Anyone haul wood with a riding mower?

bigbarf48 · Jan 28, 2014

I was cruising my local CL and came across an old craftsman riding mower & dump cart combo for cheap. The mower doesnt have a deck (good), and the guy says it runs. Its got a 13HP B&S motor. The motor says GOLD on top

Anyways, I was wondering how mowers like this do for light hauling. I know lots of people haul like this, but I also know there's a difference between a garden tractor and a mower. Is a 13 horse engine adequate to pull a full dump cart around the yard? Anyone have any opinions on this specific briggs?

The guy only wants 250 obo for the cart and mower, and figured itd be easier than using the wheelbarrow ;lol

Jags · Jan 28, 2014

I was gonna go into my diatribe on the difference between mowers and garden tractors but I will save you the time.
Bottom line: a mower will actually move a fair amount if not abused. Keep the loads reasonable. A garden tractor is a whole 'nuther animal.

Butcher · Jan 28, 2014

I do it all the time. Pull my splitter around too.

bigbarf48 · Jan 28, 2014

Thats a nice load there!

The trailer in this ad is a touch smaller though ;lol

Here she is, in all her rusty grey beauty:

lab17 · Jan 28, 2014

I think you will be surprised at what you can pull. I use it when cutting at my house and can fill a pretty big cart plumb full. Just make sure to front load heavy to keep the weight on the drive tires. Biggest problem is usually traction for me, wet, snow makes it near impossible with the lawn tires.

bigbarf48 · Jan 28, 2014

lab17 said:
I think you will be surprised at what you can pull. I use it when cutting at my house and can fill a pretty big cart plumb full. Just make sure to front load heavy to keep the weight on the drive tires. Biggest problem is usually traction for me, wet, snow makes it near impossible with the lawn tires.

Good to know. Have you tried tire chains? I wonder how much thatd help

Jags · Jan 28, 2014

Tire chains might actually stress the drive system depending on its type. Gear drives are better than the friction drive styles (I think the one pictured is a gear drive, but cant tell for sure). Remember - the rear axles on most "mowers" are using bushings, not bearings. They are not designed to carry heavy tongue weight or towing weight. That little cart should work fine, though.

ETA - looking at the pic again, I think it might be a friction drive. Abuse will render them broke. As I said in my first post. Reasonable loads.

bigbarf48 · Jan 28, 2014

Great thanks for the info

I wouldnt be filling it any more than I usually do my wheelbarrow most likely. I just want a wheelbarrow where im not the engine ;lol

bigbarf48 · Jan 28, 2014

Heres the other pics of the mower

Jags · Jan 28, 2014

Yep - friction drive.

I had a donor mower very similar that I stripped the 14.5 briggs off of for my small splitter. The transaxle was toast.

lab17 · Jan 28, 2014

I thought about chains, but like Jags said, I was a bit worried about too much weight (mine is gear driven), my cart is a little bigger than the one in your pic.

bigbarf48 · Jan 28, 2014

Jags said:
Yep - friction drive.

I had a donor mower very similar that I stripped the 14.5 briggs off of for my small splitter. The transaxle was toast.

So friction drive is less desirable than gear?

Jags · Jan 28, 2014

bigbarf48 said:
So friction drive is less desirable than gear?

Yes. A gear drive is run with a belt to a basic transmission (on this style). A friction drive has a rubber roller that moves with the lever that moves in and out on a disk. Think record player. The closer to the center, the less feet per second (slower). Move the lever (and roller) to the outer edge and it speeds up.

bigbarf48 · Jan 28, 2014

Jags said:
Yes. A gear drive is run with a belt to a basic transmission (on this style). A friction drive has a rubber roller that moves with the lever that moves in and out on a disk. Think record player. The closer to the center, the less feet per second (slower). Move the lever (and roller) to the outer edge and it speeds up.

