Thermal Equipped Electric Hunting Cart for Night Use
- Thread starter Gman757
- Start date
Originally Posted By: Gman757Originally Posted By: cmatera How does ine go about building one? I've wanted to go electric but don't like what I see on the market. Not even sure electric could handle the hills in MO. Have 3 Grizzly 700's with EPS, but it would be nice to sneak around.
Originally Posted By: JPKVery cool! The Kubota at my bigger club is diesel, and you can hear it from a LONG way off.
We looked at an electric, but haven't made the change.
JPK
There is a trade off in range when going electric but the STEALTH factor is huge. I have driven up on lots of animals including packs of coyotes and sounders of hogs. I have never run my batteries down but I have a split 12v/48v electrical system just in case. If my batteries die I can use the 12 volt winch to load it onto my trailer provided I can get the trailer to where the cart is. I also have a very accurate "battery fuel gauge" for monitoring my state of charge.
You can get a unit that is designed for your conditions and they will go anywhere a gas unit will go except submerged in water. I installed a programmable 500 amp controller so that I can switch from a speed motor to a torque motor if needed. I can just hook a laptop up to the controller via USB and install the appropriate field map for the new motor. This cart would literally climb a wall with a torque motor. I have a GE speed motor in now and I have never had any issues climbing hills and it runs 21 MPH.
A friend of mine just bought one of the new Bad Boy units and it looks like a pretty good cart for hunting. They used to be junk but EZGO bought them a few years back and the now they are running 72 volt AC motors. Tons of torque and top speed is 25 mph. They are also making a hybrid 4 WD gas and electric model......you can run on gas for range and switch to electric for stealth.
http://badboybuggies.com
We have considered a new, preferably quieter diesel, a gas and the bad boy electric. A problem with gas and the combo gas and electric bad boy is transportation of gas in the quantity we need; we could load the utv on a trailer and fill a couple of 5gal cans if it came to that, but transporting (and transferring )gas is a concern. We have a couple of 85 gal diesel tanks we use to transport diesel and for a diesel generator we use to power a well ( to flood habitat for duck hunting.)
We would also prefer a four or five seater.
4wd is a nessesity. Belt drive is a no go unless sealed from water. Locking diffs are essential.
With a quoted 33mi range for a the five seat Bad Boy, it sounds like a very viable option. It's a bit heavy compared to a gas four sweater, pretty much like the diesel options out there in weight.
JPK
Originally Posted By: JPKVery cool! The Kubota at my bigger club is diesel, and you can hear it from a LONG way off.
We looked at an electric, but haven't made the change.
JPK
There is a trade off in range when going electric but the STEALTH factor is huge. I have driven up on lots of animals including packs of coyotes and sounders of hogs. I have never run my batteries down but I have a split 12v/48v electrical system just in case. If my batteries die I can use the 12 volt winch to load it onto my trailer provided I can get the trailer to where the cart is. I also have a very accurate "battery fuel gauge" for monitoring my state of charge.
You can get a unit that is designed for your conditions and they will go anywhere a gas unit will go except submerged in water. I installed a programmable 500 amp controller so that I can switch from a speed motor to a torque motor if needed. I can just hook a laptop up to the controller via USB and install the appropriate field map for the new motor. This cart would literally climb a wall with a torque motor. I have a GE speed motor in now and I have never had any issues climbing hills and it runs 21 MPH.
A friend of mine just bought one of the new Bad Boy units and it looks like a pretty good cart for hunting. They used to be junk but EZGO bought them a few years back and the now they are running 72 volt AC motors. Tons of torque and top speed is 25 mph. They are also making a hybrid 4 WD gas and electric model......you can run on gas for range and switch to electric for stealth.
http://badboybuggies.com
We have considered a new, preferably quieter diesel, a gas and the bad boy electric. A problem with gas and the combo gas and electric bad boy is transportation of gas in the quantity we need; we could load the utv on a trailer and fill a couple of 5gal cans if it came to that, but transporting (and transferring )gas is a concern. We have a couple of 85 gal diesel tanks we use to transport diesel and for a diesel generator we use to power a well ( to flood habitat for duck hunting.)
