[jane032657]

We are going to a community where you can use street legal golf carts and they can be gas. Can you convert from a typical non street legal Villages gas golf cart to a street legal? For instance adding windshield wipers? I do not know what else is needed and not sure if this can be done. Thanks in advance if you know the answer and how to do it, or who does it?

[EdFNJ]

Originally Posted by jane032657

We are going to a community where you can use street legal golf carts and they can be gas. Can you convert from a typical non street legal Villages gas golf cart to a street legal? For instance adding windshield wipers? I do not know what else is needed and not sure if this can be done. Thanks in advance if you know the answer and how to do it, or who does it?

Depends on the cart. It must meet certain STATE specifications which in recent years have been tightened. Mine was SL for the last 3 years but I just had it "decertified" by the State of FL because insurance, besides being hard to get, was almost as much as my regular car since it gets insured just as if it was a car (same coverage requirements). Now you need windshield wipers, a DOT approved 1-piece windshield and a bunch of other features. So the answer is YES but only if your cart meets state specifications and it must have an "official" VIN . If it does not (as mine did not) you have to take it to OCALA for inspection and they assign a VIN if it meets all the specs. The State has an informative PDF file online but for some reason I can't access any of their websites.

Edit: The "standard" off the shelf YAMAHA you see all over the place here CANNOT be. If you buy a GEM that's the easiest one as it is already in the State's database and has a legal vin. Most of the Tomberlins as well. There are a couple others as well but most I have seen are electric. I have an Atomic that was SL after going through State inspection.

Edit Edit: Here is the link: Low Speed and All-Terrain Vehicles - Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

Sections 316.225, 316.271, 316.2952 and 316.410, Florida Statutes, provide additional equipment requirements (windshield cleaning devices, illuminated rear license plate brackets, horns, and slow moving vehicle emblems) for low speed vehicles or mini trucks.

In addition to having a valid license plate and registration, a LSV must be insured. Florida law requires PIP or No-Fault coverage at a minimum. We strongly recommend Bodily Injury (BI), Uninsured Motorist (UM), and Medical Payments (MedPay) coverages. See our article on Insurance For Golf Carts and Low Speed Vehicles in this website.

This is for CONVERSION:

Prior to titling and registering a converted golf cart, the vehicle must be inspected and assigned a VIN at a Motorist Services Regional Office. The converted golf cart must be street-legal before applying for title and registration. You can trailer the converted golf cart to a Motorist Services Regional Office in your area and present the following documents and fees for an inspection, VIN assignment, title and registration:

Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin or a bill of sale for the golf cart form HSMV 84490
(Statement of Builder) completed by customer and compliance examiner/inspector;
• Form HSMV 86064 (Aidavit for Golf Cart Modified to a Low Speed Vehicle);
• Original bill(s)s of sale or receipt(s) for all parts used to convert the golf cart;
• Certified weight slip for the converted golf cart.
• Form HSMSV 82040 (Application for Title);
• Proof of Florida insurance (minimum $10,000 PDL and $10,000 PIP);
• Sales tax or sales tax exemption information for all parts;
• Identification – driver license, ID card or passport; and
• Applicable fees,
– Inspection fee – Initial registration fee, if applicable
– Title fee – Registration fee (varies by weight of vehicle)
– Plate fee


Chapter 316 Section 225 - 2013 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate (lamps)
Chapter 316 Section 271 - 2013 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate (horns)
Chapter 316 Section 2952 - 2013 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate (automobile type windshield)
Chapter 316 Section 410 - 2013 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate (tail lamps)

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by jane032657

We are going to a community where you can use street legal golf carts and they can be gas. Can you convert from a typical non street legal Villages gas golf cart to a street legal? For instance adding windshield wipers? I do not know what else is needed and not sure if this can be done. Thanks in advance if you know the answer and how to do it, or who does it?

Don’t know why you would want to do that when you can get everywhere in regular golf cart here on MMPs, diamond lanes, and streets less that 25MPH. IMO riding golf cart/LSV down MB and BV Blvd. at legal speed of LSV 25 MPH maximum is very dangerous. LSVs can only be driven on road with speed limit of 35 MPH or less. IMO big waste of money for what you get. But, that’s me.

[jane032657]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

Don’t know why you would want to do that when you can get everywhere in regular golf cart here on MMPs, diamond lanes, and streets less that 25MPH. IMO riding golf cart/LSV down MB and BV Blvd. at legal speed of LSV 25 MPH maximum is very dangerous. LSVs can only be driven on road with speed limit of 35 MPH or less. IMO big waste of money for what you get. But, that’s me.

We have lived here 8 years with two gas golf carts. We are moving to Mt Dora and taking one golf cart with us that we are having converted. Since I posted, we fount the Cart Club does the conversion and registration, all we needed was a new windshield, wipers, a yellow triangle saying LSV and registration of golf club with the State and insurance. We had everything else we needed on the cart, just FYI. In Mt Dora, it has to be a low speed street legal cart.

[kfolberg]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

Don’t know why you would want to do that when you can get everywhere in regular golf cart here on MMPs, diamond lanes, and streets less that 25MPH. IMO riding golf cart/LSV down MB and BV Blvd. at legal speed of LSV 25 MPH maximum is very dangerous. LSVs can only be driven on road with speed limit of 35 MPH or less. IMO big waste of money for what you get. But, that’s me.

For those of us who live in the Fenney area, might it make sense to get a "street legal" LSV? For example, to get across Hwy 44 from the Everglades RRC, drive north on the short stretch of Warm Springs Ave across the turnpike bridge (a 35 MPH stretch of road), then transition onto the golf cart paths north from there to the Chitty Chatty bridge (when opened). This would avoid having to travel a long distance from Fenney to the Water Lilly Bridge (across the turnpike), then all the way back to the Chitty Chatty bridge to go to Lake Deaton Plaza or the villages along Morse Blvd.

Will the stretch of road from the Everglades RRC north across the turnpike bridge on Warm Springs Ave remain 35 MPH after all road construction is complete? If not, it won't be possible to drive a LSV on it.

Thoughts?

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

IMO big waste of money for what you get. But, that’s me.

Agree & probably a waste of a life.