Riding lawn mowers are a great addition to a tool shed. They are an invaluable and essential tool of trade not only for private home use but also when used by professional garden services. They improve productivity and, if correctly adjusted, produce an excellent, manicured finish to the lawn. The only downside of Riding Lawnmowers is that they are cumbersome.
The average riding lawn mower weighs between 300 lbs – 600 lbs (135 kgs to 270 kgs). Add a full tank of fuel and oil; the average riding lawnmower is a heavy piece of equipment to handle, repair, or load onto a truck or trailer. The largest machines weigh up to 900 lbs.
Lifting a riding lawnmower is not a task for the light-hearted. Riding Lawnmowers are heavy and awkward shapes with no simple handles or parts designed to hold onto when picking them up. Let’s look at each type of riding lawnmower available, their weight, and how to best lift them.
Average Weight of Popular Riding Lawnmowers
| Make & Model | Weight |
| John Deere S240 | 458 lbs. |
| John Deere E150 | 483 lbs. |
| John Deere X300 | 542 lbs. |
| Craftsman ProSeries | 580 lbs. |
| Yard Machines S029 | 520 lbs. |
| Husqvarna YTH1942 | 479 lbs. |
| Poulan Pro 204 | 428 lbs. |
How Much Does A Riding Lawnmower Weigh?
Riding lawnmowers are produced by several manufacturers, each of which has various models in different weight ranges.
Ever wondered, how many hours can your lawn mower last, check here.
There are four main types of riding lawnmower:
- Lawn Tractors
- Rear Engine Riders
- Zero Turn Mowers
- Garden Tractors
Lawn Tractors Are The Best Known Riding Lawnmower
These have an engine mounted at the front and operate with car-like controls, including a steering wheel, accelerator, and brake. Some Riding mowers have an automatic gear system, whereas others are manual.
These machines typically weigh between 300 and 650 lbs.
Rear Engine Riders Are The Smallest And Lightest Riding Lawnmower
These lawnmowers have lower capacity engines and a shorter cutting swathe (width). They are better suited to smaller domestic gardens. Their main benefit is that they are easy to store; however, they do not generally perform well as the other types.
These machines typically weigh between 150 – 300 lbs.
Zero Turn Mowers Are The Heaviest Of The Domestic Ride On Lawnmowers
These are the gold standard of riding lawnmowers. They look like a standard lawn tractor: The difference is that the two front wheels are small and are attached on swivels.
Instead of a steering system turning the front wheels, the power to each back wheel is independently controlled by the driver, who can even make each wheel move in opposite directions if necessary. These riding lawn mowers are very maneuverable and can rotate on the spot – which is where they earned the name Zero Turn Mowers.
Zero-turn lawnmowers weigh between 550lbs and 750 lbs.
Garden Tractors Are The Biggest And Heaviest Riding Lawnmower
Garden tractors look like a scaled-up version of lawn tractors. They are bigger and more capable than the other lawnmowers. They have more powerful engines and drive systems with a broader swathe, and they can cut thicker, coarser grasses. A wide variety of different tasks can also be undertaken by garden tractors, such as:
- A leaf collector
- A moss rake
- A scarifier
- A spreader for lawn preparation
- When fitted with a snow blade or snow thrower, they can clear driveways and paths. (check 3 best blade balancers)
- They usually have a trailer attachment.
- Some models can even be used for tilling, cultivating, plowing, or hauling materials.
Garden Tractors weigh between 600 lbs to 900 lbs depending on their size and capability.
Why Should You Know How Much A Riding Lawnmower Weighs?
There are several situations which make it very important for you to know the weight of your riding lawnmower
Transportation
If you need to take your riding lawnmower to a shop to repair it, or you use your riding lawnmower as part of a garden cleaning service you will have to load it onto a flatbed truck or try and tow it in a trailer.
The heavier the lawnmower, the harder it will be to move.
Towing Capacity
Riding lawnmowers have more uses than just cutting grass. You can use it to tow a trailer, leaf blower or a cut down tree trunk.
Not only will you need to know the machine’s capacity you will also need to know the allowable weights you are allowed to tow. As a rule heavier mowers are more capable and can tow heavier weights.
Fuel Consumption
A heavier mower uses more fuel. There is no way around this fact, and before you purchase a riding lawnmower make sure you know what the fuel consumptions is!
Ease To Pick Up
The most capable riding mowers are normally the heaviest. The other side of this equation is that the heavier it is , the harder it is to push, or to pick up.
Keep in mind that there are some instances when you will need to lift tup or raise your lawnmower.
1. To change the blades
2. Repair the cutting deck
3. Change the drive belt
4. Change the cutting belt
You may need to raise the riding lawnmower to work underneath it. There may also be instances where you need to load the riding lawnmower onto the back of a trailer or truck.
When you purchase a riding lawnmower remember he heavier it is, the harder it is to lift.
Can You Change The Weight Of A Riding Lawnmower?