We would also prefer a four or five seater.
4wd is a nessesity. Belt drive is a no go unless sealed from water. Locking diffs are essential.
With a quoted 33mi range for a the five seat Bad Boy, it sounds like a very viable option. It's a bit heavy compared to a gas four sweater, pretty much like the diesel options out there in weight.
JPK
Here's a question for Gman and everyone else concerned. Are all electric motors and drive trains for golf cart type vehicles quiet enough? I know that most animals have way better hearing than we do and can hear sounds way above our hearing range (high pitch). I'm concerned that I or some of us will spend a bunch of money on a cart only to find that we can't sneak up on animals in the wild.
High pitch sound out of our hearing range or too quiet for us to hear are my main concern.
Has anyone had or heard of bad experiences in carts that aren't as stealthy as they first thought?
$bob$
High pitch sound out of our hearing range or too quiet for us to hear are my main concern.
Has anyone had or heard of bad experiences in carts that aren't as stealthy as they first thought?
$bob$
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SkyPup
New member
I use my diesel tractors to grade the roads and remove tree trunks that have fallen across the road, etc. all the time.
I probably never see so many animals as when I am on my loud bright orange Kubota's.
It seems like I am totally invisible whenever I am on a Kubota?
That said, I run right up on deer, sounder groups, loner boar hogs, armadillos, raccoons, possums, and virtually everything else in my gasser UTV with a super bright RED LED light that you cannot even stand to look at for one seconds if you are unfortunate enough to accidentally be on the receiving end of it.
I probably never see so many animals as when I am on my loud bright orange Kubota's.
It seems like I am totally invisible whenever I am on a Kubota?
That said, I run right up on deer, sounder groups, loner boar hogs, armadillos, raccoons, possums, and virtually everything else in my gasser UTV with a super bright RED LED light that you cannot even stand to look at for one seconds if you are unfortunate enough to accidentally be on the receiving end of it.
SP,
Farmers sometimes see more game from their tractors in a day than a hunter sees in a month hunting. It's often what the game is accustomed to...
If they see and hear someone on a tractor working in the fields, after awhile they usually decide that he/she poses no threat.
Where I hunt it's extremely rare for a deer or hog to see someone that isn't looking to poke a hole in them and the slightest sound, smell, or sighting of anything that even remotely resembles a human or any of their mechanical gadgets results in a very quick exit stage left with absolutely NO hesitation to verify.
My game cams can verify that because sometimes I go to my leases to put out corn or something and the game exits well before I'm even close to the food plot and/or feeder. My pickup truck is a 4cyl Tacoma and it's almost silent but they KNOW I'm there to turn them into freezer meat and there ain't no doubt about whether or not they stay around to see me actually show.
So much of what game sees and hears is used as a learning experience. That's why a nearly silent buggy would be such an advantage for me unless you volunteer to come run your tractor around my lease several times a week and get them used to it so I could hunt from one... LOL
$bob$
Farmers sometimes see more game from their tractors in a day than a hunter sees in a month hunting. It's often what the game is accustomed to...
If they see and hear someone on a tractor working in the fields, after awhile they usually decide that he/she poses no threat.
Where I hunt it's extremely rare for a deer or hog to see someone that isn't looking to poke a hole in them and the slightest sound, smell, or sighting of anything that even remotely resembles a human or any of their mechanical gadgets results in a very quick exit stage left with absolutely NO hesitation to verify.
My game cams can verify that because sometimes I go to my leases to put out corn or something and the game exits well before I'm even close to the food plot and/or feeder. My pickup truck is a 4cyl Tacoma and it's almost silent but they KNOW I'm there to turn them into freezer meat and there ain't no doubt about whether or not they stay around to see me actually show.
