4 WD riders

wayne1

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Mar 22, 2011
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has anyone tried or turned your riding mower into a 4 wheeled drive unit?
 

benski

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Mar 23, 2011
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Nope. I don't have the courage to drag a bunch of rotating blades into a place that would need a 4wd machine.:eek: But if I did, I'd get a 4wd ATV, and rig up a gas-powered (seperate engined) mower deck out behind me.:biggrin::thumbsup:
 

sss

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never found the need! my 2wd mtd will go up any hill i point it at. what is the advantage of 4wd?
 

wayne1

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I can't afford a ATV, I have set a 5hp B/S motor on top of a 30" Murry rider deck I guess I could attach a couple of hinged tow bars and pull it but that's not the point. The point is to take an engineered and factory built machine that does pretty much one thing ( mow ) and with the help, advise, ideas, suggestions and experiance of the tallanted people using this forum create a machine that can do alot of things that we all can use. We build it simply because it can be done, there is all sorts of machines out there, they started with an idea, we've got plenty of them, let's get to it. i've got an idea on how to make a 4WD riding mower, who needs a garden tractor or something a little bigger?
 

benski

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I get your message, but I don't get your point. Are you really going to take the time to home-fab differentials, steering knuckles, figure out how to drive all this without interfering with deck height adjustment, serviceability, and reliability, and have something when it's all done?:wink:Maybe a hydraulic motor system, running the kind of axle set-up they have on Mercedes Unimogs (portal axle) would be a place to start. I dunno. It seems like an awful lot of energy to go through for what in my view, creates very little gain. What is the lawn going to look like after a 4wd mower goes over it?
 

Carscw

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Aug 11, 2011
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Toro makes a 4 wheel drive 72 inch cut I used one when I worked at a golf course has a diesel engine rear wheel steering With water in the tires will hold hills you can't walk up
 

Alasdair

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Jun 18, 2011
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Kubota make one, about 46" with a 3 cyl diesel, however
the front wheels only engage when pointing straight ahead
probably to avoid needing a front diff, however in my
experience my 2wd mowers only lose traction when I'm
climbing and turning, so the kubota system seems back
to front for real usefulness. If you want mega traction
use track drive. Scallop the track edges so they don't dig
the turf up when skidding (steering) and you can mow
anywhere.
 

Sprinkler Buddy

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Apr 30, 2011
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Could of used one today mowing around the pond, tried getting too close and lost traction on the clay. Had to get my Polaris and pull myself out. No! I didn't go in. lol Just got stuck along the side. :laughing:
 

panabiker

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I thought about turning my riding mower to 4WD last winter, when I attached a 2-stage snow thrower to it. With chains and weights, the rear wheels still slipped on heavy snow. So my idea was a "hybrid-electric" front drive. I have seen geared "hub motors" used on electric bikes. If I could get a couple of them and build two front motor driven wheels, and with an additional alternator generating electric power, I could drive front wheel, on demand, when the rear wheels need help. The advantage of the in-wheel motor drive is that you don't have to worry about the complexity of CV joints and everything else associated with front drive.
 

mullins87

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Oct 24, 2010
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I'm kinda like the others with "why", but I think it could be a neat project. Some company makes front and rear axles for 4wd golf cart style vehicles. I have never seen one, but I have seen the replacement rear axle for an EZ-GO that is 4wd. It would have a wide track, but otherwise would be pretty easy to build if you could find both axles.
 
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