What started out as a hunting vehicle soon became a company staple for Scott Hess and his father, Dave, owners of Pottie Time, LLC, a portable restroom and septic business in Grampian, Pennsylvania. “One year my buddies went out with a golf cart to hunt off of instead of a four-wheeler,” he says. “So my dad and I did the same thing.” But when the Clearfield County Fair asked if they could rent a couple of his golf carts during the fair for their maintenance guys to use, Hess realized he could also use them as another service offering.

Hess says a new golf cart might cost around $6,000, but he got lucky and in 2008 was able to purchase 10 1998 carts for about $1,500 each when the local golf course was getting rid of some. He and his dad put 8-inch lift kits on them (from Jake’s Lift Kits) for about $400 each to increase their value. They kept a few and sold the rest.

They currently have three two-wheel-drive Yamaha G4 carts with four-stroke, 285 cc, 8.5 hp single-cylinder gas engines. Of course, golf carts also come in cleaner, quieter electric models but when access to electricity is uncertain, gas is a safer bet. And Hess says for most applications a standard golf cart is sufficient, but if more ground clearance is needed for rough terrain, lift kits are available in different sizes.

The company modified the carts to make them more suitable for customers. They built wooden storage boxes on the back of two of them so maintenance and setup crews would have a spot for the tools and equipment. On the third unit they put in a rear passenger seat. It was used at the 2015 County Fair to shuttle news crews and performers.

“And some people get them for family reunions,” Hess says. “When the older people arrive they can drive them around and put all the food on the back to take to the pavilion.” Large truck and car shows have used them to transport judges.

The rear seat folds down if needed. Hess put his company logo on the golf carts and relies on that and word of mouth to market them to customers.

But it’s not just the customers who get a lot of use out of the golf carts. The company uses them in their yard for everything from moving people and equipment around to taking out the garbage. A two-wheeled company-built trailer holds two portable restrooms and attaches to the golf carts with a pin. At events where restrooms are spread out, Pottie Time attendants use the carts to restock and clean units.

Hess says they couldn’t do without their golf carts. “We run them all the time at our place and we do about 20 to 30 rentals a year.”

Read more about Pottie Time in this month’s issue of Pumper magazine.