So much of what game sees and hears is used as a learning experience. That's why a nearly silent buggy would be such an advantage for me unless you volunteer to come run your tractor around my lease several times a week and get them used to it so I could hunt from one... LOL
$bob$
BAYSTATE YOTE
Active member
I am wondering why there is no weapon mounted on the tractor..LOL!! Or is that due for a weapons fit out!!
Originally Posted By: SkyPupI use my diesel tractors to grade the roads and remove tree trunks that have fallen across the road, etc. all the time.
I probably never see so many animals as when I am on my loud bright orange Kubota's.
It seems like I am totally invisible whenever I am on a Kubota?
That said, I run right up on deer, sounder groups, loner boar hogs, armadillos, raccoons, possums, and virtually everything else in my gasser UTV with a super bright RED LED light that you cannot even stand to look at for one seconds if you are unfortunate enough to accidentally be on the receiving end of it.
The hunting club with the diesel Kubota is a MD RSA, which, with the permitting we have, allows us to raise for release (and later shooting during regular waterfowls seasons) a couple thousand mallards. Federal and MD law allows feeding waterfowl up to eleven days before the beginning of one of the season splits, though there must be no remaining or left over feed at the ten day mark. Our caretaker uses the Kubota to transport deck feed, corn, milo etc, used to feed the ducks and also used for deer bating, which is legal in MD.
Early in the year, before shooting seasons begin, the ducks and deer key in on the Kubota as soon as it is fired up. They follow it to the feeding or baiting sites. Nothing funnier than seeing a half dozen or more wily, elusive, difficult to hunt sika stags trotting behind the Kubota in August, before our bow season begins. Or watching the ducks fly to where the Kubota stops to off load duck feed.
Three hunts into the deer bow season and deer run from the Kubota (we do not ever shoot from the Kubota,) they learn very quickly to associate the Kubota with hunting pressure. The wild ducks flush from hundreds of yards from the day they come south and the raised for release mallards take only a little longer, but by the end of the early split they flush when the Kubota comes anywhere near. We do use the Kubota to transport members to duck blinds. A wise deer hunting member walks to his stand of choice (though a couple of our members who are older need to ride the Kubota.)
Since the primary focus of the club is waterfowl hunting, the primary goal in reducing the noise of the UTV is to avoid having all of the geese, wild ducks and raised for release mallards flushing from our impoundments when we are dropping hunters off at blinds on the mornings or evenings we shoot, and the same when the caretaker is doing his day to day R&M, clean up, etc, routine.
JPK
I probably never see so many animals as when I am on my loud bright orange Kubota's.
It seems like I am totally invisible whenever I am on a Kubota?
That said, I run right up on deer, sounder groups, loner boar hogs, armadillos, raccoons, possums, and virtually everything else in my gasser UTV with a super bright RED LED light that you cannot even stand to look at for one seconds if you are unfortunate enough to accidentally be on the receiving end of it.
The hunting club with the diesel Kubota is a MD RSA, which, with the permitting we have, allows us to raise for release (and later shooting during regular waterfowls seasons) a couple thousand mallards. Federal and MD law allows feeding waterfowl up to eleven days before the beginning of one of the season splits, though there must be no remaining or left over feed at the ten day mark. Our caretaker uses the Kubota to transport deck feed, corn, milo etc, used to feed the ducks and also used for deer bating, which is legal in MD.
Early in the year, before shooting seasons begin, the ducks and deer key in on the Kubota as soon as it is fired up. They follow it to the feeding or baiting sites. Nothing funnier than seeing a half dozen or more wily, elusive, difficult to hunt sika stags trotting behind the Kubota in August, before our bow season begins. Or watching the ducks fly to where the Kubota stops to off load duck feed.
Three hunts into the deer bow season and deer run from the Kubota (we do not ever shoot from the Kubota,) they learn very quickly to associate the Kubota with hunting pressure. The wild ducks flush from hundreds of yards from the day they come south and the raised for release mallards take only a little longer, but by the end of the early split they flush when the Kubota comes anywhere near. We do use the Kubota to transport members to duck blinds. A wise deer hunting member walks to his stand of choice (though a couple of our members who are older need to ride the Kubota.)
