Sometimes buying a go kart online can be quite difficult, trying to fit if your go kart will fit the kids that you have. We’re going to jump right in today and show you some our own kids and how they fit into these go karts. We’ll take a look at the Trailmaster Mini Series, the Trailmaster Mid Series and the Trailmaster 200 Series.

Factory recommendations are are follows:

Mini go karts ages 4-12

Mid go karts ages 10+

200 go karts Ages 12+, built for teens and adults

Our recommendations based on our specific ages and measurements are as follows

Zeke, 4 years old, 43” tall:

Fits mini perfect

Too short for Mid

Seth, 6 years old, 50” tall:

Fits mini with room to grow, might be too slow for his experience level

Fits mid perfectly with lots of room to grow, more suited to his skill level

Not even close to fitting a 200

Lillee, 10 years old, 57” tall:

Fits the mini, but it’s a tight squeeze, definitely too slow for her age

Fits the mid with room to grow, perfect size and speed for her capabilities

Could just barely touch the pedals on the 200, but her skills aren’t good enough to handle a full size machine

Kim, 5’4”, adult:

Cannot physically get into a mini

Fits into a mid, can drive it around with a passenger, would prefer a bigger kart

Fits 200 perfectly

Scott, 5’10”, adult:

Didn’t even try the mini

Can get into the mid to move it around, wouldn’t take it off of the smooth terrain

Fit perfectly in a 200 or full size kart, would prefer the faster 300 kart(same size, bigger engine)

Even with these factory recommendations, we all know that those age ranges are based on the average size of a child at each age, and no one really has an average sized kid. Your 4 year old might know how to drive a kart and if he’s tall enough to reach the pedals, then the mini karts are perfect. But some 4 year old with no experience or shorts legs may not be able to handle a mini kart for another year or two. That’s why we want to share our own kids in the karts and give some measurements to help you get a better picture.

Real kids, real go karts, Size comparison Testing

Let’s Start with the Mini XRX model go kart. The frame size on the inside will be the same on the Mini XRS, Mini XRX and Mini XRX-R. 

Mini Go Karts

We put Ezekiel in one of these mini karts. Zeke is 4 years old, and 43” tall. When he sits inside a mini go kart with the seat all the way back, he can’t quite reach. But with the seat all the way forward, he can comfortably touch the pedals and reach the steering wheel. And the pedal can be moved up to 6” closer to the seats for a shorter child.

Next we put Seth in the mini go karts. Seth is 6 years old and is a bigger than average 6 year old at 50” tall. When he sits inside the mini go kart with the seats all the way back, he fits perfectly into the kart. He is comfortable with slightly bent knees and has a few years of growing room left in the mini kart.

Next, our 10 year old Lillee tried the mini go kart. She is 57” tall. She could drive the mini kart if she wants dto but her knees are higher than the steering wheel and she’s cramped inside. She could ride it if she had to, but she’s definitely big enough to move up to a mid size kart.

Mid Sized Go Karts (Mid XRS, Mid XRX, Mid XRX-R, Blazer 200R)

When we put Zeke in a mid sized kart, his feet are still about 8-10” away from the pedals, even with the driver’s seat all the way forward. At 4 years old, the Mini go kart is really the only kart built for him

Seth tried out the mid size go kart with the seat all the way forward. His feet touch the pedals comfortable and he can reach the steering wheel. His knees are slightly bent and he has years of growing room ahead. At 6 years old, he could ride this go kart for 5 or more years before he grows out of it.

When Lillee sits in the mid size go kart with the seat all the way back, she fits comfortably, but her legs are 1-2” too short to reach the pedals comfortably. When we adjust the driver’s seat forward, she can drive comfortably and has plenty of growing room.

Full size go karts

Last, we let Lillee try out the Trailmater 200.This is a full size adult go kart. With the seat pushed all the way forward, she still has to stretch he feet out to reach the pedals. She really wouldn’t be able to drive this safely until she grows a bit. If she were a very skilled driver, we would be more comfortable allowing her to stretch to the controls but being 10 years old, she’s not quite capable of handling such a big go kart.

All of that being said, Scott and Kim both enjoy riding the Mid and 200 karts.

Kim is 5’4” and 170 lbs and can comfortably drive the mid sized karts with a child passenger. She wouldn’t want this to be her full time kart or ride it all day on the trails, but she can still get in and drive it without getting hurt or too cramped. The 200 kart is a perfect fit and Kim can reach all of the controls with the seat all the way forward.

Scott is 5’10” and about 200 lbs. He can physically get into a mid sized kart and drive it around the parking lot, but he wouldn’t want to take it anywhere besides very smooth terrain. His knees, shins, and head all hit the frame and he would hurt himself. Scott fits perfectly in a 200 kart with the seat back, and a full grown man up to about 6 feet tall could comfortably drive this kart for long periods without hurting himself or baking up his knees or shins.

Hopefully this quick comparison has helped Clear up some of the sizing on Trailmaster go karts. Sometimes the mearuemtns shown in the factory specs are hard to understand or don’t give a clear and detailed picture of who can actually ride a go kart. Age ranges can be tricky too! Check out our YouTube video here where we do this go kart size comparison test.