Quick answer: Don’t tow a golf cart on its own wheels — load it onto a trailer or into a truck bed instead, since most carts lack the highway-rated steering and brakes to track safely behind a vehicle. A single-axle trailer around 3,500 lbs GVWR fits a standard 2-passenger cart (900-1,100 lbs curb weight per Golf Cart Tire Supply’s own data), a pair of 7-8 foot aluminum arched ramps rated 1,500+ lbs gets it up without bottoming out, and four 1-inch ratchet straps anchored to the cart’s frame (not the wheels) hold it in place. Load on level ground, center the cart over the axle, and drive up at walking speed with the wheel centered.
What it takes, compared
| What you need | Typical spec | Typical cost | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trailer | Single-axle, ~3,500 lbs GVWR, 5x10 bed | Rent ~$40-80/day or buy $1,500+ | Fits a standard 92"x48" cart with clearance on each side |
| Loading ramps | 7-8 ft aluminum, arched, 1,500+ lbs total capacity | ~$115-280/pair | Arched design clears low ground clearance without scraping |
| Tie-down straps | Four 1" ratchet straps, 500+ lbs WLL each | ~$35-40/4-pack | Combined WLL comfortably clears DOT's 50%-of-cargo-weight cargo-securement standard |
| Wheel chocks | Rubber, rated for cart weight | ~$15-25/pair | Keeps the cart from creeping while you strap it |
Why you don’t tow it on its own wheels
The instinct is to hitch the cart up like a small trailer and pull it — most carts simply aren’t built for that. A golf cart’s steering geometry, suspension, and (on electric carts) regenerative braking are all tuned for a walking-pace, closed-course environment, not for tracking straight at 55 mph behind a vehicle. Without a rigid tow bar rated for the load and a cart drivetrain designed to roll freely, the far more common failure mode is the cart swaying side to side until it either jackknifes or tips. If you need to move cargo behind the cart itself, that’s what our trailer hitch guide covers — a completely different job from transporting the cart to a new location.
Step 1: know your cart’s actual weight
A standard 2-passenger electric cart weighs 900-1,100 lbs curb weight with a full set of batteries, according to Golf Cart Tire Supply’s published weight breakdown — batteries alone account for 300-500 lbs of that on lead-acid packs, or as little as 150-300 lbs if it’s already been upgraded to lithium. Four-passenger carts push closer to 1,000-1,200 lbs, and 6- or 8-seat commercial models can run 1,500-2,000 lbs. That number is what your trailer’s GVWR and your straps’ combined working load limit both need to clear.
Step 2: size the trailer
A single-axle utility trailer rated around 3,500 lbs GVWR is enough margin for most 2-passenger carts once you add ramps, straps, and any cargo. A 5x10 trailer bed gives a standard 92” x 48” cart roughly 6 inches of clearance on each side — tight enough to keep the cart from sliding sideways, wide enough to walk around it while strapping. If the cart is a heavier 4-seat model, the route is hilly, or you’re hauling regularly rather than a one-off move, step up to a dual-axle trailer in the 5,000-7,000 lb GVWR range for better stability at highway speed.
Step 3: pick ramps that won’t bottom out
YUTRAX 89" Folding Arched Ramps (Pair)
- 89" long x 12.5" wide unfolded, folds to 45" x 12.5" x 7" for storage — per YUTRAX's own product spec.
- Arched design keeps the ramp's midpoint from scraping a low-clearance cart's undercarriage, the single most common ramp-related complaint.
- Extruded aluminum construction at 34 lbs for the pair, light enough for one person to set up.
Keep the project moving — parts like these ship in two days with a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial, useful when a trip is already booked and a ramp order can’t afford to sit in transit.
Budget-minded buyers can step down to a straight (non-arched) ramp pair in the $115-205 range, but the tradeoff is real: a straight ramp’s flat midpoint is more likely to bottom out on a cart with a low front skid plate or aftermarket lift-kit clearance change, so measure your cart’s lowest hanging point before choosing straight over arched.
Step 4: strap it down at the frame, not the wheels
Rhino USA 1" Ratchet Straps (4-Pack)
- Four straps at 607 lbs WLL each give a combined 2,428 lb working load limit — well above the 900-1,100 lb weight of a standard 2-passenger cart.
- Max break strength rated at 1,823 lbs per strap, per Rhino USA's own published spec.
- Works for the "four corners, attached to the frame" technique described below — not the wheels or fenders, which can crush under ratchet tension.
Four straps, one per corner, is the practical standard — a combined working load limit of at least 50% of the cargo’s weight is DOT’s commercial cargo-securement benchmark (49 CFR 393.106), and it’s a sensible target for a personal trailer too even though the regulation itself governs commercial hauling. Attach each strap to the cart’s frame rather than the wheels or fender flares: frame points spread the load evenly and won’t crack plastic body panels the way a wheel-well strap can under ratchet tension. Set the parking brake, chock all four wheels once the cart is centered over the axle, then ratchet the straps snug — not so tight that the suspension can’t settle naturally, which can actually work a strap loose over a bumpy drive.
Step 5: load it correctly
Load on level ground whenever possible, and center the cart over or slightly forward of the trailer’s axle — too far back and the trailer can fishtail, too far forward overloads the tow vehicle’s hitch. Sit in the cart and drive up the ramps at walking speed with the wheel held straight; on a steep ramp angle, have a second person spot from the side rather than from directly behind or in front. Once it’s up, set the parking brake immediately before you get out to start strapping — a cart that rolls even a few inches on an angled ramp is much harder to reposition than one that never moved.
The bottom line
Skip towing the cart on its own wheels — a trailer sized around 3,500 lbs GVWR, a pair of arched aluminum ramps rated 1,500+ lbs, and four 1-inch ratchet straps anchored to the frame cover a standard 2-passenger cart with real margin to spare. If the destination involves driving the cart on public roads once it arrives, check our street legal golf cart guide before you go — LSV titling rules travel with the cart, not just the trip.