carrying a golf cart

[ChuckMC8]

The cool setup, I think,would be a 24 volt golf cart that would fit in the bay. My inverter, bus alternator or solar setup would charge its batteries. When boondocked, I could leave the cart in the bay, utilizing its batteries to increase my house bank capacity........

[cody]

Why are parks prohibiting the gas carts and allowing the electric ones?  The gas ones I've seen are very quiet or is it just the fuel thing, just curious I guess but I do think the idea is workable.  My wife thinks we should get tow brackets for our truck and put the cart in the back but I prefer to tow the grand cherokee and put the cart in a bay.

[NJT5047]

Yamaha golf carts are solid items.  And you can buy parts at any Yamaha dealer...boat, motorcycle, golf cart, generator...etc.
I would guess that electric golf carts are less stinky, quieter, and they are definitely slower.  Speed is probably the primary issue. 
A gas powered golf cart can be pretty quick....relatively. 
This is one of those things where you would call the campgrounds that you frequent and see what their policy may be. 
My sister in law has a handicapped placard, and I'm gonna make a copy of that sucker and laminate it.  I won't use it in parking lots or any sort of thing like that...I'm handicapped, but there ain't no special parking related to loss of brain cells....only got two or three working.
My handicap is related to carrying music instruments around a several mile area.  Gotta be a better way than walking. 
As long as you don't use the bay for storage, why not put a golf cart in there?  It'll be easier to load and unload from a bay too.  Some golf carts are heavy...be careful with cable pickup tailgates.  The cables don't like the weight of golf carts.  You'll get hurt of one of the cables break.
Chuck, all of our golf carts are gas powered...but you got an interesting idea going.   I have no idea if any 24V golf carts are around...you could build one.  Since I don't deal with electric golf carts, I'm not familiar with the limits of the batteries, but they go a long way...people use them for several days without charging the batteries.  You'll see an occasional dying unit creeping back to its camper.  Probably where half the campground power use goes...charging golf carts. 
Cody, post a pix of your golf cart.  Got any neon on that thing?  Sound?
Best, JR

[cody]

I haven't bought it yet, a relative offered me a deal on it because I have parkinsons and some difficulty walking longer distances, I have all the handicapper permits for my vehicles, I even have a handicapper plate on the bus, I told the DMV that I can get a really good parking place at walmart with it lol.  It's because of my handicapper designation that I don't think I would have a problem at the parks but don't know for sure until I call around a little.  Am getting some good idea's here tho too.

[Sean]

When we bought our bus, it had an EZ-Go 36-volt electric golf cart in the forward bay.  We've since ditched the cart, in order to fit our two motorcycles in that bay.

You may need to consider how you will load and unload the cart.  It is unlikely there will be room for you to actually drive it in while still in it.

In our case, the cart had been modified to accept a wired remote control, which could operate the "throttle" of the cart in either forward or reverse at the lowest speed setting.  To load the cart, one would first bring the coach down as low as possible (by dumping the air out of the bags), place ramps in position, line the cart up on the ramps, then use the remote to "drive" the cart into the bay under its own power.  (There was no steering control on the remote, just forward and reverse.)

Our cart had no windscreen, and the top third or so of the steering wheel was sawed off, giving the wheel the appearance of a jet airliner "yoke".  The cart had been retrofitted with headlights, taillights, brake lights, turn signals, and a horn to make it street legal, and it had a California license plate (laws on making a cart street legal vary from state to state).  As a licensed motor vehicle, a campground would be hard pressed to prohibit it (although we've encountered some that prohibited motorcycles, which is, in our view,  just cause for a declaration of war).  That being said, don't be surprised when you have to pay the $5 or so "extra vehicle" fee that many parks, especially state parks, assess, or have to park either the cart or your toad elsewhere due to 2-vehicle-per-site rules.

As a benchmark, when I sold the cart on eBay, charger included, I got $800 for it.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

(Edited to correct the spelling of "assess," which, umm, looked liked "many donkeys")

[JackConrad]

It's because of my handicapper designation that I don't think I would have a problem at the parks but don't know for sure until I call around a little.  Am getting some good idea's here tho too.
Cody,
   Since you are handicapped, I think any park would be very hard pressed to prohibit you from using your cart. If any park questions the use of the cart ask them if they understand the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). Jack

[Sean]

"...ask them if they understand the ADA..."

Umm, if you do ask them, you run the risk that they may actually know more about it than you might think.  And a "golf cart" is not something they are required, by the ADA to permit.  I would hope that they *would* permit it if you made a pleasant request, due to mobility issues, but you should be clear that they are not required to by law.

Only devices that have been certified and designated as "Assistive Mobility Devices" are required to be accommodated by the ADA, and even then, there are exceptions.

A great example of this is the recent flap over Segways at Disney parks.  It turns out that many people with mobility impairments can walk and stand with no problems, but simply can not walk long distances, and some of these folks have been buying and using Segway scooters to help them.  Disney will not allow Segways in their parks, no exceptions, and some of these mobility-impaired Segway users tried to sue under the ADA.  No dice:  the Segway has not been medically approved as an "assistive mobility device."  So those folks were told, basically, that if they needed to ride around the park, they would have to do it on a traditional mobility scooter or power chair.  (Disney does rent the mobility scooters at its parks, for those guests who can't bring one.)

