Mileage Anxiety with a Electric Golf Cart in The Villages Florida

[@fierceflyer5]

Thanks Gary, fantastic information I appreciate you making this video. Don’t worry about video length, we will watch for as your videos are. 👍🏻

[@brianford9522]

Doing research on the villages for best location to live (when we retire in 5 years and didn't want to pay the annual subscription (now $9 a year)... so I was able to use the bicycle route option in google maps to do a few point to point distance checks. The speed they assume for bicycle appears to be about 12 mph... so you have to adjust the time estimate, but the distance seems correct. They use the multimodel paths in most cases.

[@ritafaulkner7042]

Awesome info on batteries in electric golf carts! We are leaning towards electric golf carts!

[@GaryAbbott]

Hopefully you found it helpful.

[@jeffsanderson2579]

thanks for video. we will be there tomorrow . hope we see you.

[@GaryAbbott]

Have fun!

[@TheBoyleChicagoHome]

Another great video. Thanks

[@GaryAbbott]

Thanks again!

[@mbene1585]

There have been several threads on ToTV asking Villagers how far they drive their carts in a day and the vast majority that replied said 10 or 15 miles a day. Many said if you ride 50 miles in a cart your backside will not like you. Most people overestimate how far they really go in their carts.

[@GaryAbbott]

You maybe right that most people don't ride as much as I do. I think a busy day for me is about 40 miles but that may be high. My wife and I love to go for nightly cruises on the golf cart so we use it a lot. I'm going to start watching how far I go on trips as the dealership just showed me how to reset the trip mileage counter on the cart.

[@Anthony-ko3ep]

Thanks Gary, very helpful

[@GaryAbbott]

Glad it was helpful!

[@debrabyrd1306]

Thanks Gary for all information, this was another great video!

[@sonofmabarker]

You didn’t take into account the Florida heat. Batteries in cars only last three years in the Sunshine State. Hot weather really does a job on batteries.

[@GaryAbbott]

Didn't know that.

[@sonofmabarker]

@@GaryAbbottAlways change your car battery at the three year mark. It will not start at the worse possible time. So just do it.

[@curbappeal1010]

With how many people live in TV, you'd think they would have some EV charging stations at the town squares. People could pay to charge while getting a bite to eat. OR do they already have those? I plan on moving there in less than two years but haven't noticed any on my visits. Your videos are informative - Thank you for making them!

[@Harold-u8c]

We live .5 miles from SS and have done a GC ride to the new HS and back. We have two Yamaha gas and don’t sweat the length of the trip. The GPS is close on time, we have made the trip to Fenny many times again we never worry about fuel. That is our main reason for not purchasing electric. We have no smell (if you do you have exhaust leak) we have blue tooth so we listen to music. No regrets for us. Our weekly use is about 45-50 miles on each, but we have the advantage of big stores very close.

[@jamesstevenson6205]

Thanks for the information

[@billhelmkamp7964]

We live in the village of Newell and have an electric golf cart with a 210 amp hour battery. I can count on a pretty consistent range of about 65 miles per full charge with one or two passengers. That being said I’ve never been below 15% of battery charge so I’m estimating. Maybe I have more or less miles than I think. For your primary golf cart I would buy the larger battery every time.

[@GaryAbbott]

I agree with you as I would only get the 210 battery.

[@tomperry7365]

Gary, I took my 2016 Yamaha 4 seat Gas Cart from the Village of Dabney at the intersection of Chandler Dr. and CR-470 to Mulberry Grove Recreation Center at CR-42 (just for the fun of it), via the Brownwood Bridge. It was 27.1 miles and 1 hour and 38 minutes - - - one way! Can’t imagine anyone wanting to do that, one way let alone round trip!!! On a full tank of gas you could do 4 round trips! It would take about 16 hours and about 4 to 5 days to recover!!! 😂😜😂😜😩😩

[@billredding2000]

I'm fine with golf-car trips taking longer -- what's the big hurry? For me there isn't any, and personally I've always thought the journey (leisurely/scenic drives) is almost as important as the destination. No need for speed anymore -- I'm retired. ;-) -- BR

[@GaryAbbott]

Tom, I should have talked about the sun tan lotion you need to take as your legs will get burned as well. Thanks for watching.

[@craigkovach8475]

As a double subscriber, when I watch this channel I'm always looking to figure out what you're wearing here that was featured on your OTHER channel. When present the Bulova's the easiest to spot!

