Hunting Cart w/Motorcross Long Travel Suspension-Under the Hood
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
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Adding a long travel suspension to your hunting golf cart can increase the ride and make your golf cart perform much better. In this video, I will walk you through how I built a 4-link suspension on the rear of my hunting cart that rides on Polaris Sportsman 700 coilover shocks. I will then show you how I built the front end with TRX450R A-Arms and Fox Podium adjustable shocks.
Adding an ATV suspension to a hunting golf cart can be a challenge and one needs to have some fabrication skills along with a little know how. It is a fun project that is worth the work in the end.
Whether you are using your cart for hunting or not a long travel suspension will be appreciated by anyone who takes a ride. They will notice right away how nice it rides!
Thanks for Watching!
My Email: HHSteve@protonmail.com
I would love 2 have a Dad like u so I can watch and learn.
I would love to teach you! I love teaching people who want to learn! I hope you find our videos helpful but if you ever have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out to me. God Bless you my friend!!!
Hello Handy Hunter, you have Kevin Voyer, AKA Defensive Shooter here. I have a 2018 Tomberlin 48v AC SS Coupe LSV Golf Cart, I bought new and love. It has independent front suspension and coil-over rear live axle, with a built it 17 hp AC motor, powered by 8, 6v Trojan T-105 Deep Cycle batteries. Controlled by a 450 watt controller with a built in Q Smart Charger with Bluetooth. Plus 4 wheel hydraulic brakes with drilled front disks, plus power steering. All LED lights, hi/lo beams, turn, park and stop lights, tinted DOT safety windshield and wiper. All rolling on 245/50-12” alloy wheels. The cart handles better than any other I have driven, stops on a dime with a nickel change. Runs a constant 25 mph when feathering the go pedal and up to 26-27, on the speedometer, with over 5,000 miles on it. It looses to my wife EZ-Go TXT 72v, from a dead stop, but walks away soon after, plus runs right up hills. Ok the suspension has only 2.5” travel in front and 2” rear and fairly stiff, the front soaks up most bumps, but the rear only takes the sharpness out of hits. I would love to add some liner travel shocks, front and rear, but I’m afraid I’m limited with the length of the control arms in front, but not the rear. My only question is what shocks do I start with?? Even adding just a bit of travel to the rear would help. Good luck have fun and stay safe and healthy! Thanks!
Hi brother, it’s really hard to say without seeing how it’s setup. I’m not familiar with tomberlin’s suspension but know they are great carts. Stupid question, but do they make upgraded shocks for Tomberlins? If you have to go to longer shocks for more travel then you may have to move up the top shock mounts and I don’t know if that’s possible? Aside from that you may have to research high end shocks for your shock length to avoid complete suspension overhaul. Let me know how it goes and good luck!
Thanks, this is some great info and video. This is my next project.
Good luck and have fun with it!
When I great golf cart this is the type im trting too build rn thanks for the info
You are welcome!
Awesome build! I was thinking of using my stock A-arms off my Polaris Ranger 900 and using the stock club car spindles. But after seeing the disk brakes on yours i will have to change my plans. Again awesome build and thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! Good luck with your build!
Thanks for the great video. I'm in the process of doing something very similar right now. This helped a lot.
You are welcome! Have fun!
Awesome!! Thanks for the info!! Can’t wait to do that to mine!!
Good luck and have fun!
I love your cart man, super sweet!!!
Much appreciated! Thanks for watching!
You're welcome!
Awesome detail, thanks bro
👍
Can you post more video footage of the suspension action while driving. I want to see how well it works before converting mine. So i can determine if i need to move the trailing links inboard for more twist, etc. Thanks. Love your project and thanks for making these excellent videos about ow you did it.
It may be a while before I could do that because my cart is at the farm. Not sure what you are using the cart for but be mindful that moving the arms in for more twist comes with articulation that you may or may not want. Either way you will love the ride over stock!!! Good luck with your project!!!
