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When purchasing a lawn roller there are many sizes and weights to choose from. Setting aside ones that can be pushed​ or pulled​ by hand, what is a good size or weight roller for a homeowner with a riding mower? It all comes down to how many pounds per linear inch of roller in contact with ground. For example, a 18" x 48" poly roller loaded up with water weighs 420 lbs (according to manufacturer). With some simple math, you get 8.75 lbs per linear inch of ground being compacted. Now, I am not trying to dig too deep into this, but at what point is the rolling or roller for that matter, just not doing enough? I get that doing it when the ground is at its softest will likely yield the best results, but if you get to a point where you are making only 2-4 lbs per linear inch ground contact, how can it be doing any good? I ask because I paid last year to have my lawn rolled and to my surprise they used a machine typically used for rolling hot asphalt. The thing had to weigh a thousand pounds or more. Most of us do not have access to this type of equipment, not can pull a load that heavy with a riding mower. Please share your thoughts. Thank you.

LTX1050VT Cub is a light weight mower. 420 lbs. is pushing the limit on that mower.

reynoldston said:

LTX1050VT Cub is a light weight mower. 420 lbs. is pushing the limit on that mower.

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I have actually been looking at purchasing the Cub Cadet GT50 with the K58 hydrostatic. My understanding is that this axle can handle the demands of most homeowner attachments including rollers and plows. I did see the GT54D was just released. It has the K62, but I assume the only difference in the rear end is the diff lock feature. I have a 46" blade, the roller, the cart and I hope to get a dethatcher and aerator at some point. A bagger may be necessary too . . .

Back in 2009, someone posted on another forum the following information:

"ID
444
Release Date
05/31/2006

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How much weight can my Cub Cadet tractor tow?
Question
What is the towing capacity of my Cub Cadet tractor?
Answer


This is a more complicated issue than it might appear, because "towing capacity" is more of a sales specification than a technical specification. If you picture yourself pushing a wheelbarrow full of dirt, weighing about 300 pounds, you would say that your pushing capacity was 300 lbs, but I doubt you would be able to push 300 pounds if it were on a flat sled with no wheels on rough ground. That is a simple analogy explaining why we don't use towing capacity as a technical specification.

Everyone likes to relate axle torque to draw bar force, but draw bar force cannot so easily be related to "towing capacity" due to all the variables involved. There is also a difference between a maximum axle torque (or draw bar force) short duration spike compared with what can be sustained over a long distance such as in towing. On most surfaces, unless you significantly weight down the tractor, you will generate tire slippage before you reach the transmission's ability to create maximum axle torque.

The 1000 Series & LT1500 Series can handle a typical lawn cart with a 750 lb. capacity and a lawn roller of 650 lbs.

The iSeries can handle a lawn cart with a 1500 lb. capacity and a lawn roller of 950 lbs.

The GT1500 Series can handle a lawn cart with a 1500 lb. capacity and a lawn roller of 950 lbs.

The 2500 and 3000 Series can handle a lawn cart with a 1500 lb. capacity and a lawn roller of 950 lbs.

CAUTION: You should also be cautious of "braking ability". These tractors have a single disc brake designed to stop the weight of the tractor on slight grades. When you are towing downhill your braking distance will significantly increase. As a general rule of thumb, using a single-axle wheeled trailer you should be able to pull half the weight of the tractor safely over level ground and slopes less than 5 degrees."

I know this information to precede my model by 3 years, but the numbers do show promise. Even at 420, I would be at ~65% of my towing capacity. I do not have any grade on my property either. So with that being said, a newer GT model would surely be okay.

Another thing to take into consideration is the weight of the water does not go round in circles like the roller does. It is considdered unslung weight. You can move more unslung weight than weight that moves up and over the axle.

Interesting topic. Im reminded of a time when one of my older work trucks would not start after mowing a yard. Someone left the lights on . Not 1 of the 4 guys noticed. No way to jump truck off with a mower. Truck was a standard. I unloaded my oldest zmaster. Was able to actually push the truck and trailer up a small grade . Scott popped the clutch just over the grade truck started . Not advised to do this. The next week that mower broke drive belt and spring tensinor. But hey we got it started.

RDA.Lawns said:

Interesting topic. Im reminded of a time when one of my older work trucks would not start after mowing a yard. Someone left the lights on . Not 1 of the 4 guys noticed. No way to jump truck off with a mower. Truck was a standard. I unloaded my oldest zmaster. Was able to actually push the truck and trailer up a small grade . Scott popped the clutch just over the grade truck started . Not advised to do this. The next week that mower broke drive belt and spring tensinor. But hey we got it started.

