bdelia-shea

Y’all, I am so excited right now!

*Disclaimer* I am about to tell you about an invention I am working on. I am not asking for funding, investors, or anything like that. I just want to share it because this all started with a trip to Disney!

I will be filing my patent within the next few weeks, and will be able to say a lot more then. But in the meantime, I will tell you that it is a new form of toy-hauler that is lighter-weight and lower- cost than existing toy haulers. Oh did I post this in DisAbilities? Good. Because it is 100% handicap-accessible! Stay tuned for more.

The trailer is on the small side. No question about that! It is pretty solid construction, though. Has a weight capacity of around 1,200 lbs (cart weighs in around 900 with batteries). The main problem I ran into is that it towed behind the motorhome in a tongue-up position. I have since ordered an adjustable drop hitch so that will no longer be an issue.

Also, I have a different trailer that I usually use - 8 x 20 that holds cart, bikes, canopy tent, and other various items. However, there is no way my minivan would pull that (it barely pulls the trailer empty).

As for the tires, they are highway rated, but I may look into beefing them up to car tires in the future depending on how often I use it.

On ‎4‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 8:37 AM, h2odivers...Ray said:

Glad you'll had no problems.  I can't wait for the pictures.   I am thinking of stealing your idea. But instead of an ecv on it I want to put my ice chest on it.  When we go to the marina the ice chest goes on the back seat so we can only get 2 adults and a child on the front seat. 

As promised, here are some pics.

First, we have the golf cart on its trailer to bring it down. This is a 4 x 8 trailer I purchased used, but is available (unassembled) from Harbor Freight for around $400. Since the cart sticks off the back a little, I chose not to use a traditional hinged gate ramp. Instead, the sides come off and are the loading ramps (I used clevis pins with cotter pins to lock them in place so they are easily removable). Additionally, the height of the legs is intentional. When the ramps are in place, I use the clevis pins with a steel plate to keep the ramps from moving (apart or together). That red box on the seat is the collapsible wagon (we had to pack everywhere since the first part of our journey was in a minivan).

Here we are unloading the golf cart at the Fort! The chain was to keep the cart from being stolen since we had a long trip with an overnight stop in a rest area. The straps are what held everything in place.

Here we are with the wagon attached. I just lowered the handle of the wagon over the grab bar of the cart. If you notice in the first picture, there is actually a handle attached. Funny story. You'll have to read the trip report when I get it up... You can see the mobility cart and wheelchair under the canopy in the background.

I love the instant canopies! They serve as a garage and are great if there is any rain. Chargers store under cover, as does the cart at night.

Here we are loaded up and ready to go!

It was a little crowded, but hey, we got 6 people plus all needed accessories. By later in the week, we also started putting the backpack in the wagon. Tried the wheelchair, but just couldn't get it to stay.

As I stated before, I like this type of wagon because when we got to the parking, it folded up and stored in the front of the cart with no issues. Hope this helps!

On ‎4‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 10:01 AM, Tri-Circle-D said:

Thanks for reporting back!  Glad to know that your plan worked.

Did you end up getting the 100 loop?

TCD

We did! Ended up at site 115. Right across from the walking path to the marina/store, which is exactly what I wanted. Not easy to back in to (but I knew that since I have the FW Sites app). Ended up backing the golf cart off the trailer and removing the trailer before backing in. Next time, we will use the hitch/unhitch area to remove the golf cart and have someone meet us at the site!

Made it! The only comments we got were, "Why didn't I think of that?"

If you saw an old, slow golf cart with 6 people, a wheelchair, and a red wagon with a disassembled ecv in it this past week, that was me!

In case others want to use this idea in the future, the wagon handle went over the backseat handrail. Also, the wagon is collapsible, so it was stored on the cart when not in use. I will add some pictures later.

I also had fun surprising people by using the golf cart's turn signals. That got some great reactions!

Thank you all for the feedback and ideas!

Mo, could you please provide me with Warren's info? I am at the Fort now, packing up this morning to (sadly) head home. I will soon have a trip report with thrills and spills (literally) the likes of which will do TCD proud!

TCD - thank you for providing those links!

GaDawgFan - a great suggestion, which I appreciate! I am always looking for ways to save money. Rather than pay $$ to rent an ECV, I went on Craigslist locally, and bought one for $100. Good investment! Because of this, I don't know the exact state of the battery. For days we are going to non-MK parks, I want to conserve battery power. We will most likely be in the 100 loop and I would rather take the golf cart than wait for internal buses.

On a side note, the wagon I plan on using is collapsible, so it will fold up and store on the golf cart while we are in the parks, so not taking up additional parking room. Also, by padlocking it to the steering wheel of the golf cart, it will act as an anti-theft deterrent for the golf cart (not that I'm too worried about this).

I think I will type up something to the effect of "Towing of a trailer behind a golf cart is not against any rules at Fort Wilderness" and see if I can get a Fort Manager to sign off on it. That way, all bases are covered. Not trying to be a jerk or smart-a... Just trying to avoid any foreseeable trouble. Feel free to chime in with any other thoughts!

Greetings all! I will be at the fort in a little over a week (4/1 - 4/8). We will probably be in the 100 loop. Feel free to find the Fleetwood Storm and say hi!

The group consists of 2 kids (7 and 5), their mother who has MS, their father (me) who is out of shape, their maternal grandmother who cannot walk long distances, and their paternal grandfather who had knee reconstruction. We are a sorry lot. We are bringing the golf cart to get around the fort. We also have a wheelchair for shared use and an ECV for the grandmother.

I know ECVs are not allowed on the fort main roads. I also know wagons are not allowed in the parks. However, can I disassemble the ECV and put it in the wagon to tow behind the golf cart (like a trailer)? This would be the fastest way to get around, but I don't want to break the rules. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!