Amazing video and an amazing build!!!
Thank you!!
Do you feel that it is advantageous to add 4wd? This will predominantly be utilized for turkey hunting and will mostly be used on gravel/dirt roads? I am also considering an EZ Go due to staying away from aluminum frame. Please let me know your thoughts Brother! Thank you again for the most detailed video on UA-cam. This is what a "How To Video" should be!!! You nailed it Brother!
Jerrod@@TheHandyHunter
I didn’t need 4wd but added a winch for good measure. I wouldnt mind 4wd but its a big deal that’s not worth the $ and fabricating on a golf cart. Good choice on EZ go for steel frame but stay away from the RXV with the motor brake. My father in law has one and it stays broke more than it runs...not good for offroad. Also, go Lithium up front if you can. You’ll save 300 lbs of battery weight and they’ll last you many years without maintenance. Check out my last video. FYI, I got 25 miles on this pack on pavement (not offroad). Good luck and have fun with your project!
Love ur cart so badass ! 👍💪
Thank you brother! It’s a great hunting cart that meets all our needs. Thank you for watching!
very...very nicely done...
Both the Creativity, and Your Craftsmanship, which is demonstrated by both the work with the cart and your effort to speak clearly.
Not a chick flick but for the people who got it.... this was a GREAT Video.
Thank you for the work....
Much appreciated! Thanks for commenting!
Great detailed video, I was contemplating doing the same thing to my club car when I found your build. is there any spcial reason you chose the trx450 parts, there are a ton of used broken 4 wheelers including Polaris (for shocks) on the market. Seams like you can get an entire bike for what they want for a brake kit.
Thanks
Bill
Hi Bill, i had no special reason for picking a 450 setup. There were a bunch of used ones on ebay at the time so i went that route. I really wanted front brakes and they make a huge difference. If you look hard you can find someone selling the whole unit with brakes and hubs, etc, because they are upgrading to wider setups for racing. You could definitely do this with any a-arm setup. Tons of arms on ebay just make sure they arent bent. A lot of times people will sell their bent ones on ebay to pay for their new ones. Good luck!
Nice machine
That Murder Inc. Thank you! Fits our needs perfectly and is very stealth! Thanks for watching!
I was wondering about your cart thanks for sharing. I have a few questions on welding.
You are welcome! Glad to help if you have questions...feel free to reach out at TheHandyHunter2017@gmail.com
Great Video. Is there another way to set up the rear. Looks like you lose some clearance with the bottoms bars if you were to drive over a 5" log you may bottom out. Looking to do something similar and want to see if there is a way to keep my clearance.
Hi Ken, i havent had any problems but I’m not a log jumper either. I don’t remember losing much clearance over the stock leaf spring brackets but maybe a little. You could probably weld the bottom bracket to the front of the axle instead of the bottom. That would probably save you at least 3” and it probably wouldn’t affect performance in any way since we arent talking about high horsepower to the axle. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!
Well damn, I was about to just twist the axle back and build a truss and have the inner one be up in top the axle. I like this shit tho it looks easier
Sounds like you are working on the same type of project! Good luck with it!
Is that a precident steering rack? Or if not do you think that would work? Im gonna convert my carryall like you did using parts from a Kawasaki kfx vforce 700
It’s not, it’s a dragster steering rack. You may be able to make a precident rack work but I haven’t tried. Good luck…fun project!
Well done. I like the homemade 4 link. Where’d you get the DOM and what kind of $ would someone figure for this level of an install?
You can order precut DOM on ebay or you can get it from a steel store if you have one. Hard to say what the cost was...lol. I did it in phases and lost track of the costs. It wasnt too bad though...considering you already have tools(welder, cutter, etc). I bought the aarms used off ebay as well. You can get short cuts of angle iron at Tractor Supply or Home Depot. Hope that helps. Good luck and have fun!!