Interesting. Is a friction drive mower useable for this purpose, or do you think I should pass on this one

Jags · Jan 28, 2014

Useable, but definitely less desirable.

gzecc · Jan 28, 2014

On level ground a lawn tractor will pull nicely for who knows how long. Up hills is a different story. What you'll unfortunately find out is you will be repairing little things all the time on that mower. But you will on any old mower. As long as you are handy, its a good tool. I couldn't do anything around here without mine. Mine is a garden tractor. Much different rear end. Made for pulling.

bigbarf48 · Jan 28, 2014

Maybe if I can get him below 200 I'll take a shot at it

Jags · Jan 28, 2014

Hey - if it breaks, you have a good engine to build a log splitter out of. ;lol

Thistle · Jan 28, 2014

For over 20 years I've used this '75 JD 110 w/ 10HP Kohler & 40yr+ old dump trailer to bring wood in from the woods.Last model of the series & heaviest @775lbs w/o 38" mower deck. Built like a tank,I can routinely haul 500lbs+ in that trailer up the steep slopes on that 10 acres.Have pulled 1500lb log with ease on the few actual flat spots on the property.

4-5 loads equal full size p/u load with 8ft box.Plenty of power but lacks traction on these steep slopes when ground is muddy or icy.Can get in lots of tight spots that regular truck cant get close to....Works very well when ground is dry and/or without snow & ice.Thought about getting chains someday,but I get enough done when conditions are optimal.

gzecc · Jan 28, 2014

Thistle said:
For over 20 years I've used this '75 JD 110 w/ 10HP Kohler & 40yr+ old dump trailer to bring wood in from the woods.Last model of the series & heaviest @775lbs w/o 38" mower deck. Built like a tank,I can routinely haul 500lbs+ in that trailer up the steep slopes on that 10 acres.Have pulled 1500lb log with ease on the few actual flat spots on the property.

4-5 loads equal full size p/u load with 8ft box.Plenty of power but lacks traction on these steep slopes when ground is muddy or icy.Can get in lots of tight spots that regular truck cant get close to....Works very well when ground is dry and/or without snow & ice.Thought about getting chains someday,but I get enough done when conditions are optimal.

This 110 is an old Garden Tractor.

andrewjoseph · Jan 30, 2014

bigbarf48 said:
I was cruising my loc. CL and came across an old craftsman riding mower & dump cart combo for cheap. The mower doesnt have a deck (good), and the guy says it runs. Its got a 13HP B&S motor. The motor says GOLD on top

Anyways, I was wondering how mowers like this do for light hauling. I know lots of people haul like this, but I also know there's a difference between a garden tractor and a mower. Is a 13 horse engine adequate to pull a full dump cart around the yard? Anyone have any opinions on this specific briggs?

The guy only wants 250 obo for the cart and mower, and figured itd be easier than using the wheelbarrow

I like using this combo than driving my truck into the woods . It keeps from scratching my truck up and gets around pretty well. I think 13 hp should be fine if its pretty flat.

ironspider · Jan 30, 2014

I use my craftsman YT4000 for light wood hauling, from shed to garage, use it to tow my splitter, and to carry logs around.

I just got the ball hitch for it to use with the splitter and my 4x8 trailer. I used it to tow my 4x8 with 9 cinder blocks and a bit of lumber and she wasn't too happy about that.

This is belt driven with a hydrostatic trans, so i'm not sure how much i can tow safely with this. plus the tongue weight must be light, this thing is not meant to tow.

Sinngetreu · Jan 30, 2014

Jags said:
I was gonna go into my diatribe on the difference between mowers and garden tractors but I will save you the time.
Bottom line: a mower will actually move a fair amount if not abused. Keep the loads reasonable. A garden tractor is a whole 'nuther animal.
View attachment 125619

Nice AC. Gotta love em.

Jags · Jan 31, 2014

Sinngetreu said:
Nice AC. Gotta love em.

Got a couple of them. The one in the pic is my mule. Chains stay on year round. The other is my trim mower. 1976/77 models. Also have a B10 at the cabin.

X-Raycer · Jan 31, 2014

This is my 2 year old Beast with the Mower Deck serviced & stored for the winter. The 30 hp, 900 lb. GT takes it with ease.
Scrap from Trash Dump in woods, 1-17-14 (2).jpg
I modified a 10 cu. ft. JD Dump Cart to carry double that. With the side boards it hold 1/5 of a cord.
Cutting with Modded Sawbuck- Spilitting Firewood with Tires, 12-28-13.jpg
And then my 20"x40" Cart that I use to haul the wood into my kitchen.
Cutting with Modded Sawbuck- Spilitting Firewood with Tires, 12-28-13 (9).jpg

Anyone haul wood with a riding mower?

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