Golf cart covers, enclosures and weather gear

Weather gear is where a golf cart cover, a windshield and a roof all have to agree with each other, and the measurement that ties them together is the roof. Get the roof length right and almost everything else in this section fits. Get it wrong and you are returning a $900 enclosure.

Measure the roof first

Lay a tape along the top from the front edge to the back edge. Two-passenger carts have a 54-inch top (Club Car DS and Precedent, EZGO TXT, Yamaha G-series) or a 58-inch top (EZGO RXV, some Yamaha Drive models). Carts with a factory rear seat or a rear seat kit have an 80-inch extended top. Stretched six-passenger carts run 88 inches and longer. Enclosures, storage covers and driving rain covers are all sold by that number plus the seat count, so write it down before you shop. The fitment finder will also tell you the stock roof length for a make and year.

Windshields work the other way: they are sold by make and model year, because the strut shape changes; DS, Precedent, TXT, RXV, Drive and Drive2 shields do not swap. The windshield guide lists them by year.

Storage covers: the one everyone should own

A storage cover is about $40 to $270 and it does more for resale value than anything else at that price. Sun fades seats and cracks the dash; rain soaks the seat foam.

Polyester, 300D to 600D with a waterproof coating, is the common choice. It weighs a few pounds, folds into a bag, and dries quickly. Expect about $40 to $190 for a two-passenger size and $45 to $270 for a four-passenger with a rear seat, with budget imports at the low end and heavy-duty Classic Accessories and RedDot covers at the top. Vinyl covers cost about $100 to $180, weigh twice as much, and stand up to years of direct sun and salt air without the coating flaking off. If the cart lives on a Florida or Gulf coast driveway, vinyl earns the extra money. Under a carport in the Midwest, polyester is fine.

Buy a cover with vents. A sealed cover over a damp cart grows mildew on the seats in a week of summer heat. Also buy the size that matches your seating: a cover made for a two-passenger cart will not stretch over a rear seat, and a four-passenger cover on a two-passenger cart flaps and lets water in at the back. The rain cover and storage cover page sorts them by size and fabric.

Enclosures: for driving, not parking

An enclosure wraps the cart in clear vinyl windows and fabric panels so you can drive in rain, wind and cold. The cheap ones, about $140 to $350, go over the top of the roof and attach with hook-and-loop and straps; doors roll up and tie off. The good ones, about $700 to $1,600, hang from a track fitted to the roof edge or use hinged doors with real latches, and are made of marine vinyl or Sunbrella acrylic that will not go stiff and crack in cold weather.

A cheap enclosure for the three wettest months is sensible; for daily use through a northern winter, buy the good one once. The enclosure guide explains the door styles and which fabric lasts.

Heaters and fans

Inside an enclosure, go electric: a 48V heater wired to the pack, about $120 to $250, or 12V heated seat cushions through a reducer, about $25 to $60 each. The propane option, the Mr. Heater MH4GC that sits in a cup holder, is about $80 to $140 and is rated for outdoor use only, so it is an open-cart heater; the Little Buddy’s manual says not to run it in a moving vehicle at all. The heater guide covers the fuel and wiring choices.

Fans are the summer version of the same problem: a 12V strut-mount fan on a voltage reducer moves more air than a rechargeable clip fan. The fan guide has the mounting and wiring details.

Roofs and extended tops

A faded or cracked top is about $130 to $300 to replace in the standard length. An 80-inch extended top with longer rear struts, which you need if you add a rear seat kit, is about $350 to $650. Changing to an extended top also changes which enclosure and storage cover fit, so buy the top first and the cover second. The roof and extended top guide covers colors and strut kits.

By the season

Spring: fit the windshield you put off all winter and check the cover for cracked coating. Summer: a vented storage cover and a fan; store the enclosure rolled, not folded, so the windows do not crease. Fall: wash the enclosure windows with plain water and put it back on before the first cold rain. Winter: enclosure, an electric heater or heated cushions, and the storage cover over everything on nights it sits outside.

Fitment pages for Club Car, EZGO and Yamaha list the roof length and windshield years for each model if you are not sure what you have.