Another beach cart thread

27638 Views 55 Replies 28 Participants Last post by Jollymon, Aug 28, 2017

Byron/pa

Discussion Starter · Jul 29, 2012

I'm in need of a new beach cart for my surf fishing trips.

I have always used four wheeled garden carts that can be bought at any hardware store, ziptie pieces of PVC tube and I'm good to go. It is hard to pull through loose sand, but generally it's less than 100 yards to the firm wet sand where it rolls fairly easily, on several ocasions I've pulled it a couple miles without problems.
The big problem is that they are very heavy and since they are built from cheap steel, they rust quickly - which is why I'm in need of a new one.

For some time I have been thinking about splurging for one of the comercial surf fishing carts.

One of my concerns with the comercial carts is that they all have two wheels. Seems to me, that unless your load was perfectly balanced, you'd either be pushing down or pulling up on the handle while trying to pull the cart.

I like the fact that the comercial carts are much lighter and won't rust, but if they are not any easier to pull I could spend the extra money better elsewhere.......................Any thoughts?

And Wheeleez are not an option at this point.

1 - 20 of 56 Posts

Hudak

· #2 · Jul 29, 2012

I just make sure my stuff is balanced somewhat. Depending on how loaded my cooler is, I will have the tackle bag in front, cooler in back, or vice versa. It isn't that difficult to get it close enough not to be a problem.

NCGUY

· #3 · Jul 29, 2012

Even if its not balanced it is not that big of a deal. I usually put my big cooler on mine and have never had any problems. You can also adjust the height o the arm so that you don't have to push up or down so much just kinda pick it up and go. Mine even has a place where it hooks up to my reese hitch>

Jarosh

· #4 · Jul 29, 2012

I haven't had any balance issues with mine. As long as your handle height is correct in the front there are very little issues while pulling. I have my handle adjusted so the when I pick up on it the caster wheel in the front barely brushes the sand, but when on a hard surface I can let the 2 large wheels and the caster wheel do all the work. I don't know how I managed without it in the past.

surfchunker

· #5 · Jul 29, 2012

wheeleez wheels are nice but not cheap http://www.beachcartsusa.com/

abass105

· #6 · Jul 30, 2012

I know you said that wheeleez are not an option. But I have to say my cart with wheeleez is priceless. If you look around you can find some decent deals. I don't go to the beach without my cart, even if we aren't fishing.

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rabbitdog2

· #7 · Jul 30, 2012

Never had a balance problem with mine. if you do you can replace the factory with an adjustable golf pull cart handle.

lil red jeep

· #8 · Jul 31, 2012

Byron/pa said:
I'm in need of a new beach cart for my surf fishing trips.

I have always used four wheeled garden carts that can be bought at any hardware store, ziptie pieces of PVC tube and I'm good to go. It is hard to pull through loose sand, but generally it's less than 100 yards to the firm wet sand where it rolls fairly easily, on several ocasions I've pulled it a couple miles without problems.
The big problem is that they are very heavy and since they are built from cheap steel, they rust quickly - which is why I'm in need of a new one.

For some time I have been thinking about splurging for one of the comercial surf fishing carts.

One of my concerns with the comercial carts is that they all have two wheels. Seems to me, that unless your load was perfectly balanced, you'd either be pushing down or pulling up on the handle while trying to pull the cart.

I like the fact that the comercial carts are much lighter and won't rust, but if they are not any easier to pull I could spend the extra money better elsewhere.......................Any thoughts?

And Wheeleez are not an option at this point.

Byron, I had a garden cart I bought from Lowes or Home Depot and though it was a bit heavy, it worked fine for pier fishing. As for going out on sand, wrong answer! Four wheels as narrow as most garden cart wheels go just sink in and cause twice as much drag as a two wheeled cart. Keep an eye out on the marketplace because usually a commercial made pier cart will pop up. Especially once it gets too cold for most to hit piers, then they will show up. The wheels that came on my commercial pier cart handle sand well. Probably not as well as wheel-eez would but good enough for me.

Byron/pa

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 31, 2012

abass105; That is some sweet looking rig you got there, gives me a goal to shoot for

And thanks for the other replies, I think my back will thank me for getting one of the comercial ones..............the one made in the USA.

Oldscout2

· #10 · Aug 1, 2012

You can get a two wheeled cart up and down beach access stairs, especially the Jr sized one, by less than back breaking methods by oneself. Lots of holes around without easy cart access from the road. I don't have the nice wheels on mine but it pulls fine, I just get to hard sand as quick as feasible

Abass 105, That wheeleez cart is really nice. Did you mod that larger cutting board or is that available somewhere?

Thanks,
George

abass105

· #11 · Aug 1, 2012

George, yeah I took the original cutting board off and replaced it with a larger and thicker one. It works great when I want to clean a few before heading home.

jakuka

· #12 · Aug 1, 2012

abass105, what did you use to raise the frame up off the rear axle? I see something there but its hard to tell what it is from that pic.

abass105

· #13 · Aug 1, 2012

Jakuka, I had a friend make a "v" shaped support of aluminum. The top of the "v" has angle aluminum welded to it. The axle runs through the bottom. For the front swivel caster, I have an aluminum square box that it mounts on. This was added so the cart would sit level. When I want to fish the pier, I just unscrew four bolts for the rear wheels and four for the front and I can go back to the original wheels. I hope this helps. If not I can take some pics of it.

mbg60

· #14 · Aug 2, 2012

All I can say is that when you get onto soft sand you will realize why you need the wheeleez wheels. Stock wheels will turn you into a triathlete........................or a EMS patient. Don't be fooled.

abass105

· #15 · Aug 2, 2012

mbg60, I have to agree with you regarding soft sand. It did not take me long to realize the stock wheels were not going to cut it in the soft sand where I fish. Now it just floats on top no problems.

boomer

· #16 · Aug 2, 2012

If you buy a cart made by Reels on Wheels or Fish -n- mate do not forget to buy the liner that goes with it, makes the cart even better. Since I add the liner , small stuff does not fall out and does not add a lot of weight to the cart. I am considering changing to the large wheels ( wheeleez) in the future.

mbg60

· #17 · Aug 2, 2012

i use lattice screen on both my carts. Lightweight and inexpensive. 1 screen will do at least 2 carts.

Oldscout2

· #18 · Aug 2, 2012

abass105 said:
George, yeah I took the original cutting board off and replaced it with a larger and thicker one. It works great when I want to clean a few before heading home.

If you dont mind me asking, how did you remove the original cutting board from the tube aluminum frame and affix the new one? I have been thinking about doing the same thing you did, and that looks like a really clean installation.

RuddeDogg

· #19 · Aug 2, 2012

abass105 said:
I know you said that wheeleez are not an option. But I have to say my cart with wheeleez is priceless. If you look around you can find some decent deals. I don't go to the beach without my cart, even if we aren't fishing.

Looks sweet.

abass105

· #20 · Aug 3, 2012

oldscout, I just drilled out the rivets on the old board then attached the new board with rivets. It did not take any time at all.

1 - 20 of 56 Posts

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