On the rear suspension bars for the four link did you buy a kit? If so where from?
You can buy “weldable tabs” with the hole size to match your heim joints on ebay or possibly other fabrication shops. I got mine on ebay. Good luck!
Instead of using the golf cart wheels and drilling to make fitment, why didn't you use the wheels from the TRX or any other aftermarket wheels? Is it a cost issue or re-purpose? Overall it is a masterpiece in engineering !!
You could definitely use TRX wheels on front but the back hubs are still golf cart holes so you would have different wheels on back. I wanted to keep the same looking wheels all the way around so had to drill to make the fronts fit the TEX hubs. Hope that helps!
What front/rear shock assembly would you recommend? I’m interested in fabricating a similar setup with my ezgo txt
You can use just about any atv shocks. Keep in mind that if you use lithium batteries you’ll lose about 300lbs which cause you to need lighter shocks or at least adjustable to perfect the ride. Good luck!
Man this is the best suspension I’ve seen and the rear don’t look too bad to build is there any way you can email me some measurements or scratch down some quick diagrams with measurements for me to copy the rear suspension I’m probably gonna just buy a long travel suspension kit for the front so I don’t have to get into that but I would like to build the rear suspension....... also how does the the rear suspension do when towing a trailer or boat is it strong enough to hold up a heavy load
Hard to give you measurements as my cart is at the farm. It's gonna be very custom from cart to cart...not sure what brand you have. You will have to fabricate it while building it on the cart but it's not too bad. The suspension does fine with trailers and pulling. Hauling a heavy load will depend on your shocks. My shocks aren't progressive so they bottom out with a really heavy load. I'm going to upgrade shocks on my next build and move to a progressive setup. Glad to give you some basic measurements next time I go to the farm but I'm not sure how soon you'll start building. Makes a world of difference! We have two carts at the farm...one is mine and the other has a stock suspension. I won't even ride in the other one because it's a nightmare on rough terrain. Once you do it you will never regret it!
Thanks man I have a ds model so it should be the same I should be able to figure out the measurements no problem I re watched the video and feel like I shouldn’t have a problem figuring it out I ordered the stuff to do it with and I should be starting it in the next few weeks thanks mine now is unbearable even just in the yard
What size tires are you running and do you what size lift you have
Running 22” tires. I don’t technically have a lift kit on it but lifted it with the suspension
would be cool they made this to bolt on just a regular DS cart wouldnt have to be no were near this big just to ride around this is off road version this would make a cart ride like best riding car
Jakes does make a bolt on long travel for the front but it isn’t as beefy as this one. Check it out on their website.
@HH. Any info on brand of lights and light bars used? Also about the small hunting stand wheel well lights? Thnx
I bought the too lights on ebay at US Stock and they’ve been great. The wheel well light is just a marine led I bought in the boating section at Walmart. Easy to replace if ever needed. Hope that helps.
what are ball joints tabs? 🤣 jk nice cart !!!
Wow that is a really cool design you came up with! I am in the planning stages of building an off road cart and I plan on using a club cart DS as a base but I am going with a gas version. I would like to build a suspension setup similar to yours but now I am wondering if the 4 bar system in the rear would fit on the gas model. Im thinking maybe the engine cradle would be in the way but I can't tell for sure because I haven't actually hunted down the right cart yet for my project yet. I would still like to do something similar to your design to the front suspension. I'm curious if there is a way around needing to drill the front wheels to fit the 450r front hubs? Maybe this could be achieved by making front wheel spacers that would have the correct stud pattern for the club cart wheels? I was also wondering if any modifications to the steering column were needed to use the new rack and pinion you used? Could you provide a link for the rack and pinion that you used?
