Truck’n

We had great fun running the new Jacobsen Truckster through its paces at the Crown Golf Club. Jacobsen was very helpful in expediting my request for a demo and supporting its repair. Many of my neighbors are getting their utility vehicles licensed for on-road use, and using them as their everyday driver. The amount they cost and the cost of the modifications to make them street legal make them more expensive than a normal car to drive, but I can see they are having a lot more fun getting to drive them every day rather than just weekends or at deer camp … Makes that morning commute an adventure.

The Truckster XD 4WD [#1]arrived for the test halfway through the bunker rebuilding project. The mission was to complete the project before bad weather set in. When it arrived, the headlights were not working and needed to be fixed before the Truckster could join the work in progress. During the time we had the Truckster, there were some cold and some rainy days where we would have liked to have had the heated cab option. The four-post ROPS on the Truckster are drilled and threaded to screw on the roof, windshield, doors and back window if you choose the full cab option.

The ride was very rough, making the suspension seat option essential rather than optional. Without the suspension option, the seats are mounted hard to the frame.

The Reese hitch was a pleasant surprise [#2] and would be useful on other projects around the course. Testing the Truckster on the bunker project gave the heavy-duty tailgate hinges a workout and they held up well.

The lift cylinder for the bed [#3] got a lot of use, dumping 3,550-pound loads of dirt or sand one right after the other and held up well.

The nosepiece of the vehicle [#4] was removed to replace the headlight bulbs, replace the fuse in the panel on the passenger’s side and to check the brake fluid level on the driver’s side.

The fuse block [#5] uses several different sizes and ratings of automotive style fuses.

During a break from the work, I put the Truckster up on the lift [#6] to see why the ride was so stiff and to see the underside more closely.

A surprise I found while the Truckster was on the lift is that the springs and shocks do not work because there is no travel in the suspension system [#7]. The frame rides on the axle where a rubber ball (colored yellow in this picture) is fitted between them. Most suspension systems have travel limit blocks like this but usually allow the suspension to travel 4 inches before hitting the stop. Hard up against the stop like Truckster’s suspension is, you can carry heavier loads without concern for the springs. Hay wagons are this way.

The only thing that flexes in this suspension system are the tires [#8], which explains the rough ride and the bouncing. For speed, the vehicle could go 19.7 mph on the level street. But going cross country, the texture of the course dictated that I had to drive slowly to prevent hurting my back.

The Truckster arrived here at the Crown Golf Club with the headlights not working [#9] and only one key, probably because of my last-minute request and Jacobsen’s rush to get it to me before the bunker project ended. After a phone call, Jacobsen sent the keys and headlight housing from the factory in North Carolina. I got new headlight bulbs delivered to my shop from NAPA auto parts and picked up an auto fuse assortment from a hardware store located on the corner of the golf course. The hardware store is our parts warehouse of commonly available items, and many of my suppliers offer overnight delivery at no extra charge so I can run my shop while carrying very little inventory. Every golf course should have a hardware store located on the edge of the property.

Everyone who drove the Truckster loved it and wanted to add it to our fleet of vehicles. In the difficult conditions of the bunker construction project, the four-wheel drive Truckster worked very well. It never got stuck or had any trouble with the hills or bunkers. The hauling capacity was amazing. The construction of the vehicle is definitely heavy duty. I would recommend that you be sure to get the seat suspension option and the heated cab option to improve operator efficiency and extend the vehicle’s use into cold or rainy days. The shade of a cab is also a welcome relief on hot sunny days.