Since the primary focus of the club is waterfowl hunting, the primary goal in reducing the noise of the UTV is to avoid having all of the geese, wild ducks and raised for release mallards flushing from our impoundments when we are dropping hunters off at blinds on the mornings or evenings we shoot, and the same when the caretaker is doing his day to day R&M, clean up, etc, routine.
JPK
BTW, at another club with a dead end road on one side, the way I monitor road poaching is gauging how shy of car or truck traffic the deer are. This club is all whitetails, no sika deer, and if the deer run tails up at the first sign of a car or truck I know some road poaching s--t heads have been busy. It doesn't take much road poaching for the deer to associate a car or a truck with danger.
When the road poachers have been busted or inactive for a couple of months, the deer hardly notice a car or truck driving by, unless it slows or stops.
JPK
When the road poachers have been busted or inactive for a couple of months, the deer hardly notice a car or truck driving by, unless it slows or stops.
JPK
I should mention that game learns that the crunch of gravel under tires means danger too, or even clank of a chain and lock, the creak of a gate being opened. I have parked outside of the gate to our hunting area and walked in. Game abounds (except downwind!) Then the care taker or another member drives in and I watch the deer head for the marsh or woodlots.
JPK
JPK
After careful research, I have pretty much given up on an electric vehicle...for now. The technology and pricing is just not there yet. I talked to a BB owner and dealer. You will NOT get 33 mi on a charge unless you are empty, on flat ground, have a tail wind and are going downhill all the way. You will get 15 mi IF you are lucky. The prices approach that of a vehicle and there is little dealing off MSRP. Though I can afford it, it's just not smart. While there is little engine maintenance, (unless you get the hybrid version then you have the battery maintenance AND the gas engine maintenance), the battery maintenance is considerable. Batteries do not fare well in cold weather, and I'm sure snow is not their friend either. My only desire for an electric vehicle is stealth. If animals will still be alerted by movement, sound of crunching leaves and twigs, and education over time, I see no reason to move off my Grizzlies with EPS, which have been great for me. I don't really need a UTV (side by side). I have an F250 Super Duty 6.7L diesel pickup and a tracked Bobcat for work. Although I always have a gun with me, if I am going to work, my primary concern is not hunting. Any incidental hunting I do then are just "shots of opportunity." If I were to do anything in the electric, I would buy a 2WD golf cart and convert it to 4WD and try it just for fun.
I figured the range was calculated on a best case situation, similar to MPG or range for other vehicles.
15mi would do it for us, though we would need, and do have, an ATV for back up for the caretaker.
The pricing is similar to other four-six seat UTV's.
The BB owners that I have spoken to love their buggies. We do not have big farms or wide open spaces around here, and the typical use is hauling hunters to waterfowl (or deer) blinds, along dekes. One owner uses his BB to tow a 5x8 trailer full of goose decoys over fields that range from dry to sloppy and gooey through the season.
Ideally I think the replacement UTV would be a really quiet diesel, something as quiet as a gas model. (Or better, as quiet as some of the newer diesel cars.) I am going to hit some diesel UTV dealers and listen to a few machines before we commit one way or another.
We just had our spring meeting, and we voted to do a bunch or earth work, putting in some new berms and reshaping some others, cleaning out the main perimeter drainage ditch (calling it a ditch doesn't do it justice,) also enlarging our backstop berm on our rifle range. Our 10" diesel Gator Pump needs a new tube as well. A replacement UTV will wait until next year, so we/I have time.
The annual R&M bill for the Kubota has been running about $1k forever, mostly in U joints and drive shafts, even though we keep them greased. Something with more ground clearance might help there.
JPK
15mi would do it for us, though we would need, and do have, an ATV for back up for the caretaker.
The pricing is similar to other four-six seat UTV's.
