I'm in the market for an electric UTV. We have a ~400 acre hilly/rocky hill country ranch. We have plenty of motors out there for real work (tractor, gator, 4 wheelers, jeeps). For hunting I want a quiet ride.

I've been researching for quite some time. These are the impressive looking but pricey UTVs I've found so far:

- HuntVE is a Texas brand which I love but they also look to be the most expensive. A quick search for price didn't turn up too much but looks to be ~20K? http://www.huntve.com/?q=game-changer-4x4-crew

- I love the look of the Textron Recoil iS Crew. Here's one for $13700: https://www.atvtrader.com/dealers/Eastsi...-Xtra-121377275

I know this is the former Bad Boy Buggy which has probably the worst reviews around. But all of the reviews seem to be older. They were bought by EZ-GO and presumably manufactured by EZ-GO now so my hope is that they'd be as robust as their golf carts. Does anyone have any experience with a late model Recoil??

- It looks like I could get a Polaris EV for a bit less, but they only have 2 seaters. https://ranger.polaris.com/en-us/ranger-ev-polaris-pursuit-camo/build/
The reviews I've read seem mixed.

- https://intimidatorutv.com/build-your-own-intimidator/overview/. Looks to be around $17K? Haven't seen many comments or reviews of these.


Are there any other non golf cart UTVs out there worth looking at?


Are these even remotely worth the money, or should I just get a golf cart? Here's one that has pretty much everything for ~$8K: http://www.southernsportz.com/Hunting-Ca...nting-cart.html

It's not 4x4 or 72V like the pricey ones, but will probably do the trick for me.

I know a lot of people just buy a golf cart and do the conversion themselves. I assume I'd be able to do that for quite a bit less than $8K, depending on the model/year of the cart I buy.

I should mention that we do have a golf cart out there now. It's able to handle the roads and hills pretty well, though it's a bit of a rough ride. It's lifted with nice offload tires, but other than that it's just a plain old golf cart. It's not always there when I need it as it's the one vehicle my nephews are allowed to drive, so I want to buy my own. I plan to pull the trigger on something by this deer season.

Anyway, any opinions are appreciated. Most threads I've read are 2015 or older, so getting some 2017 info will probably help others as well.

Wapa,

Where is your place in the Hill County?

We are north of Junction and started with a lifted golf cart but upgraded to a Ranger EV about 3 years ago. Best decision for us. The golf cart would go wherever we needed it to, but like you mentioned they are rough riding. The EV is a Ranger and rides great. One, two or four wheel drive is nice and we normally just use one or turf more. No issues with it at all. Keep water in the batteries and grease the 14 zerks a few times a year and it is smooth and quiet.

We bought a new 2014 at the end of that year because the 2015 model year moved the emergency brake to the seat instead of the dash. We can squeeze three in the bench if necessary. I have not built a rear seat yet but usually just throw a 100 quart cooler in the back as a seat or have a hunter sit on a bale of alfalfa. It works well for us.

If you are not too far from Junction you are welcome to come see our EV some time we are both in the area.

T

If the golf cart does the job, I'd go that direction. Biggest disadvantage is lack of 4 wheel drive if it rains or get muddy. You can get a lot of cart for $5k if you shop around.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

@TimOub007, we're in the Llano area. I appreciate the invite. I'll take a closer look at the Ranger EV. I was out there this weekend doing some work and was riding our Gator around and it rides like a dream on those roads. Just too damn loud.

Id take the loud over the electric i dont think your gona like the electric stuff if your trying to move around 400 acres

Intimidator makes one also

The electric golf cart surprisingly moves around it pretty well. I wish it had more torque, which I could get for a little bit of cash. A smoother ride is the #1 wish though, and not sure how well that can be accomplished. I'd expect the higher end electric UTVs have a smooth ride like their gas cousins. But if there's any way to approach that in a golf cart I'm probably saving 5K+ and could probably get 2 carts instead of 1 UTV.

You can add an ATV-style long-travel lift kit that will really improve the ride. Mine is from All Sports. A larger controller and thicker battery cables will greatly improve the torque as well.