If you want to reduce the weight of your mower,
- You can install a smaller blade deck. This will reduce the lawnmowers capability.
- Lighter wheels can reduce the weight of the mower by up to 40 pounds.
Similarly, if you want to increase the weight of your lawnmower you can do the opposite.
- Install larger, heavier wheels
- Install a larger deck.
As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t increase the weight of the lawnmower by more than 50 pounds (22 KG) as this may start t affect the performance of the engine
The Heavier The Riding Lawnmower The Harder It Is To Lift.
How Can You Adjust the Weight on Your Riding Lawnmower?
The weight of a lawnmower is almost fixed but still you can make some little tweaks to make it a little heavier or lighter.
Change Cutting Deck – Changing cutting deck can make your lawnmower heavier or lighter but you will have to keep in mind that the new ones fit your lawnmower perfectly.
Changing Tires – Changing tires can make a good shift in your lawnmower weight. If you replace the tires with the concrete ones, the lawnmower will become a bit heavy and it can be lighter if you do the vice-versa.
Are heavier lawnmowers better than lighter ones?
Using a heavier or lighter lawnmower depends upon your need. Lighter lawnmowers can be easy to use around obstacles, however, heavier ones can cut large swathes of grass.
How Do You Lift A Riding Lawnmower?
There are a few instances where you are going to need to raise your riding lawnmower, such as:
- To change the blades
- Repair the cutting deck
- Change the drive belt
- Change the cutting belt
- Transport the lawnmower for repair or contract work.
You may need to raise the riding lawnmower to work underneath it. There may also be instances where you need to load the riding lawnmower onto the back of a trailer or truck.
The recommended methods to lift or load your riding lawnmower are:
Remove The Cutting Deck
If you are going to work underneath the mower, it is strongly advised that you first remove the cutting deck.
Depending on the type of lawnmower and manufacturer, this is often achieved by simply removing six or eight cotter pins and sliding the cutting deck out from under the riding lawnmower.
Check your riding lawnmowers instruction manual to see how to do this on your machine.
Once removed, you will be able to replace the blades, cutting deck belts and pulleys, or carry out any other repairs on the cutting deck that are needed.
You will also have much easier access to the underside of the riding lawnmower to change the drive belt or pulleys.
Lift The Riding Lawnmower To Work Underneath It.
If you still need to lift the riding lawnmower and you have a hydraulic car jack available, the following procedure will work:
- Drive the riding lawnmower onto a hard, stable, flat surface.
- To stop it from moving, slide two bricks or boards in front of the tires, which will remain on the ground.
- Look under the lawnmower to see if there are any jacking points installed. These will be flat square pieces of metal attached to the lawnmower’s frame.
- Position the jack underneath the jacking point closest to the corner you want to raise.
- Be careful that the jack doesn’t snag any drive pulleys or belts.
- Activate the jack and lift the lawnmower only as high as you need. If you need to change a tire, the correct height is achieved when the wheel spins freely.
- Never lie under the lifted lawnmower.
- Carry out any maintenance you need to do and reverse the above procedure.
Loading The Riding Lawnmower Onto The Back Of A Truck Or Trailer
YouTube is full of videos showing failed loading attempts of riding lawnmowers. To make sure you don’t become an unwilling star, follow these steps:
- Always use ramps. Don’t try to pick the machine up. Even for two people, it is a big, heavy piece of machinery, and the risk of property damage, or even worse, injury to a person is significant.
- Arched loading ramps are the safest and best solution. Riding lawnmowers have low ground clearance, making navigating the lip at the top of a conventional ramp a little challenging. A curved ramp provides a gentler angle for the mower to pass over.
- The ramps must be long enough to reduce the angle sizes.
- If you are trying to load a zero-turn lawnmower or a garden tractor, remember these are wider and heavier. Ensure that the ramps are strong enough and the truck’s bed is wide enough to accommodate the machine.
- The truck must be on level ground, and each ramp must be at the same height. Riding lawnmowers are surprisingly top-heavy. If the ramps are not at the same height and angle, there is a risk of the lawnmower toppling off. Not a great start to anyone’s day!
- Secure the ramps and start loading.
- If you are happy that you have the skill to do so, it is recommended that you reverse the lawnmower onto the truck; this will ensure that the center of gravity remains as low as possible. There is also no chance of the machine “wheeling” up the ramp.
- Keep the machine in as low a gear as possible, which will ensure you are traveling at a slow speed and have the best torque available.
- Once on the truck bed, securely tie the riding lawnmower down. You don’t want it to break loose and damage itself and the truck.
Conclusion
Riding lawnmowers are fantastic machines. They efficiently keep the grass at golf course blade height, and different models can be used for many other activities.
However, they are cumbersome, so extreme caution needs to be maintained if you want to raise one off the ground or load it onto a vehicle.
References
https://www.ehow.com/how_8573243_jack-up-lawn-mower.html
https://www.discountramps.com/how-to/powersports/load-lawn-tractor-into-pickup/a/b71/
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