The BB owners that I have spoken to love their buggies. We do not have big farms or wide open spaces around here, and the typical use is hauling hunters to waterfowl (or deer) blinds, along dekes. One owner uses his BB to tow a 5x8 trailer full of goose decoys over fields that range from dry to sloppy and gooey through the season.
Ideally I think the replacement UTV would be a really quiet diesel, something as quiet as a gas model. (Or better, as quiet as some of the newer diesel cars.) I am going to hit some diesel UTV dealers and listen to a few machines before we commit one way or another.
We just had our spring meeting, and we voted to do a bunch or earth work, putting in some new berms and reshaping some others, cleaning out the main perimeter drainage ditch (calling it a ditch doesn't do it justice,) also enlarging our backstop berm on our rifle range. Our 10" diesel Gator Pump needs a new tube as well. A replacement UTV will wait until next year, so we/I have time.
The annual R&M bill for the Kubota has been running about $1k forever, mostly in U joints and drive shafts, even though we keep them greased. Something with more ground clearance might help there.
JPK
The guy on my lease with the Bad Boy hybrid told me he would not recommend it. He told me to look at a diesel UTV, which I have no need for. He recommended the Polaris Brutus, because it has a front PTO, so could be used for work around the farm. He does not know that I have a tracked Bobcat, so is not necessary, You might want to include the Brutus on your to see list.
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Mr Benelli
New member
I test drove a brutus for two days on the farm...Brutus is too slow, doesn't do well in snow or hills, but great for flat areas and has a/c. but the gravely diesel (Polaris) without the treadle peddle is probably better diesel -different transmission.
Kubota has a/c but no flip out windshield and can't go through deep mud. I just purchased a Ranger 570 full cab, heat and eps and its way too loud. Also I should have gotten ebs for the hills and inclines. The ranger takes off by itself down hills. Id rather have an atv with a pickup bed welded to the back. I have access to two kubotas and the ranger won't last as long but will make it places they can't go. Ford needs to make a small ranger again or Suzuki needs to make the samurai again. These utvs are more than cars. A big money pit.
Kubota has a/c but no flip out windshield and can't go through deep mud. I just purchased a Ranger 570 full cab, heat and eps and its way too loud. Also I should have gotten ebs for the hills and inclines. The ranger takes off by itself down hills. Id rather have an atv with a pickup bed welded to the back. I have access to two kubotas and the ranger won't last as long but will make it places they can't go. Ford needs to make a small ranger again or Suzuki needs to make the samurai again. These utvs are more than cars. A big money pit.
SkyPup
New member
I looked long and hard at getting one of the diesels since all my cars and tractors are diesel powered and wanted to stay with a diesel.
My friend has a Kubota UTV diesel and it is a good workhorse like my Honda with a good transmission but way too loud both outside the cab and inside the cab, the Polaris diesel is similar. That three cylinder Kubota diesel engine is a beautiful powerhouse design but just too loud.
I looked at all the UTV gassers from Polaris, Yamaha, Kawa, etc. and very few of them were utility oriented for what I had in mine with the proper load and space considerations, all of them had low output alternators and inferior transmissions.
The Honda 700-4 Pioneer is plenty for what I do, rarely do I go over 25 mph and it hauls more in the bed than my pickup truck does, plus it seats four with the bed turned into seats and I love the hydraulic automatic transmission with no belts, 4WD is locker diffs front and rear so really can pull some mud. I did put a lift kit on it to raise it two inches for more clearance. Installed Walker Evan race shocks on all four and the suspension ride is like a Cadillac, even over severe rough ground, very comfortable and stable.
I also installed sound and heat insulation in the entire engine bay and wrapped the exhaust with thermal wrap to cut down on heat and noise, which it did significantly. It only has a 1/4 windshield so that I can use thermal in all directions from the cab with no interference. It basically is a super miniature swamp buggy now.
