Poor man's ATV

[duffer]

Not really an ATV but friend game me 2 junker maintenance model golf carts that his employer was going to send to the landfill. I was able to clean one up, and bring it back to life with some wrenching, welding, re-upholstery, and a new battery pack, controller and tires.

Had to weld some support structure to the battery pack housing, get a new set of batteries, and a new electronic controller and rewire everything. Re-did the seats, added a windshield, and refurbished the maintenance bed with some undercoating on the inside of the bed and new paint in the bed. Cleaned all the mold and gunk off the entire cart and roof, repainted some of the roof supports, and painted the battery housing after cleaning the rust off of it.

Still need to do a little wrenching on it for front wheel alignment, etc, but overall works great for running around my 5 acres, going over to the neighbors, getting the mail at the bottom of a big hill about 150 yds away, and saves hours and wear & tear on my tractor which used to do these same chores. Really surprised at how fast it is. Almost 20 mph.

Used the 2nd junker to harvest parts like a replacement drive motor, steering rods, wiring harness, and other parts.

 

[scaredychicken]

my first ATV was one of these ...

i think the golf cart is very handy, and would get through most areas of this property, and perfect for the road. nice buy.

i like things with wheels, motors, engines

 

[ovrszd]

My Son has a gas engine model. They live just outside the city limits of a small town. They use it a lot in town. They put a lift kit on it with some fancy wheels and big tires.

All that said, not sure I'd call it an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle). Not sure how well it would do in a hilly timber.

 

[scootr]

Junker my ash! That is a late 90s DCS drive Ezgo TXT. Nice score and with a newer Alltrax XCT controller.
We have been using golf carts for 4 decades on our family ranches for everything from feeding to visiting the neighbors.
Upgrade that solenoid and you should get yrs of service out of it.

 

[jjeff]

To me anyway one of the most satisfying things in acquiring older stuff for cheap or free is getting it running, semi reliable, and using it to do tasks/work again, if I fail or it can't be fixed without extensive buying of new parts $$ I usually try and repurpose its parts on something else, or part it out.
Imo one of the best things about your project is you got a parts one. I think it's one of the most important things when acquiring old used up cheap stuff.

 

[bcp]

Even more important when acquiring old used up expensive stuff.

Bruce

 

[ovrszd]

If you compare a Durango to an ATV you might have missed the point of the discussion.

 

[thepumpguysc]

I got my 1st one for free too.
I did a rush, rush job at the County Golf Course where they were holding a BIG tournament & 1 of their greens cutter was down..
I fixed it on site and was given my choice of bennies..
1) A years supply of greens fees w golf cart.
2) entry to the tournament w pass’s to buffet and meet and greet..
3) My suggestion.. a used golf cart..
They were more than happy to give me a cart that no longer started and they didn’t have the time to work on it..
I came back the next day and loaded it up on my trailer and took it to the shop..
First thing I did was steam clean the engine..
2nd was check the gas situation (forgot to mention it’s a GASOLINE YAMAHA)
3) was pulled out the spark plug..(single cylinder)
It was so caked with carbon, no wonder it wouldn’t start.!!
I took the plug to the sandblaster and cleaned it up..
Screwed it back in, hit the starter and it fired up.!!
I used that thing for approximately 6 years.!!
Till a shop fire took it out..

 

[newbury]

My second ATV

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My first ATV

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[thepumpguysc]

Once u own one, u get “the bug”.. wondered how u ever got along without one.!!
My 2nd one is an Ez-Go all jacked up w knobby tires and rims, complete with a stereo.. it’s EXACTLY what I need to make the 50yrd trek to the mailbox and 50yrds to the shop.. lol

 

[ovrszd]

Once u own one, u get “the bug”.. wondered how u ever got along without one.!!
My 2nd one is an Ez-Go all jacked up w knobby tires and rims, complete with a stereo.. it’s EXACTLY what I need to make the 50yrd trek to the mailbox and 50yrds to the shop.. lol

My Son has a "customized" cart also. They use the heck out of it. They live just outside the city limits of a small town. It's the go-to vehicle for runs to the store or a beer run.

 

[bcp]

I used a John Deere Model LA as an ATV for about 6 years, both on the farm and in the desert nearby.

Bruce

 

[sd455dan]

Yeah they are great just don't know about the cheap part as far as the electric ones.

we bought the used electric for $1500 and then i replaced the batteries which added more than the cost of the whole cart.

the old Cushman Kohler Gas unit was free and an engine re ring, gasket set, carb, fuel pump, plus tires was only about $300

The electric IS nicer silent and Goes instantly even in cold weather.

 

[Tinhack]

I have an old Ez-Go. It's so old it only has three wheels. I do have the front suspension off a 4-wheel model but never got around to converting it. After the charger went TU, it's been parked. I thought about converting it to gas, but other more pressing priorities keep coming up.

 

[sd455dan]

I have an old Ez-Go. It's so old it only has three wheels. I do have the front suspension off a 4-wheel model but never got around to converting it. After the charger went TU, it's been parked. I thought about converting it to gas, but other more pressing priorities keep coming up.

Yeah when the wife got the electric it came with a new smart charger.

I didn't know it and plugged in the old 36 volt charger which immediately started to smoke .

Hooked up the new charger and all is good but took the old charger apart replaced the diodes and 50 amp fuse. Also bought several bottles of battery rejuvenator and am thinking of getting a 36 volt inverter to act as a power back up in addition to my small inverter and 6500 watt genny.

Extra back up power is nice to have, just haven't finished testing the old Powerwise unit since going through it.

 

[groundcover]

This was my poor mans Gator . Made it years ago , now on loan to a friend.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Not really an ATV but friend game me 2 junker maintenance model golf carts that his employer was going to send to the landfill. I was able to clean one up, and bring it back to life with some wrenching, welding, re-upholstery, and a new battery pack, controller and tires.

Had to weld some support structure to the battery pack housing, get a new set of batteries, and a new electronic controller and rewire everything. Re-did the seats, added a windshield, and refurbished the maintenance bed with some undercoating on the inside of the bed and new paint in the bed. Cleaned all the mold and gunk off the entire cart and roof, repainted some of the roof supports, and painted the battery housing after cleaning the rust off of it.

Still need to do a little wrenching on it for front wheel alignment, etc, but overall works great for running around my 5 acres, going over to the neighbors, getting the mail at the bottom of a big hill about 150 yds away, and saves hours and wear & tear on my tractor which used to do these same chores. Really surprised at how fast it is. Almost 20 mph.

Used the 2nd junker to harvest parts like a replacement drive motor, steering rods, wiring harness, and other parts.

I also have done just about all the restore mods you've done, but my work certainly doesn't look so nice & professional. In addition to now having a 'new' cart, you saved yourself a pile of money at the same time.

Top notch restore job; well done!

 

[scootr]

We have used golf carts on the family ranchs for many many yrs. Today I keep his and hers Ezgo TXT with bigger tires, bigger motor, controller, and lithium batteries. They are super handy and go anywhere.
Yrs ago I modidfied a gas Ezgo TXT with a 25hp Subaru motor, disc brakes, and custom 4 link rear suspension etc.

 

[JohnnyMX]

When we bought our house they had a golf cart included. We put a lift on it and added some knobby tires. I put a soft-cab (< 75 on amazon) and chains for the winter. My kids took used it to get themselves on the bus for the last 7 years (1/2 mile drive) and all winter long. V-Chains make it much more user friendly in the winter. Not sure how much it matters in SC. They are useful vehicles and you can add the rear seat with foldable "bed" as well for more cargo. it is like a very poor man's RTV