Here a link, it's $29.95 a year or $50 for two years. I joined right after we arrived about two years ago. It's a nice peace of mind to have. This company also doesn't limit the number of times you can use it a year, whereas there is another company but they will limit you to three times year and then charge for extra stops.

The link below might not work because TOTV blocks some commercial websites because of free advertising. Where you see the asterisks, use the 5 letter word that fits the subject.


http://www.****aide.com/service.html

.

If your golf car is totally out of juice, would 1/2 hour charge really be enough to get you home?

Would people sit in their golf cars for the time they are charging, or do we need to provide a wait area? What if it is full up when you get there? Do you wait an our or so because you are say, third in line?

Would we have 'hoggers' who quickly figure out that if they use the charging station, they get the electric for free? Or do we have a meter to feed while we are charging?
We can't keep people from destroying the gates.... how do we assure that they will respect charging cables? Pretty expensive to replace trashed things regularly as it is.

What if you go dead and you are not near a charging station?

Why would you go out anywhere with barely a charge, anyway?

There is a company (as others have said) that will come to your aid when needed. They are very reliable and charge a modest yearly fee. That makes the most sense to me.

P.S. We have an electric cart. We get 50 miles to a charge. We know that because we tested it for ourselves.
50 miles is a long way. Chances are, you will not often do that in one fell swoop. You just gotta be reasonably diligent about charging at home.
Just like you have to be reasonably diligent about keeping gas in a vehicle.
It's not hard, and at our age we should have this down pat.

Good idea but it would have to be a 12 foot rope. Those gas carts really stink and I wouldn't want to be that close.:kiss:

Like another poster said, there is already a company that provides this service. 29.95 per cart for 1 year. I use this service and they are very prompt.

I'll be dammed if I'm going to pay more of an amenity fee or whatever to put charging stations in the rec centers. I bet people using the pool would plug in while swimming to save $.50 from there electric bill. Sounds like we just need one at the 441 bridge.

Is it detrimental to the batteries to keep the cart plugged all the time it is in the garage?

All good points UTG.

So if installed at the 441 bridge, would it become a toll bridge to cover the cost of the charge? :jester:

Please, don't even give them even a hint of such an idea. The bridges, then tunnels, then-----? A new great way to make money after the build out, now that IRS is challenging selling the rec centers at 4 times their worth.:boxing2:

A multiple of 4 is damn good deal for a revenue producing stream.