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Author Topic: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?  (Read 10666 times)

roz84

  • Joined Jan 2013
What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« on: January 08, 2013, 05:07:33 pm »
Hi,

I'm new to the forum so please be gentle :)

Although I'm not exactly a smallholder I reckon you guys should be able to answer my question - I'm about to move my horses to a new field which is up a beast of a hill. There's no water up there so it will need to be hauled up. I have been looking into quads and trailers etc, although to be honest I'm on a VERY limited budget - I have however seen some old ride on mowers with the mower deck removed. Would one of these be capable of towing a small trailer up a hill? The one i've been looking at is a westwood 12hp. it would never be that heavily loaded - just some water, probably hay etc. i'd also use it for poo picking. Any opinions welcome please as I really have no idea!

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Clackmannanshire
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Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2013, 10:52:06 pm »
I think it would depend on the type and power of the mower.  We had a big one on our croft that had an attachment for pulling a wee trailer and also a roller that you filled with water, (think it was a Honda, certainly a Briggs & Stratton engine)but my present modern and out of action because it's sick Mountfield wouldn't pull a grape off it's stalk. Damned nuisance of a thing!
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

chrismahon

  • Joined Dec 2011
  • Gascony, France
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2013, 06:41:20 am »
Any slope is a big test Roz84. We had a 12HP Countax with automatic box. Traction was the problem when pulling anything. Water is heavy and I doubt a mower could move more than 50 litres at a time up a reasonable slope. Problem is the power is used up carrying the driver. Only thing to do is test before buying.

Mel Rice

  • Joined Sep 2011
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2013, 07:05:57 am »
As a slight hijack many people near us stick a snowplough on the front for use in winter.....not up slopes though (well not big ones! we live in a valley)

jaykay

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Cumbria/N Yorks border
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2013, 07:45:44 am »
My land is steeply sloping and we changed our quad bike to a beasty Honda (500cc, think it's 35hp) because the smaller one wasn't up to the job of pulling a quad trailer up the fell.

Now admittedly the trailer often had in four sheep or a load of muck - but water isn't light either, if you think that 50 litres is going on for 8 stone, so a large teenager or small adult.

Fowgill Farm

  • Joined Feb 2009
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2013, 10:43:07 am »
We have an old westwood mower on which the deck is jiggered so we use it to pull the grass collector following the tractor & mower, it won't drive over rough ground as its little wheels just get stuck so i don't think it would do the job you want it to do.
Mandy :pig:

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #6 on: January 09, 2013, 02:22:38 pm »
We have a miniature tractor at our sailing club which has no problem at all towing some heavy old boats up a gentle incline, so one of them would probably be ideal....... if you could get hold of one for nowt!  ::)
 
Thinking outside the box a little, if you have a source of water at the bottom of the hill, why not invest in a long hose and a pump instead? Then train the horses to carry their own hay once a week, and you're laughing (maybe!?!).
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

shropshire_blue

  • Joined Nov 2011
  • Dorset BH21
    • Making Life Exciting Again...
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #7 on: January 09, 2013, 03:50:25 pm »
I don't think a mower would be up to the job.  I have a couple here and they struggle to get round the flat fields, let alone any hills or bumps.


I like womble's suggestion!

roz84

  • Joined Jan 2013
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2013, 06:26:56 pm »
If i tried to put hay on my mare's back, she'd turn in circles eating the damn stuff!!!

so a proper mini tractor or good quad is what's needed really then - thanks very much for your replies!

what does everyone think is the minimum cc's i'd get away with on a quad would be?

Ty Siriol

  • Joined Aug 2010
  • Ty Siriol - Home grown food at it's best...
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #9 on: January 13, 2013, 05:09:34 pm »
We have a 500cc 4wd quad that would be more than up to the task. As others have already said, water is very heavy so plenty of power (and grip) will be needed to pull it up the hill. Racks front and back that are big enough for a bale on each, so Just one run for water and hay!

Ours has an offroad towing capacity of 500kg but has happily pulled an 800kg Ifor Williams box trailer around the yard (admittedly it was in low ratio).

If you don't need the PTO or hydraulics of a mini tractor then a big quad would be the way to go.
Suzy Williams 01792 882676
Ty Siriol - Home grown food at it's best...

roz84

  • Joined Jan 2013
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #10 on: January 14, 2013, 05:26:27 pm »
what about one that has a 16.5 horsepower engine? i've just seen one  for sale and that's a significantly more powerful engine than others i have looked at!

shropshire_blue

  • Joined Nov 2011
  • Dorset BH21
    • Making Life Exciting Again...
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2013, 01:24:11 am »
what about one that has a 16.5 horsepower engine? i've just seen one  for sale and that's a significantly more powerful engine than others i have looked at!


It's not so much the power as the lack of suspension and small tyres - it just won't cope with a standard field (unless you have lovely flat rolled paddocks like a garden lawn...)

scruffbag

  • Joined Nov 2012
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #12 on: January 18, 2013, 08:06:41 pm »
I use a 19hp kubolta mower for towing up to at about 1ton (3xm3 bags of fresh bark chip) on a speical 4 wheel trailer. tows on the flat and upto 15degree slopes no problem But the lack of wieght in the power unit does mean it struggles for grip on grass and the like, some more agressive tyres might help that though.

nick-in-ca

  • Joined Jan 2009
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #13 on: January 24, 2013, 03:43:06 am »
i have used a ride on mower out in the back wood i live on a mountain  and when i needed to pull something with a small trailer i added 2 cement blocks on the fenders and that was enough weight to pull a 45 gallon drum full of water 450 lbs up a good incline  so try it
nick in ca

Le Recoignot

  • Joined Oct 2009
Re: What can an old ride on lawnmower be used for?
« Reply #14 on: March 02, 2013, 07:59:18 pm »
Have you considered a 2 wheel tractor?

 

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