Golf Cart in the bed of Tow Vehicle

[nitzo]

Is anyone doing this? Weight issues? How are you loading it? Just anything you can think of. We are coming out of a 42' toyhauler and need someway to haul our golf cart. Our tv is a 2018 F350 dually. Thanks for your help.

[GetawA-S]

It’s hard to offer an opinion without knowing the hitch weight and actual weight of the trailer, the load capacity of the truck, and the weight of the cart.
If the numbers don’t work out, consider something like e-bikes or scooters.
We don’t wan’t to see a jumble of truck, cart and trailer in the ditch on our travels - be safe!

[nitzo]

Originally Posted by GetawA-S

It’s hard to offer an opinion without knowing the hitch weight and actual weight of the trailer, the load capacity of the truck, and the weight of the cart.
If the numbers don’t work out, consider something like e-bikes or scooters.
We don’t wan’t to see a jumble of truck, cart and trailer in the ditch on our travels - be safe!

Yes, I should know the numbers, but I'm lazy and if I can find someone to tell me I'll will take the way out.

E-bikes? For sure on that.. Ours will be going with us.

[nitzo]

Very true, thanks. We won't even have the camper for 3 or 4 months and I was just doing a little preliminary pre-checking.

[TerraYacht]

Here's the now-famous Vinnie in 2011, hoping this link works. https://www.dropbox.com/s/pmxp7bd0k3..._0569.AVI?dl=0

He made it work. Of course.

[nitzo]

HAHAHAHA ..too cool!!!

[jaybauman]

Originally Posted by nitzo

Is anyone doing this? Weight issues? How are you loading it? Just anything you can think of. We are coming out of a 42' toyhauler and need someway to haul our golf cart. Our tv is a 2018 F350 dually. Thanks for your help.

Have you considered a Diamondback HD cover for the bed of your truck? You can outfit these things with everything needed to carry your golf car on top of the bed cover (which can carry 1600 lbs). This would still allow you to have dry, secure storage under the bedcover for all you other camping necessities.

I have one of these things, and there is no doubt it would work perfectly for your situation. Give them a look.

[nitzo]

Originally Posted by jaybauman

Have you considered a Diamondback HD cover for the bed of your truck? You can outfit these things with everything needed to carry your golf car on top of the bed cover (which can carry 1600 lbs). This would still allow you to have dry, secure storage under the bedcover for all you other camping necessities.

I have one of these things, and there is no doubt it would work perfectly for your situation. Give them a look.

Those are really cool, but, I have one of those roll-up hard covers and want to keep it and I'm ok with fitting the golf cart right in the bed of the truck and using the backseat for our storage needs. Right now we have a Honda Pioneer 1000-5 that works perfectly in the toy hauler. It's to big to fit in the back of the pick-up so we are going to get rid of it and get a 500 Pioneer, it's only 50" wide so it will fit in the f350 for those times when we want to off road and don't need the cart with us.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Ok, lets' guess the hitch weight is 1200 pounds on the trailer. Let's guess that the ramps to get the cart in the bed are another 150 pounds. Let's guess that there is another 500 pounds of cargo associated. That gets you to 1850 before the golf cart.

Golf cart could be anywhere in the 500 to 1500 pound range. That gets you to 2350 to 3350 pounds.

F350 capacity could be anywhere from 2,800 to 7,200 pounds depending on which one you have and what options are on it.

Looking at how we load things, there's at least another 500 pounds of load on the TV than what's in the numbers above, but that also takes up bed space.

Toss in some sort of high strength cover to park the cart on and you add a couple hundred more pounds. You also go to much fancier ramps to get it up there. The combo could be near a 1,000 pound adder by the time you are done.

So can you do it? Sure you can, with the right truck, right golf cart, right other needs, ....

There is an enormous range of numbers involved so there pretty much is no way to do this without the real data.

Bob

[fwjumper]

I do it, with an F250. I don't haul the cart with trailer for long distances, but 100 miles or so. If I had a dually I wouldn't hesitate, as long as the numbers were reasonable. I know you weren't considering a bed cover that would support your cart, but others have mentioned it. Bad idea. Takes a fairly simple process to an entirely new level.
The ramps I use are made by Reese, are aluminum, and weigh about 20 pounds each. (I'm guessing.) The combined capacity of the ramps is about double the weight of my golf cart. (Club Car) Cart walks right up them. I also have a bed cover which I have to remove when I want to move the cart. That is the hardest part of the process.
Good luck, safe travels!

[Beewee]

Here is how we traveled to Florida from Dallas in our F250 in 2013. Used strong steel ramps. Just fit with tailgate removed, so lost the backup camera. Used sturdy ties to keep it securely attached to the bed. Wheels just fit by an inch or so between the tire wells.

[pryner]

We towed our 31' with two atv's on a rack in our bed using a 2500 ram diesel. Towed from Salt Lake to Tampa with absolutely no problem. Tongue weight of the Airstream is relatively small and the two atv's weighed about 600# each. The rack added a little but certainly nothing the 2500 couldn't handle. With a dually I would expect your weight capacity is more than enough to carry the load.