[@GaryAbbott]

Thanks Craig. What was I wearing in the video? I think that day I wore three different watches. I think in the video it was the Paul Newman Rolex homage by Pagani.

[@ronfreeman2738]

Hi Gary, are you an engineer? I worked for the Department of Energy for 40 years, you remind me of several of the exceptional engineers I worked with. We like your glasses!

[@GaryAbbott]

Nope, not an engineer. Thanks for liking my glasses.

[@badkarma1289]

Another important variable - speed. Many of the newer electric carts have a button/switch which toggles between running the cart at a much lower speed (just cruising around the neighborhood) versus being able to run it at or near top speed (longer trips, or if you're late for that tee time). This can greatly affect SOC.

[@GaryAbbott]

Good point.

[@MPerski]

I keep a 5 gallon gas can in my garage to top off my Yamaha gas golf cart (like every other week). So I rarely take my golf cart to a gas station unless I happen to go by Magnolia Plaza (I live in Newell). I fill the can when I get gas in my car up at a gas station.

[@GUITARTIME2024]

Major fire hazard.

[@MPerski]

@@GUITARTIME2024 No it’s not. 🙄 That’s what these gas cans are designed for.

[@pattiebravata7462]

It would be nice if they had a bus or trolley service. The Villages has gotten so big and the distance has really increased from one end to the other. Not all seniors can drive this far. For short trips I would use an electric golf car but for anything further it would be nice to be able to board a bus or trolley within the Villages. Just an idea.

[@ScottHirschman]

Buy a gas powered cart and headphones to listen to your fav music. Problem solved.

[@phongpit]

Are you talking about Lithium-ion batteries? They are a very dangerous fire hazard! In a six-week period, two families in this area have lost their entire homes and everything in them to EV battery fires! First was on June 15th in Brooksville, the second was up near Jacksonville. One was EV bikes, the other was an EV golf cart! An EV in your garage is like a ticking time bomb! You could lose everything, including your lives, in an EV battery fire!! Be warned! Don't risk it. They are NOT safe!

[@GaryAbbott]

We must have over 30,000 electric golf carts in the Villages and over the past 3 years we have had two maybe three golf cart fires but all were gas carts.

[@tamieemmer2795]

We are buying a gas golf cart when we get down there. I think living in Moultrie Creek, we will be using the car more than the golf cart. We have no idea where the golf cart paths are, so I'm sure we will get lost many times...but we are excited for the move next month! Sorry I didn't catch the name of the app you are using, could you let me know please. Thank You!

[@billredding2000]

Gas is the way to go for a golf-car...most people see that as well. But that's also true of cars/trucks: Most people don't want an EV (despite the Green Agenda push for them). For me, when (if?) I move to The Villages (TV) I'll be getting a gas golf-car (likely Yamaha) and will be using it almost exclusively. One huge reason is it gets 3X better MPG in the City than my truck does...so I can do 3X the driving for the same cost of gas. And since I plan to tour EVERY MILE of the ~100 miles of golf-car trails/paths TV has, that will work out fine -- my truck can stay parked in the garage for the most part, but will leave The Bubble occasionally to at least exercise it. ;-) -- BR

[@GaryAbbott]

You will have fun in Moultrie Creek and the cart paths are mostly along the major roads but in the Village you for the most part drive right along with the roads that lead straight to Eastport. You also will be very close to Middleton main street with a lot of shopping and dining choices in the near future. Just type in The Villages GPS and the app should come right up. It does have a one time cost but worth it when I bought it.

[@billredding2000]

@@GaryAbbott Yes, I'll definitely need some sort of GPS, so will definitely get The Villages app. I may do some late-night "cruises" as well...but will try to avoid paths/trails right next to houses (if possible) so I don't annoy people. The current model Yamahas are not that noisy so that's good. -- BR

[@tamieemmer2795]

@@GaryAbbott Thank you Gary!

[@lowridinpacker]

I have a late model Yamaha quietech and an evolution D5 with a 160 AH battery. Based on my experience , I would say the D5 can do about 45 miles with 4 adults and about 55 with 2. Sorry but if it’s farther there and back than about 25 miles I am taking the car. The big difference is comfort. The D5 is WAY more comfortable and quiet. It’s like a Buick Vs the Yamaha is a jeep wrangler. I like my Yamaha but for 2/3 the price, the Evolution D5 is a MUCH better value. If I went to 1 cart, the Yamaha is gone. For comparison, I have hybrid cars and won’t be going electric anytime soon. I am not some type of crusader for electric. The new lithium carts are just better. The battery has an 8 year warranty. Good video.