Just FYI.

-Sean

[cody]

I just got the "official" verdict from the manager of the local state park on the golf cart.  He said that the policy manual states that the cart is usable as long as it has a handicapper designation such as a placard, the policy as far as michigan goes does address golf carts when used for mobility purposes, the only restrictions for them is that they are not permitted in "posted environmentally sensitive" areas such as foot paths but can be used in all other areas and because they are not street legal, I wouldn't be required to buy a parking or entrance permit for the cart.  He said that under the ADA guidelines golf carts are not specifically addressed but he could not forsee a situation where the use of it would be prohibited as long as it had the handicapper placard.  He seemed to feel that anyone that tryed to prohibit it's use might be opening a can of worms that would be better left closed even tho it may not be concidered to be a conventional mobility device.  My thoughts are that I seem to be able to use it and my intentions are not to abuse the privelege or to create a problem about it, as long as they say it's ok, thats good enough for me and any park that tells me that I can't use it just won't get my money for that night, too many other parks out there lol.

[niles500]

Things are a little different in Fla for Segways now;


83)  ELECTRIC PERSONAL ASSISTIVE MOBILITY DEVICE.--Any self-balancing, two-nontandem-wheeled device, designed to transport only one person, with an electric propulsion system with average power of 750 watts (1 horsepower), the maximum speed of which, on a paved level surface when powered solely by such a propulsion system while being ridden by an operator who weighs 170 pounds, is less than 20 miles per hour. Electric personal assistive mobility devices are not vehicles as defined in this section.




Title XXIII
MOTOR VEHICLES Chapter 316
STATE UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL View Entire Chapter

316.2068  Electric personal assistive mobility devices; regulations.--

(1)  An electric personal assistive mobility device, as defined in s. 316.003, may be operated:

(a)  On a road or street where the posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour or less.

(b)  On a marked bicycle path.

(c)  On any street or road where bicycles are permitted.

(d)  At an intersection, to cross a road or street even if the road or street has a posted speed limit of more than 25 miles per hour.

(e)  On a sidewalk, if the person operating the device yields the right-of-way to pedestrians and gives an audible signal before overtaking and passing a pedestrian.

(2)  A valid driver's license is not a prerequisite to operating an electric personal assistive mobility device.

(3)  Electric personal assistive mobility devices need not be registered and insured in accordance with s. 320.02.

(4)  A person who is under the age of 16 years may not operate, ride, or otherwise be propelled on an electric personal assistive mobility device unless the person wears a bicycle helmet that is properly fitted, that is fastened securely upon his or her head by a strap, and that meets the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z Bicycle Helmet Standards), the standards of the Snell Memorial Foundation (1984 Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling), or any other nationally recognized standards for bicycle helmets which are adopted by the department.

(5)  A county or municipality may prohibit the operation of electric personal assistive mobility devices on any road, street, or bicycle path under its jurisdiction if the governing body of the county or municipality determines that such a prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.

(6)  The Department of Transportation may prohibit the operation of electric personal assistive mobility devices on any road under its jurisdiction if it determines that such a prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.

History.--s. 68, ch. 2002-20.



Copyright © 1995-2006 The Florida Legislature • Privacy Statement

[Sean]

Niles,

Many states have passed similar legislation.  The legislation applies only to public spaces, and essentially defines Segways as bicycles when on the street, and as pedestrians when on a sidewalk.  But note that this still does not imbue the Segway with the properties of an approved medical assistive device, which *private* businesses would then be required to accommodate under the ADA.  (FWIW, it would be very difficult for Segway to achieve a medical rating, because it is not fail-safe, only fail-soft:  when the battery runs out, it falls over.)

So Disney is well within its rights, as things stand today, to prohibit them.  Note that one also may not ride a bicycle within Disney's parks, either, even though state law allows them on the roads.  Golf cars, as we traditionally think of them, are also not medical assistive devices, and enjoy no special protection under the ADA.  (Also, note that the ADA is federal, not state legislation -- ADA suits are filed in federal court.  State law can not negate or over-ride the ADA, although some states, notably California, have implemented legislation that is even more restrictive as to what businesses can and can not do in this arena.)

My only point was that one should be careful before brandishing legal threats.  It helps to at least know what the law says (and doesn't say) before implying that someone else is violating it.

Disclaimer:  I am not a lawyer, and I don't even play one on TV (or the Internet).  But in my 20+ year career, I have always been responsible for ensuring compliance with the ADA, and many other federal and state laws in many jurisdictions.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[cody]

I'm just hoping to be able to use the cart when I can, where they prohibit it I won't use it but after talking to a few parks they don't seem to have any problem with it, if one says I can't, that isn't a problem to me either, I understand that because it isn't recognized as a mobility device, it's up to their discretion to approve it or not.

[Hartley]

Disney employees ride bicycles in the parks as well as golf carts. Only after the park closes.
I used to ride down the Out-Walkway of Space mountain like everyone else until someone
got run over one night. Made up park the bikes outside and walk in after that.

They are used in the service areas by maintenance people but are prohibited from being in the
parks after opening. There is so much area for the techs to cover before and after opening
and at night when things are shut down that bikes are provided by disney. The tunnels and back
areas are always accessable by cart, truck or bike.

Universal also uses golf carts and bikes behind the scenes, Mostly assigned carts.

FWIW....