[claymanjack]

i cary a kubota 400 in my 8ft bed.very important too obtain safe ramps.i use rev arc rated at 2400 ea at cabelas. jack

[VacuumKing]

GCWR Rating. Ok yall.

This is everything. Gross COMBINED Weight Rating. Give the lady at the CAT scale 9.00 and hope your Tow Vehicle has a bigger#. Mine was not.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by VacuumKing

GCWR Rating. Ok yall.

This is everything. Gross COMBINED Weight Rating. Give the lady at the CAT scale 9.00 and hope your Tow Vehicle has a bigger#. Mine was not.

Hi

Keep in mind that all these magic numbers are related to some very narrow definitions of safety. Nothing will self destruct and the brakes will not catch fire when stopping at a reasonable speed.

Staying *below* these numbers ( like by 20%) may be the only way to be comfortable while driving long distances. Taking everything right to the max is not a real good idea.

Bob

[nitzo]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Ok, lets' guess the hitch weight is 1200 pounds on the trailer. Let's guess that the ramps to get the cart in the bed are another 150 pounds. Let's guess that there is another 500 pounds of cargo associated. That gets you to 1850 before the golf cart.

Golf cart could be anywhere in the 500 to 1500 pound range. That gets you to 2350 to 3350 pounds.

F350 capacity could be anywhere from 2,800 to 7,200 pounds depending on which one you have and what options are on it.

Looking at how we load things, there's at least another 500 pounds of load on the TV than what's in the numbers above, but that also takes up bed space.

Toss in some sort of high strength cover to park the cart on and you add a couple hundred more pounds. You also go to much fancier ramps to get it up there. The combo could be near a 1,000 pound adder by the time you are done.

So can you do it? Sure you can, with the right truck, right golf cart, right other needs, ....

There is an enormous range of numbers involved so there pretty much is no way to do this without the real data.

Bob

I gathered some information, if ya'll would, please check my numbers, looks like I'll be ok.

2018 Ford F350 Super Crew DRW - GVWR 14,000. GCWR 31,000. Weight Capacity 5,305.

2021 Airstream GT27FBT - GVWR 7,600. Net Carling Capacity 1346. Tongue WT. 871.

2019 Yamaha Drive 2 Golf Cart - 800lbs.

What do ya'll think? I believe I'm well within my limits. Like I said , please check my numbers, tell if I'm missing something.

Thanks

[AnnaBelle33]

For the fun of it - try this:

Towing Calculator
https://www.airforums.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=218201


Curious if it helps you. Helped me determine I had too much in the bed of my truck.

[nitzo]

Originally Posted by AnnaBelle33

For the fun of it - try this:

Towing Calculator
https://www.airforums.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=218201


Curious if it helps you. Helped me determine I had too much in the bed of my truck.

Cool program, thanks. I ended up with 3,177 lbs surplus (RV available)

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by nitzo

I gathered some information, if ya'll would, please check my numbers, looks like I'll be ok.

2018 Ford F350 Super Crew DRW - GVWR 14,000. GCWR 31,000. Weight Capacity 5,305.

2021 Airstream GT27FBT - GVWR 7,600. Net Carling Capacity 1346. Tongue WT. 871.

2019 Yamaha Drive 2 Golf Cart - 800lbs.

What do ya'll think? I believe I'm well within my limits. Like I said , please check my numbers, tell if I'm missing something.

Thanks

Hi

Is the F350 number a door post number? If not head over to a dealer's lot and see what the real numbers actually are. Internet numbers are always bigger than what shows up on the door post.

The tongue weight on the AS in "real life" is likely about 400 pounds heavier than the advertised number.

No idea about the golf cart it's self.

You still need:

1) Weight of the ramps that get the cart into the truck

2) Weight of whatever hitch you happen to decide on.

3) The usual passengers, tools, generator and other stuff that often add 500 to 1000 pounds.

So maybe yes .... maybe no ...

Bob

[nitzo]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Is the F350 number a door post number? If not head over to a dealer's lot and see what the real numbers actually are. Internet numbers are always bigger than what shows up on the door post.

The tongue weight on the AS in "real life" is likely about 400 pounds heavier than the advertised number.

No idea about the golf cart it's self.

You still need:

1) Weight of the ramps that get the cart into the truck

2) Weight of whatever hitch you happen to decide on.

3) The usual passengers, tools, generator and other stuff that often add 500 to 1000 pounds.

So maybe yes .... maybe no ...

Bob

Bob, thanks for the time you are taking on this. The F-350 numbers are from the door post.

The tongue weight of the camper is from AS, since I don't have the camper yet, that is the only thing I have to go by.

The weight of the golf cart is from Yamaha, again, that's all I have to use, I have not weighed it.

1.) Weight of ramps. - Heavy, they are Black Widows, I'll say right at 80 lbs.

2.) Weight of Hitch - It will be a Pro Pride, 200 lbs.

3.) Weight of all other "stuff" - I'm say'n 800 lbs.

I think I'll be ok.

Thanks for the help.