So far it has 2,500 miles on it without a problem and the space I welded in the auxillary AGM battery for all the electronics thermal/NV IR lights and stuff has been great with the 450 watt alternator putting out 14.4 volts. I can run everything all night long without the engine on with plenty of reserve.
There are a lot of choices out there but if I had to do it all over again for what I do, I'd do the same with the Honda, so far very reliable and always GTG.
My friend has a Kubota UTV diesel and it is a good workhorse like my Honda with a good transmission but way too loud both outside the cab and inside the cab, the Polaris diesel is similar. That three cylinder Kubota diesel engine is a beautiful powerhouse design but just too loud.
I looked at all the UTV gassers from Polaris, Yamaha, Kawa, etc. and very few of them were utility oriented for what I had in mine with the proper load and space considerations, all of them had low output alternators and inferior transmissions.
The Honda 700-4 Pioneer is plenty for what I do, rarely do I go over 25 mph and it hauls more in the bed than my pickup truck does, plus it seats four with the bed turned into seats and I love the hydraulic automatic transmission with no belts, 4WD is locker diffs front and rear so really can pull some mud. I did put a lift kit on it to raise it two inches for more clearance. Installed Walker Evan race shocks on all four and the suspension ride is like a Cadillac, even over severe rough ground, very comfortable and stable.
I also installed sound and heat insulation in the entire engine bay and wrapped the exhaust with thermal wrap to cut down on heat and noise, which it did significantly. It only has a 1/4 windshield so that I can use thermal in all directions from the cab with no interference. It basically is a super miniature swamp buggy now.
So far it has 2,500 miles on it without a problem and the space I welded in the auxillary AGM battery for all the electronics thermal/NV IR lights and stuff has been great with the 450 watt alternator putting out 14.4 volts. I can run everything all night long without the engine on with plenty of reserve.
There are a lot of choices out there but if I had to do it all over again for what I do, I'd do the same with the Honda, so far very reliable and always GTG.
Mr Benelli
New member
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Originally Posted By: SkyPupThere are a lot of choices out there but if I had to do it all over again for what I do, I'd do the same with the Honda, so far very reliable and always GTG.
I also have a Honda. Mine is a 4wd Foreman 500 and it's ultimately reliable and can pull out a stuck Z71 when needed. If it was quieter I'd consider it the perfect hunting buggy but alas the deer, hogs, coyotes etc, hear it coming from a long ways away every time and they exit stage left.
I wish I had an electric vehicle like Gman's but alas I just bought a new truck and I'm cash poor.
We need to be totally silent and watch our wind very, very carefully on my hunting leases because the only time the game see's, hears, or smells humans and their motorized contraptions is when they are being hunted and I'm 25 minutes from one of my leases and now 4 hours from the other so there's no chance to get them accustomed to the ATV.
$bob$
I also have a Honda. Mine is a 4wd Foreman 500 and it's ultimately reliable and can pull out a stuck Z71 when needed. If it was quieter I'd consider it the perfect hunting buggy but alas the deer, hogs, coyotes etc, hear it coming from a long ways away every time and they exit stage left.
I wish I had an electric vehicle like Gman's but alas I just bought a new truck and I'm cash poor.
We need to be totally silent and watch our wind very, very carefully on my hunting leases because the only time the game see's, hears, or smells humans and their motorized contraptions is when they are being hunted and I'm 25 minutes from one of my leases and now 4 hours from the other so there's no chance to get them accustomed to the ATV.
$bob$
Gman757
Well-known member
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SkyPup
New member
Bob, I've got a 4WD Honda Foreman 500 with 5 speed manual shift and it is a great ATV.
The fuel injection on it is spot on. I put a lift kit and 27 inch SwampLite tires on it with 1" wheel spacers and it is a swamp cruiser for sure, very stable and quiet too. That is what I like about it.
The fuel injection on it is spot on. I put a lift kit and 27 inch SwampLite tires on it with 1" wheel spacers and it is a swamp cruiser for sure, very stable and quiet too. That is what I like about it.