Hi Christopher, sounds like you are about to have some fun! A few things...you may want to consider an EZ Go over DS just due to the fact that it has a steel frame and you can weld directly to it. I’m gonna use an EZ Go on my next build for that reason alone. Regarding the hubs, you could probably figure out something using a spacer. Buy a 4 lug spacer and drill holes to match your atv hubs...might be possible. For the steering, the long steering shaft is fine but from the u-joint to the rack and pinion will have to be custom built. I have to say that the steering was the hardest part of the project. Dont pass out when you see the price of the rack but if you choose to put one on there from ebay you’ll be replacing it because of rattling. I used an 11” dragster stilleto by Strange Engineering - www.strangeengineering.net/product/stiletto-rack-pinion-dragster-12-1.html/ . I hope that helps. Have fun and feel free to contact me if you have questions.
@@TheHandyHunter thanks for the feedback and thank you for providing the link for the rack! There goes my idea of doing this build for less than the off the shelf kits cost haha. But then again those kits dont come with front brake systems either.
How do you attach the body to make it easier to take on and off? Something like Rivnuts?
I just have a couple screws and bolts holding mine on but it’s still not easy to get off due to the rollcage etc.
Man I love ur setup!!! I got everything done to my cart n now it’s time to tackle the suspension. Did you use the front clip off the atv or just the a arms?
Wally Babb what do you mean by “clip”? I just used the aarms and created my own bracket for them to connect to. Is that what you are asking? Glad to help and good luck with your project!
The Handy Hunter Yes sir. I just watched your video again n seen that lol. It’s definitely gonna be a project but I bet that ride is amazing!!! Thank you & ur videos are great
You are welcome! Glad you find them helpful! It's a big undertaking but it will be worth it in the end! The ride is great and having front brakes is awesome too! Keep me updated and have fun!
Did you modify the ball joints on the a-arms? Also, the a-arms look tilted back. How much tilt is needed. Thanks
Didn’t modify ball joints except for extending steering rods. I eyeballed the tilt but you only need just a little. Hope that helps.
The Handy Hunter Thank you. I appreciate all the research you put into this and sharing. Have a great day and a great hunting season!
Could you supply a link to where I could buy the stuff to build my 4 link suspension? Thank you
Hi Wally. Here's some links to get you started. Just make sure you match everything up properly as I quickly pulled these links off Ebay. You'll need to choose the thickness of your DOM piping...I put the thinner pipe link below but I actually built mine with the next thicker pipe (didn't need it and that's why I put the link below). What I used is really too heavy for my application. What I put down below should work just fine. Also, you get what you pay for in Heim joints. These are cheap but may want to consider better ones. They get a little loose with a slight rattle that drives me crazy sometimes. Hope this helps!
www.ebay.com/itm/3-4-Hole-3-Tube-1-4-Thick-QTY-4-Four-Link-mounting-axle-tab-bracket/223166487080?hash=item33f5c25a28:g:O6MAAOSwEppUSazn:sc:USPSPriorityMailSmallFlatRateBox!34655!US!-1
www.ebay.com/itm/3-4-Hole-Flat-1-4-Thick-QTY-4-Four-Link-mounting-flat-tab-bracket-4/323471850269?hash=item4b506cbb1d:g:IPoAAOSwr81USa0Y
www.ebay.com/itm/DOM-Steel-Tube-1-5-OD-x-120-wall-sold-per-foot-Offroad-Jeep-4x4-Truck-Builder/253438066049?epid=7005733835&hash=item3b0215fd81:g:ydAAAOSwHgBZb6hi
www.ebay.com/itm/Economy-Panhard-Bar-Kit-3-4-x-3-4-16-Econ-Heim-Joint-Bungs-120/371075183376?hash=item5665cdf310:g:nWQAAOSwofxUbgHi
How long are the top and bottom tensioning rods ?
Sorry, I don’t remember and my cart is at the farm. Keep in mind that they are adjustable in length due to the heim joints. Wish I could help you more.
Is the any way you can give me the run down on your power/drive setup? I’ve got a 98 ds I working on for a ranch/hunting cart. We are in a lot of sand.