I have an extremely modified electric cart (Long travel kit, beefed up internals, roll cage, custom bed, disc brakes, etc) I use on our 1,200 acre Llano county lease. It works well. I evaluated the electric market before I built it, and at that that time there were no pre-built offerings that sounded good. The weakness of most is weight. Traditional UTVs are very heavy to use electric, which means you either have a small range or a bunch of batteries. I have about $6K in my cart, and it does all I need. Well below what I would have spent on the others. It is not nearly as capable as a Ranger or Mule Pro, but quiet and less $$.

The downside of modifying a cart is maintenance. Batteries need lots of attention as they age, and if you use it hard you will probably break stuff occasionally.Not for everybody, but sure is nice to sneak into my spot silently and with no gas fumes. I've killed many pigs from it while riding around. I'm looking forward to the day that the Li Ion battery technology gets affordable; that will revolutionize electric UTVs. Less weight, more range, and longer battery life span.

Yeah, the li-ions are nice. The Ranger EV li-ion is like $10K more than the one with regular batteries. I had to do a double take when I saw that. Maybe Elon Musk will get those prices down... I'm leaning towards just updating our existing cart for now, and if that works well, build another one.

Where's your lease? We're between 71 and c.r. 307 a little west of Kingsland.

Yes, that $10K markup is indeed impressive. I remember being excited when I read the Ranger LiIon EV was coming out, until I saw the price. Negative Ghostrider.

If you're the type that doesn't mind a little wrenching the cart can be made to be pretty serviceable. The Series carts generally hold up better, but the others can be made to work, just have to watch the slow and heavy stuff. I often think about getting a Ranger for the speed and range, but the quietness of the electric is so nice for hunting, and for cruising with the family.

That is neat country. We are between Llano and Castell North of 29. A bit drier than east of Llano. The storms always seem to split and miss Castell.

I was just commenting Sunday on how badly we needed some rain. In the next 36 hours we got 6.5". Ask and ye shall receive I guess... Hopefully you guys got some of that.

The ranch only got 1.5" but I'll take it. Folks to the East (like your way) and South of us got much more.

Just checking to see if you deciding on an electric vehicle? If so, what? Are you happy with your choice?

I would like to do the same myself......

The lead acid batteries will last 2-3 years.
The Lithium Ion batteries will last 7-9 years.

Both will die much sooner if you abuse them.

Lithium batteries are only part of the cost.
They are kinda finicky about charge/discharge and about 1/3 of the cost is charge control and individual cell monitoring electronics.

They are getting cheaper and have dropped by quite a bit just in last 6-8 months.
Early adapters always pay the premium.

If I was looking for electric, I would go with lead acid for now as the Li-Ion are going to come down.
There are some pretty amazing batteries showing up in the marketplace right now.
Check out the Headway 38120 batteries.

For the DIY guys, check out jehugarcia on YouTube.

You can build a great offroad golf cart for a reasonable price.
I have a bad boy instinct 72volt 2 wheel drive and love it. My batteries are 4 years old and still going good. I mounted a gps on the buggie to measure my travel I have driven 28 miles on a charge and still have power. I have never driven that much while hunting. Battery maintenance is the key keep them charged, clean connections and check the water level on a regular basis. I had a golf cart before I bought the bad boy it was 36v and I converted it to 48v it had plenty of power and adaquate speed for lease use on a 678 acre place we had at that time. One thing that you may want to invest in is a new charger there are some really good ones out there.
Just remember if your not driving it charge it.

2002 48V EZGo TXT, stock motor, lifted, tires and wheels, upgraded controller, cables, and FNR switch, limited slip diff. Very few places it won't go. Maintain and charge the batteries properly and they last for many years.

"Maintain and charge the batteries properly and they last for many years."

THIS

One of the best practices to get longer life out of lead acid batteries is to avoid discharging them more than 50%. And using a "smart" charger will go a long way toward extending their life as well.

I have a 2013 Bad Boy Ambush which is the gas/electric hybrid, you can switch back and forth. I love it. Biggest downside is it doesn't have a bed on the back, just a backseat that folds down. It's not real fast and the ride is kinda rough, but it sure is nice creeping around in electric mode when hunting.

Those hybrids are cool. Gas motor for the long distance travel, stealthy electric for the "final approach." They sure are proud of them though.

You can find some good deals on used ones...I got mine for $6k last year, found it on Craigslist.