moving trailer with lawn tractor

[H20Rat]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

I know MTD always seems to get a bad rap, but myself, and a couple other guys in the business I know, have used MTD built equipment for a LONG time. I've still got a pair of Montgomery wards 20hp tractors that are MTD. They date back to around 1993 or so, and they used to put on more hours in a season than a homeowners would do in 20 years. (6 days a week in the summer, from 6 to 10 hour days. Those tractors rarely shut off) The ONLY problems I've had on them are spindles/bearing on the front wheels, and tie rod ends breaking.

(both are now 'personal' tractors, one is my snowblower, one is the parents leaf bagging tractor)

Also, I have moved boats and pontoons with them in excess of 2000 pounds. (on relatively level ground, but not always pavement. No probs so far!)


About the only thing I would suggest is to NOT use a zero turn mower... no weight on the front, they will wheely constantly. Also, they are a huge pain to back a trailer with. Your brain will hurt after wards!

 

[mrdancer]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

I know MTD always seems to get a bad rap, but myself, and a couple other guys in the business I know, have used MTD built equipment for a LONG time. ...

MTD is a pretty big manufacturer and they have the capability to build many different machines at many different levels of quality, designed to meet price points. It is possible that you could get the same machine from two different outlet vendors that are identical, yet one machine may be made with thinner metal or poorer metal alloys to meet a price point. When dealing with large vendors and large quantities, they can make changes on the production runs without too much penalty.

It is also possible that longterm quality has deteriorated as manufactuers develop more technology (including actuary tables) that help them determine MTBF (mean time before failure) so they can meet MTBF/warranty standards and price points by using minimum standards. In the old days, they may have just slightly overbuilt the thing to meet warranty needs.

I have a Craftsman (MTD) snowblower that is six years old, stored in a garage. I've had to make several repairs to it, including one that cost me $45 and a couple hours time, that would have cost upwards of $500 if I had to take it back to Sears for repair. I also have a Craftsman (Husqvarna) lawn tractor that has been relatively trouble-free. Overall, I think MTD is a good deal if you are handy and don't mind doing repairs for yourself, but I pity the homeowners that rely on Sears for warranty work.

To the OP: See if you can find specs for your transaxle on Peerless' website. If so, then you can compare against Tufftorq's website specs to get an idea of the tranny's capabilities (usually measured in ft-lbs of torque). The Tufftorqs seem to be in the vast majority of lawn tractors over the last decade, so they have a much larger user database on the web.

 

[Bayou Dave]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

I found the Peerless paper work and emailed them with the model number. I asked them about the towing capacity and am waiitng for a reply. If they don't give me th efoot pounds of torque I will email them again and compare it to the Tufftorg's.
Hopefully, they are on the ball and will reply before Spring gets here. lol

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

+1 on the JD 425. I even use mine to move my car hauler with a car on it.

 

[boats52]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

I routinely moved my 17 foot Alumacraft Navigator and pontoon into and out of the garage with my Craftsman 20 HP and Hydrostatic tranny. As long as you stay on pavement it will work just fine. Here's a picture of my hitch.

Silvertip,

Can you please tell me where you obtained your lawn tractor hitch and who the manufacturer is? I've been looking for one exactly like that. Thanks much boats52

 

[plztellme]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

Hey Silvertip, if you can weld or know someone that can, buy the steel and do ur self. Good luck either way.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

Guys - you are posting in a thread that's almost a year old. Please start a thread of your own.

 

[Lou C]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

Just get a front hitch for $150 and be done with it.

 

[AGrayEngineering]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

I do it all the time... though my "lawn tractor" is just a little bit bigger.

Really though, I used to move around my waterlogged 15' mfg gypsy with a 16hp Craftsman garden tractor.

 

[JB]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

We prefer not to reply to threads over 90 days old. (See forum rules).

 

[agallant80]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

I see the local boat dealer doing this. Only thing is that they have a very flat lot. If there were hills or inclines I am sure they would be using other equipment.

 

[JB]

Re: moving trailer with lawn tractor

We prefer not to reply to threads over 90 days old. (See forum rules).

See date .