Hunting Cart Owners Thread

[slonomo]

I have a gas cart that I built to take down to the hills of Southern Ohio. Below are my reasons for choosing a gas powered vehicle. Please post a pic of your cart, special mods, and your reasons for choosing your cart. Thought this would be fun useful to share ideas.

I'm running a 1984 Yamaha G1. I chose this cart by accident, was looking for "anything" gas powered. I wanted gas powered for it's range, durability, and ease of modification/repair. I quickly realized this carts short comings and have done the following mods to help with off road ability.

1. Atv front suspension, double a arm long travel
2. 8-10" lift using atv shocks
3. 22" atv tires
4. Performance secondary clutch
5. Front disc brakes (atv)
6. Upgraded engine 4 times, now running 16hp Vanguard
7. Dump bed
8. Side mounted tool holders (recent addition)
9. Front mounted 2000 lb winch
10. Cheap MR16 halogen 20watt headlights (work well)

This setup is probably the ultimate for woods riding and working. There aren't many things I haven't done and prob not many things it won't do well. Water crossings are the only thing I have to avoid, the belt slips too much. Snow is great, but if it is really light fluffy snow it gets on the belt and will slip. The wet stuff is fine.

I have hauled a 170 lb deer with it, not mine, but a buddies. Worked well. It actually rides better and gets better traction with that kind of weight in the back. I've been out in it many times, each time out I had made improvements, and it's always done better each time.

I appreciate the electric carts, being quiet and zero emissions. But I just can't see any electric cart doing what I do with mine. I could be wrong. Do I wake the deer up when I drive down the trail? Sure. But I always hike in 1/4 mile, quietly, with scent removal stuff on. I'll prob never get a deer. But not because I drive a gas powered cart, it's because I suck at hunting.

[slonomo]

The first pic is the most recent. She's dirty, rusty, dinged up.....yup....just the way I like her! I didn't want anything too nice or I'd be afraid to get it all dirty. Tree branches and briars scratch the he** out of the paint. And mud get's everywhere. So, I just built it to get used and abused. Was thinking of doing the truck bed liner though. Still working on a few items, then will get the cosmetics all finalized. When you put hundreds, maybe thousands, of hours into building something, you tend to be very proud of it. LOL

[Streetbu]

I'll bite! 91 Club Car. Powered by a clone motor. Bought it looking for a project for my son & I to work on. Stumbled across it at a garage sale with a seized engine for $150. Complete build thread is in my sig. Just removed the governor, installed heavier valve springs, 4 degree timing key, and ported the cylinder head. Tops out at 34mph with one person at 5k rpm on flat roads. Could probably push it harder but don't want to blow the engine again until I can pony up the $ for an ARC rod. Lots learned along the way. Still more planned for it. Cage and roof is next. Running 25" Carlisle atv tires, 8" lift, stock leaf springs all around for some kind of suspension. Still want a long travel or atv front suspension at some point.

[Spye]

Here is one I am working on right now for the purpose of hunting. Starting out with a Carryall gas that was ultra cheap ($400) and adding used parts as I find them. So far I have torn it down, added lift (6"), added tires from a Rhino (25"). Still have to paint and re assemble and add a front basket, receivers front and rear as well as a winch up front. Shaping up to be fun though, I can see the tendency to get addicted!

[slonomo]

Originally Posted by Streetbu

I'll bite! 91 Club Car. Powered by a clone motor. Bought it looking for a project for my son & I to work on. Stumbled across it at a garage sale with a seized engine for $150. Complete build thread is in my sig. Just removed the governor, installed heavier valve springs, 4 degree timing key, and ported the cylinder head. Tops out at 34mph with one person at 5k rpm on flat roads. Could probably push it harder but don't want to blow the engine again until I can pony up the $ for an ARC rod. Lots learned along the way. Still more planned for it. Cage and roof is next. Running 25" Carlisle atv tires, 8" lift, stock leaf springs all around for some kind of suspension. Still want a long travel or atv front suspension at some point.

I like the fender flares, what did you use?

[Streetbu]

4.25" Flexy flares. Bought a 25' roll, used what I needed, sold the rest to a member on here. Only way to go, just a little expensive if you buy the smaller Iengths. If you can find someone to split the roll with you it ends up around $70 per cart to do all 4 wheel lips.

[hookm]

Slo,how are you going to know if it's the ultimate for woods riding if you don't come to CAW & run with the rest of us???

[slonomo]

Originally Posted by hookm

Slo,how are you going to know if it's the ultimate for woods riding if you don't come to CAW & run with the rest of us???

The ultimate for my preferences. Lets be clear that I dont claim to have "the ultimate offf road cart", maybe the ultimate off road G1 though lol.

[Capt Buddy]

Does anyone use an electric cart as a hunting cart I just lifted and put 22" tires on a 36 volt EZGO and was planning on using it. Do you have any suggests of anything that would help this cart off road.

[DaveTM]

Originally Posted by Capt Buddy

Does anyone use an electric cart as a hunting cart I just lifted and put 22" tires on a 36 volt EZGO and was planning on using it. Do you have any suggests of anything that would help this cart off road.

That's a pretty wide open question. Where do you hunt? Do you have primarily flat lands or do you have long hills? Steep hills?

Dave