If you’ve taken the plunge and bought your own golf cart rather than renting one to save money, then it’s a good idea to look at purchasing a trailer for a golf cart to pull it from course to course. Choosing the right one to fit your particular model golf cart shouldn’t be too hard if you get the size and weight correct.
The best golf cart trailer is usually a 5-foot x 10-foot standard utility trailer. Make sure it has a swing-down ramp and you are set to go.
Now, concerning the load capacity…What do golf carts weigh? 630 lbs. to 1600 lbs. depending on the model on the chart below. Here are a few things to consider before purchasing a golf cart trailer, along with the tools to calculate tongue weight and capacity.
Golf Cart Trailer Size
It goes without saying that you could always measure the width and the length of your golf cart and then see if you can find the proper trailer, but sometimes the dimensions of the golf cart trailers are pre-set and not precisely the size you’re looking for. The ideal size for most golf carts will be 5 feet wide by 10 feet long, but sometimes a non-custom trailer just doesn’t fit your custom golf cart.
A good example is a used golf cart trailer I bought that should have been just perfect, but the custom body hangs two feet over the back. It can only transport two people and will not allow for added seating. I was assured by the seller that this trailer would fit any two-seater golf cart, and if I had the original club car body, that would have been true. The golf cart trailer was a great buy, but it was only around 8 feet long. A 10 foot would have been great and the right trailer I need.
If you have a small trailer, you may be able to load the golf cart backward, letting the rear of the body overhang the front of the trailer. See if the back bumper of the cart is high enough to ride over the front wall of the trailer. This can be necessary if you have a rear seat installed. Measure from the ground to the bottom of the back of the golf cart and compare it to the height of the front of the trailer. If you load the vehicle backward, remove the windshield if possible, then secure or remove the front seat bottom (most seats swing up from the back and might catch the wind).
Golf Cart Trailer Safety
On a non-custom trailer, the golf cart trailer you are choosing will have a safety rating so make sure that your choice has the best rating possible. Find a trailer that can use the back hatch as a ramp for your golf cart so you can easily load and unload your golf cart without having to pack any additional ramps.
Any of the trailers that are available from places like Home Depot or Lowe’s will be considered utility trailers and not necessarily capable of holding the weight of a golf cart on the expanded metal ramp. In these cases, you may have to supplement with wooden boards to take the burden off of the weld points on the frame. Many of these weld points are too few in number to hold the concentrated weight at the point between tire and trailer. If you have the equipment to do so, you can add spot welds to beef the ramp up a bit.
Safety chains and tail light wiring harnesses are a must-have to protect your investment and fellow drivers. Take the time to ensure the signals and brake lights operate correctly before heading into traffic. There are some excellent receivers and hitches for sale on Amazon.
Always check out the manufacturer’s reviews online and compare them to your individual needs.
How Much Do Golf Carts Weigh? – A Comparison of The Top 40
A golf cart’s weight (Listed as Curb Weight) is vital to know when it comes to determining if your trailer is up to the task. Your vehicle should be checked to ensure it can pull the combined weight.
The golf cart’s weight is between 630 and 1600 lbs based on the available new models in the top three manufacturers, EZGO, Club Car, and Yamaha. These numbers vary due to passenger capacity, gas or electric, and aluminum or steel frames.
Owning a lightweight SUV like my Honda HRV, I was concerned about the towing capacity I need versus the weight of the trailer to pull plus the golf cart’s weight. Obviously, an electric cart is going to have two different weights: with batteries and without. The batteries are 63 to 72 lbs each, and you can multiply that times how many your cart takes.
Below is a table listing the top three manufacturers’ published specifications.
