Golf cart cup holders and dash kits: lockable storage and USB

A golf cart cup holder that clamps to the roof strut costs about $15 to $30, fits every cart, and solves the factory’s two shallow wells. A dash kit with locking gloveboxes costs about $150 to $350, adds four more cup holders and somewhere to lock a wallet, and is sold for one body at a time. This page covers both, plus the USB charger that usually goes in the dash at the same time. It is the dash corner of the seats and interior section.

Cup holders: strut, dash or armrest

The roof strut is the best place for a cup. It puts the drink at elbow height, the clamp fits the square struts nearly every cart has (about 1 inch, or 3/4 inch on a 1994 to 2013 TXT) as long as it is within its range, and nothing is drilled. Buy a double for the driver side if you ride with a passenger, or a single on each side.

Dash-mount holders screw to the flat section of the factory dash. They sit lower, do not swing, and keep the struts clear for a windshield frame or a sound bar. Skip the adhesive versions; a closed cart hits 140°F in summer and the tape lets go.

Rear seat armrests bolt between the cushions of a flip seat kit and carry two cup holders and a padded rest. They are made for a specific kit, so match the brand to the kit you have.

Dash kits: what you get

A dash kit is a molded ABS face that goes over the factory dash. It has two gloveboxes with keyed cabinet locks, two cup holders each side, and a finish, usually carbon look, wood grain or a painted color, that matches the aftermarket steering wheels. Some include a panel for a radio or a USB port.

The gloveboxes are the reason to buy one. The factory dash has an open tray that spills on the first hill. A locking box holds a phone, keys, a wallet and sunglasses while you walk to the green, and keeps them dry in a shower.

Kits are made for the dash shape of one body. Club Car DS has a flat, square dash; Precedent, Onward and Tempo have a curved one with the key on the right. EZGO TXT and RXV are different shapes again, and Yamaha Drive and Drive2 share a kit. If you have a G14 through G22 Yamaha, kits are scarce and a dash-mount cup holder is the practical answer.

USB and 12V on a golf cart

Gas carts have a 12V starting battery, so a USB panel wires to it with a fuse and you are done. Electric carts are 36V or 48V with no 12V anywhere. You need a voltage reducer, a small box that takes the pack voltage down to 12V, about $30 to $70 for an import 30-amp unit or $85 to $115 for a Reliance from a golf cart parts shop. That is enough for a USB panel, a sound bar and a light kit together.

Do not tap two batteries for 12V. It is the old shortcut and it drains those two faster than the rest, so the whole pack ages unevenly and you buy batteries early. The light kit guide walks through reducer wiring if this is your first 12V accessory.

A lithium pack has no accessible 12V tap at all, so the reducer is the only option there.

Which one for your cart

Cart	Dash kit	Cup holder	Note
Club Car Precedent, Onward, Tempo (2004 on)	Precedent kit (MadJax or GTW)	Strut mount, 1-inch square strut	Most kits are made for this dash
Club Car DS (1982 to 2013)	DS kit	Strut mount or dash mount	Flat dash; dash-mount holders sit well
EZGO TXT (1996 on)	TXT kit	Strut mount; 3/4-inch strut to 2013, 1-inch from 2014	TXT-based Express uses the TXT kit
EZGO RXV (2008 on)	RXV kit	Strut mount, 1-inch square strut	Different dash from TXT
Yamaha Drive, Drive2 (2007 on)	Drive kit	Strut mount	One kit covers both on most listings
Yamaha G14 to G22 (1995 to 2007)	Few made	Dash mount	Measure before ordering any kit

The fitment pages for Club Car, EZGO and Yamaha tell you how to read the model from the serial plate, and the fitment finder does it from the year.

Install: a dash kit in under an hour

A strut cup holder is two minutes with a screwdriver. A dash kit is 30 to 60 minutes. Clean the factory dash with alcohol so the double-sided tape sticks. Remove the key switch bezel and any factory trim the instructions call out. Set the kit on, line up the key and the forward-reverse switch holes, and fix it with the supplied screws into the factory holes plus the tape along the edges. Fit the glovebox doors and test the locks before you put the keys somewhere you will lose them.

If a USB panel is going in, cut the hole in the kit before it goes on the cart; ABS drills cleanly with a step bit and badly with a hole saw. Run the wire to the reducer with an inline fuse.

Coolers, while you are at it

The same strut that takes a cup holder will take a cooler bracket on the passenger side. The coolers page covers sizes and brackets; if you plan both, mount the cooler first and put the cup holder where it clears.