Frequently Asked Questions

Q         Is this thing just a jazzed up golf cart? One of my buddies put big wheels on a golf cart he had and it was under powered and got stuck all the time.

A         Absolutely not! The current Bad Boy Buggy is designed “from the ground up” as a specialized piece of equipment that has tremendous power, traction and four wheel drive. It has very little in common with a golf cart. It competes directly with the big engine driven ATV’s mentioned on the home page. They are not comparable to a golf cart and neither is the Bad Boy.

Q         If the Bad Boy runs on batteries what is to keep me from running down the batteries while I am out in the woods?

A         Just like a car, it has a “fuel gauge” in the form of a “battery charge remaining” indicator mounted on the dash. As the battery power is used up the column of red bars in the gauge declines downward, when it starts getting low you head for the 110V electric outlet.

Q         I’m pretty bad about running out of gas in my car, if I run the batteries down in this thing can I tow it back to the house with out damaging it?

A         Sure, there is a Forward - Neutral - Reverse switch and all you do is switch it to neutral and tow away.

Q         How long does a battery charge last?

A         I can’t answer that with out knowing how you will be using the machine. That would be like telling you how many MPG you would get on your car without knowing how heavy your foot was or how you used it. Up and down steep hills will be different than on flat land, slow speeds different than wide open, and so on. However, our experience does indicate that at 18 MPH it will go about 20 miles on one charge. In normal use it can go as high as 30 miles and more. Also, remember, the batteries do not have a “memory” so you can top them off at any time. For example, if you come in at lunch, take 5 seconds, plug in the charger and let it charge while you are eating.

Q         You talk about the Bad Boy being so powerful, how can an electric powered vehicle compete with an engine driven vehicle?

A         You are probably trying to draw on your experiences with lower powered vehicles like golf carts. Instead of thinking about golf carts think instead about how train engines use electric motors to pull long lines of train cars loaded with very heavy freight. Or consider how electric powered industrial fork lift trucks carry heavy loads around all day. I am not an electrical engineer, but the way I under stand it is this: Direct current electric motors develop high torque as soon as they are started and it is available all the way up as speed increases. On the other hand, with gas engines the RPM has to be increased in order to develop maximum torque, which means they have to run fast to develop power, unlike a DC motor. You have probably seen the photographs where the Bad Boy is being driven up the side of a brick wall or up a tree trunk. That stunt is designed only to demonstrate the tremendous power of the Bad Boy, even at very low speeds, and, by the way, it should never be done by anyone but an experienced, professional operator. Flipping one over on its top and with you in it would be disastrous. Never do this your self!

Q         It sounds to me like keeping up with batteries and charging them is a lot more work that just filling up with gas.

A         Actually, just the opposite is true. Plugging in a charger is a lot easier and cleaner. When you consider that you have to go get your fuel can, take it to town and fill it, bring it back, store it until you need it, clean the dirt off the filler cap on the vehicle, and then hold a can weighing 35 pounds or more up in the air while it slowly runs into the fuel tank, the plug-in is much easier. My favorite part of fueling is where the gas squirts all over everything while I am holding the can up in the air with one hand and trying to stab the filler spout into the tank opening. I really love the smell of spilled gas the rest of the day and the part about cleaning it off my hands, pants, shoes and the vehicle. Not to mention that the gas spills on and contaminates the ground.

Q         You make it sound so easy, but even though I don't have to check the water in my car battery very often, I do have to do it. I see that the Bad Boy uses eight batteries and that sounds like a real pain and a pretty nasty mess also.

A         Excellent point! And because it is a good point we offer an option that does away with the problem. The Battery Fill Kit option is something I try to get every customer to purchase, it is money well spent for many years of convenience. It consists of a set of replacement battery caps that have a fill level indicator and an automatic shut off valve in each one. They are all connected to each other and to a short piece of tubing with a quick disconnect fitting. It comes with a gallon or larger square plastic bottle that you fill with distilled water, and it has a plastic tube with a quick disconnect on it also. The battery caps are visible by simply folding the front seat forward. If any of the indicators are low, you just connect the two quick disconnects together, let all the batteries fill, which just takes a minute or so, and disconnect the connector. Simple, clean and easy, and you never have to pull a battery cap or get near battery acid again.

Q         It looks like your windshield is fixed in place. It gets so hot where we live that we either have to have air conditioning or get the breeze from having an open front. Can we get a removable or fold down windshield?

A         You get a removable windshield as standard equipment. It is formed of Plexiglass and is light weight. The bottom corners rest on padded supports and clips are used to hold the sides to the roof supports. It is fast and easy to pop it on and off as demanded by the weather.

Q         What about warranty and routine service work? And where do we get it worked on if something breaks?

A         First, the Bad Boy carries a one year parts and labor warranty. Routine maintenance is really minimal, since there is no engine requiring oil and filter changes, tune ups, spark plugs, anti freeze, radiators and so forth. There are only 6 grease fittings and you can easily grease them your self, and the Battery Fill Kit mentioned earlier takes care of battery maintenance. As for warranty and repair work, we have a convenient solution for that also. Since Bay Boys are used all over the country, often in remote locations where it would be difficult, or at least a long drive, to get it to a dealer, we have set up a system where you don't have to. You can use your local mechanic, or in some cases a local golf cart repair facility, and have them call Bad Boy Technical Service at the factory. They will guide him through a diagnostic process in a few minutes, and if it is a warranty problem, they will authorize the repair and provide a credit card to cover the cost of the work. Some of the parts are common automotive or truck parts and are often available locally. If not, then the dealer network or the factory can provide the parts.

Q         Our place has some really steep, rocky hills. How does the Bad Boy do climbing, and perhaps more importantly from a safety stand point, coming down a steep hill?

A         Well, I guess the going up part is well demonstrated by the Bad Boys ability to climb a vertical wall. The up part should be no problem. Coming down severe slopes, as you allude to in your question, can certainly be dangerous, and the Bad Boy has a unique current reversing feature that creates an automatic braking action when it is engaged. All you do is engage the auto-braking feature with a switch on the dash and the rest is done for you. It will let the machine move forward a little, then almost stop it. The process is repeated until you get to the bottom of the hill. I think you will find the Bad Boy well suited to your conditions.

Q         How long will it take to completely recharge the batteries?

A         It depends on just how discharged they are of course, but heavily discharged batteries will be recharged over night, typically in 6 to 8 hours time. Obviously the cost will be a lot less than the cost of filling up with gas or diesel. Exactly how much less, I can't say, but depending on what you are paying for electricity I'd guess it won't run you more that 25 to 50 cents per "tank" full.

Q         Is the charger built in and can I just plug it into any 110 volt outlet?

A         It is not built in, it is a stand alone, reasonably small battery charger with a plug that fits into the receptacle on the Buggy. The other end plugs into any 110 volt AC outlet. If you need to take it with you can carry it on the buggy, but normally it stays at the central location where you park your Bad Boy. One reason for this is that if it ever needs to be replaced it will be less expensive and faster than replacing a charger that was built into the Buggy.

Q         Is this the same SUV I see on TV?

A         Could be, it is advertised on some of the outdoor channels and some of the hosts have used it in their programs. Incidentally, when you use the initials "SUV" are you thinking about "Stinky Utility Vehicles" with engines or "Silent Utility Vehicles" made by Bad Boy?

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P. O. Box 447, Beeville, Texas 78104-0447 - 1-888-631-6789 - ljones@hrbizmall.com