| Manufacturer | Model | Dimensions (Height omitted - Varies With Top/No Top) | Curb Weight (with Batteries) | Dry Weight (without Batteries) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EZGO | ||||
| Freedom RXV Gas | 93.5 in. length x47 in. width | 747 lbs | 697 lbs | |
| Freedom RXV Electric | 93.5 in. length x47 in. width | 970 lbs | 642 lbs | |
| Freedom RXV ELiTE | 93.5 in. length x47 in. width | 774 lbs | 674 lbs | |
| Freedom RXV 2+2 Gas | 105.5 in. length x 47 in. width | 825 lbs | 785 lbs | |
| Freedom RXV 2+2 Electric | 105.5 in length x 47 in. width | 1002 lbs | 674 lbs | |
| Freedom RXV 2+2 ELiTE | 105.5 in. length x 47 in. width | 859 lbs | 759 lbs | |
| Freedom TXT Gas | 93 in. length x 47 in. width | 750 lbs | 706 lbs | |
| Freedom TXT Electric | 93 in. length x 47 in. width | 972 lbs | 606 lbs | |
| Freedom TXT ELiTE | 93 in. length x 47 in. width | 638 lbs | 588 lbs | |
| Freedom TXT 2+2 Gas | 106 in. length x 47 in. width | 896 lbs | 861 lbs | |
| Freedom TXT 2+2 Electric | 106 in. length x 47 in. width | 1036 lbs | 658 lbs | |
| Freedom TXT 2+2 ELiTE | 106 in. length x 47 in. width | 859 lbs | 759 lbs | |
| 72-Volt Freedom | 93.5 in. length x 47 in. width | 1200 lbs | 573 lbs | |
| Express S4 Gas | 114 in. length x 48.5 in. width | 984 lbs | 937 lbs | |
| Express S4 Electric | 114 in. length x 48.5 in. width | 1210 lbs | 844 lbs | |
| Express S4 High Output | 114 in. length x 48.5 in. width | 1210 lbs | 844 lbs | |
| Express S6 Gas | 141.5 in. length x 48.5 in width | 1039 lbs | 992 lbs | |
| Express S6 Electric | 135.8 in. length x 49 in. width | 1456 lbs | 964 lbs | |
| Express L6 Gas | 143.5 in. length x 49 in. width | 1110 lbs | 1063 lbs | |
| Express L6 Electric | 143.5 in. length x 49 in. width | 1560 lbs | 964 lbs | |
| 2Five Electric | 107.1 in. length x 47.3 in. width | 1200 lbs | 872 lbs | |
| Valor | 93.5 in. length x 47 in. width | 816 lbs | 776 lbs | |
| Club Car | ||||
| Onward Lifted 4 Passenger Electric | 114 in. length x 49.5 in. width | 1125 lbs | ||
| Onward Lifted 4 Passenger Gas | 114 in. length x 49.5 in. width | 875 lbs | ||
| Onward 4 Passenger Electric | 108 in. length x 48.75 in. width | 1070 lbs | ||
| Onward 4 Passenger Gas | 108 in. length x 48.75 in. width | 795 lbs | ||
| Onward 2 Passenger Electric | 92 in. length x 48.75 in. width | 975 lbs | ||
| Onward 2 Passenger Gas | 92 in. length x 48.75 in. width | 675 lbs | ||
| Precedent Stretch PTV | 144 in. length x 47.25 in. width | 1176 lbs | ||
| Villager 2 Electric | 92 in. length x 47 in width | 909 lbs | ||
| Villager 2 Gas | 92 in. length x 47 in width | 651 lbs | ||
| Yamaha | ||||
| Drive 2 - Fleet | 93.6 in. length x 47.3 in. width | 720 lbs | ||
| Drive 2 - PTV | 93.6 in. length x 47.3 in. width | 720 lbs | ||
| Concierge 4 | 128 in. Length x 47.2 in. width | 767 lbs | ||
| Concierge 6 | 161.4 in. length x 47.2 in. width | 1010 lbs | ||
| Adventurer Sport | 107.3 in. length x 51 in. width | 823.4 lbs | ||
| Adventurer Sport 2+2 Gas | 108.9 in. length x 50.9 in. width | 905 lbs | ||
| Adventurer Sport 2+2 Electric | 108.9 in. length x 50.9 in. width | 788.1 lbs | ||
| Umax One | 111.45 in. length x 49.33 in. width | 930 lbs | ||
| Umax Two | 119.37 in. length x 49.33 in. width | 1003 lbs | ||
Tongue Weight
How Do You Find Your Golf Cart Trailer’s Tongue Weight?
This widget from Double D Trailers can help calculate the tongue weight by inputting the weight of the trailer, length of the trailer (Note: this is minus the tongue), and the distance from the center of the axle or axles.
Trailer Capacity
Trailer Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) is the amount of weight the trailer can carry. Some manufacturers rate the GVWR at the lowest component rating, while others include the trailer’s weight on top of the trailer capacity. If you have a trailer that weighs 2,000 pounds, that weight must be included in the capacity formula to stay under the GVWR.
There are several methods that manufacturers use to determine the GVWR of their trailers:
- Taking the lowest rating of the trailer components.
- Using the hub and wheel rating.
- Using the axle or tire rating.
All of these methods will determine the GVWR at the axle. In other words, if your axle is rated at 2000 pounds and you have two axles, your GVWR will be 4000 pounds.
Payload capacity is determined by one of these two formulas:
GVWR – Trailer Weight = Payload Capacity
Or
GVWR – Trailer Weight + Tongue Weight = Payload Capacity
Conclusion
Safety is often the last thing you consider when loading up to pull your cart to another adventure. Still, the hundreds or even thousands of pounds you are pulling behind you at highway speeds can turn into a lethal juggernaut unless time is spent preparing the equipment. Always check the bearing grease when you get the opportunity, as this is the number one cause of trailer failure. Keep those safety chains on, the air pressure topped off in the tires, and keep the Highway Patrol happy by not overloading the trailer.