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That is quite a lot of work for a mower. I was looking into the specs on the K58 hydro and it makes 216ft lbs of axle torque. That's more than my car! The max static weight on axle is 628 lbs which is almost the entire weight of the machine. Out of the K46, K57, K58, K63, K66 and K72, the K58 is the only one that Kanzaki calls out as "heavy duty." Sure it's not the best due to other variables, but comparing to the Hydro Gear 310-0510 I have now or the available K46 on lesser machines, it is hands down a far better unit especially if I want to hook heavy accessories up to the mower. Now we get back to the original question, how much weight per linear inch of lawn roller will do the job?

I do not have the info but for moles I used a 450 lbs on a persons yard a couple days after a light rain and it worked well. It was a steel drum. I would never buy a plastic drum as the tend to conform to the ground compared to steel. Or in other words bend. I would also think that the math used is not quite correct. I would say you need to take 450 lbs and divide it by the width of the roller. To get a closer linear inch weight reading. Remember the water does not follow the circular motion of the drum it just pushes down only where the drum touches the ground. Lots of smarter people on here than me so let's see if I am correct or not.

It depends on what you want to do with a roller. I use a plastic rollers filled with water right after seeding so the seeds make good contact with loosened soil. I don't think these rollers are heavy enough to flatten an area of uneven land.

panabiker said:

It depends on what you want to do with a roller. I use a plastic rollers filled with water right after seeding so the seeds make good contact with loosened soil. I don't think these rollers are heavy enough to flatten an area of uneven land.

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Good tip thank you!

25 years ago my wife brought home a new roller for me her dad had found a guy making - 24" 48" pipeline of some sort with green epoxy under the red he used to disguise it - and 1/4" ends welded on - without the water my friend and I couldn't lift it out of the truck so we drug it off with the truck in a ditch. I have always wondered what the weight is filled but I do know it will push rocks into asphalt and crush rocks when you go over the driveway. guy built it like I would have with nice pillow blocks for the axle bearings - only thing is he made it with a pin hitch and some day I am going to covert it to a ball hitch for more movement and on my last lawn tractor it was wearing thru the factory hitch. lately I have been using a honda 4 wheeler to pull it. seems like a person with time and a good welder would produce them and sell them around here - have never seen them since then :/

Neighbors with a 16hp have to drain it half way to pull it up mild hills. and I learned to never try to use it on ground you just graded and thought you had compacted some - when we did the new driveway a couple years ago I tried compacting the dirt we finished the edges with and had to get the truck and tow strap out

So now I have a follow up question:

Should I choose a steel roller, is there anything I can add to the water to help prevent rust from occuring inside? I do not think the rusty water will lead to it's demise, but it is nice knowing that something has been done to help ensure a longer life.

Also, I have considered sand, but I want easier filling and emptying!

Thanks!

Sand will cause more damage to your trans axle even at same weight. Remember water is fluid so it does not have to travel up when the roller is moved. The sand on the other hand does
So you will end up pulling more weight with sand.

I would go with steel. As far as water rusting the steel. Yes overtime it will happen. There is a solution you can add to water to prevent it. Its the same stuff added to rear tractor tires with water for weight. Check with a tire shop that works on tractor tires. They can get it for you.

The bit about sand makes sense. I liked the idea of having it in there and never taking it out, but storing then becomes difficult and the issue of it moving inside and shifting the weight around. As for the rust inhibitor, I know there is commercial stuff out there, in fact we use some at my work, but I just didn't know where to get it. I may pull the trigger on a new tractor this week and if I do I am looking at a 920lb steel roller. If I end up chickening out, I will have to get something much much lighter than that for the LTX. Thanks guys!

Mike

cruzenmike said:

So now I have a follow up question:

Should I choose a steel roller, is there anything I can add to the water to help prevent rust from occuring inside? I do not think the rusty water will lead to it's demise, but it is nice knowing that something has been done to help ensure a longer life.

Also, I have considered sand, but I want easier filling and emptying!

Thanks!

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You can add a sacrificial anode to the filling cover of the roller much like the sacrificial rod in a home water heater. You can probably get a water heater rod and modify it to fit the roller. It may not stop the corrosion but at least it will slow it down.

I ended up going with a poly roller, mostly because of cost and the ability of my rider to pull it without causing any damage. I got an Agri-fab 48" roller that weighs 550 lbs when loaded up with water. I wanted the widest roller i could get because I didn't want to make a ton of extra passes. Now that I have used it, I regret not getting a 36" one that weighs the same. It would probably do a little better at pushing down the ground. I will just have to wait for when it rains again and the ground gets really soft and I will give it another try.

Hard to tell you what your mower will pull, when it comes to towing I know only two things:
1. Any towing voids the warranty and you're on your own in terms of what goes wrong.
2. I found out what mine can do (the trailer is a 6x12, I only took it from there to the street where the truck was, all at very low speed):

I do know my ztr will pull my f150 truck. Only pulled it 40' but had no problem doing it.