Hi Chris, this cart still has the original GE motor in it that runs probably close to 5 hp at 48volts. I run a 500amp Alltrax controller with a Curtis PB potentiator (throttle). Not sure what the axle ratio is but it’s the original. Lots of torque with my setup but if you need more you could always go to 600 amps. Are u replacing motor? If so you could go high torque on that too. Let me know if that helps. Take care!
How did you determine your front and rear shock angles and ride height?
Derek McDowell that was the hard part. A lot of it was guessing and fine tuning. With the rear I put the cart on blocks with the axle under it and began to play with top shock mount placement. I ended up sliding it as far forward as I could and it was fine. The bottom shock mount can be slightly adjusted as well by turning the axle. The front was tougher. I had to play with the Tbrace height to get it in the range I wanted and then made the horizontal bar on the Tbrace wider so I could put the shock more vertical to increase front end height. Just remember that you want your shocks to ride in the middle of your travel range under normal load. So if your fronts have 4 inches of travel you want to adjust them to squat 2 inches with people in the cart. The key is to tack weld and then try it. Let me know if I can help. Good luck with your project! You can email me at steve@digitalsouth.com if you need anything. God Bless
The Handy Hunter I will email you some additional questions. I have already bought the shocks, a arms, and heim joints. I plan on copying your rig pretty closely.
Derek McDowell are you working on a club car? Also, the steering was the hardest part so be ready to keep your cool! You are going to want to buy a good rack and pinion and they ain’t cheap. I used one off Ebay and it got noisy quick. I then upgraded to a Strange engineering unit. At least you have mine to copy. It was tough not having an example to follow. Good luck
could you purchase a lift kit and achieve the same out come?
No because the lift kit only lifts the cart further off the ground but doesnt improve the actual suspension...mine got worse after the lift (stiffer). The only way to really improve the ride is to build a long travel suspension capable of absorbing big bumps and pot holes around a farm. It’s a lot of work to do it but well worth it. Good luck!
Did you camo paint the body yourself?
Yep, it looks like it too, huh?!? LOL
@@TheHandyHunter Nah it looks good! You’ve been my whole inspiration for my cart build. I went down to the frame, powder coated everything and am building it back up. New motor, harnesses, switches, lithium battery, long travel lift and springs are all in - drive it around for the first time last weekend. Working on my $65 camo paint job as I type… just waiting on this coat to dry!
Awesome! Shoot me a pic when you are all done. Can’t wait to see it! I can post it on our community board as well!
Did you install a limited slip differential? If so where can I buy one? I have the same cart that I'm building for a hunting buggy
I just kept the original axle. I get stuck every now and then but nothing that my winch can’t rescue...lol. Good luck in your build!
Thanks for the reply! I will be posting videos of by build. Just got started with the whole youtube thing! Thanks
Hey Steve! I was talking to you about doing a build last year. I have some more questions for you but for some reason I can’t send a email to you now. How could I get ahold of you? Appreciate it!
My new email is hhsteve@protonmail.com. Shoot me an email. Thx!
Thanks Steve! Email sent!
How long do your batteries last on a charge.
I can run it hard all day around the farm with no problem. Hard to say how many miles that is but it would be several. That includes hills and trailers, etc. Hope that helps!
Thank you much sir. Have 1200 ac lease in Georgia. Sounds like that will work just fine
can I talk to you about my scooter? It's mobile scooter
I’m not sure i can help you with a scooter…not familiar with them. What’s going on?
🤔 I'm pretty sure you're using the phrase "it's all ready been engineered" wrong.
The A-Arms have been "engineered" to an ATV, not the golf cart.
This is flawed logic even if it works.
What I was implying is that they are already built so you don’t have to custom fabricate from scratch. I’m pretty sure everyone watching this video knows that a-arms from an atv weren’t engineered for a golf cart so they understood what I meant.
2" WHEEL SPACER , Not "axle extender"