Has anyone here ever successfully tethered two riding mowers together? I am thinking of a setup like a tow hitch used to pull a car behind a camper - just modded so the lead mower is offset to one side to cut eighty plus inches of grass per pass. I already know that the slave mower needs to be the weaker mower of the pair and the safety system of the slave will have to be circumvented so that the blades will work with no one in the seat. Any input would be appreciated as I am a newbie to the site.
Operation double decker
- Thread starter ybelikeu
- Start date
You'll need to do three things to make it work well and not put too much strain on the towing mower. First off is steering. Your "slave" mower may not want to track very well behind the towing mower, i.e. it may not want to turn when you do. I've never had to pull my JD around, but none of my other mowers would follow the tow vehicle without skidding the front tires or having someone on the towed mower to steer. Therefore you may need your tow bar to pivot at the towed mower's front axle with a drag link attached to one of the steering knuckles so the front tires will turn when you turn. Otherwise you'll need to fab up some mounts and install some large casters like what's on the front of a ZTR.
Second, you'll probably need to remove the rear axle or at least remove the internals to make the mower roll as freely as possible. If it has a manual transmission, you may only have to put it in neutral. However, if it has a hydro tranny, then you'll have to remove it. You'll need to measure the existing axle diameter. For the sake of this post, assume the axle has a 3/4" diameter. You can replace the rear axle with a piece of 3/4" rod, two 3/4" pillow blocks, four washers and two cotter pins.
Third, you'll need to remove as much dead weight from the towed mower as possible to make it easier to pull. If you have any incline at all, you'll be amazed how much of a difference 50 pounds can make.
Last winter I built an offset mower to use in my yard. I thought about going the same route that you are considering, but decided for me it was eaiser to build it using parts from the donor mower. I'll see if I can find those pics and I'll post them here, maybe it will give you some ideas....or maybe not.
Second, you'll probably need to remove the rear axle or at least remove the internals to make the mower roll as freely as possible. If it has a manual transmission, you may only have to put it in neutral. However, if it has a hydro tranny, then you'll have to remove it. You'll need to measure the existing axle diameter. For the sake of this post, assume the axle has a 3/4" diameter. You can replace the rear axle with a piece of 3/4" rod, two 3/4" pillow blocks, four washers and two cotter pins.
Third, you'll need to remove as much dead weight from the towed mower as possible to make it easier to pull. If you have any incline at all, you'll be amazed how much of a difference 50 pounds can make.
Last winter I built an offset mower to use in my yard. I thought about going the same route that you are considering, but decided for me it was eaiser to build it using parts from the donor mower. I'll see if I can find those pics and I'll post them here, maybe it will give you some ideas....or maybe not.
WOW mullins that makes my prototype look like mediocre redneck engineering. I did manage to get the grass cut but your design looks so professional made. I will try to get some pictures and post them. The only advantage to my design is that I can remove the tow hitch and use the slave mower as a normal mower. I also only used material already on hand with the exception of a tractor pin that I got at Tractor Supply. I hope that you don't mind if I steal your linkage design as the tow hitch I have requires me to remove the whole assembly to use the mowers independatly. IN your design you only have to remove the one drag link.
Thanks Kenny! I looked at the Swishers for probably two years, but couldn't justify approximately $1,500 for one. Then I considered converting a rider to a pull behind, but ditched it for this mower. It works very well. Infact, I used it today.
Hey, nothing wrong with redneck engineering, I do it all the time! :laughing:
I spent most of last winter putting this design together in my head, and then probably a month and a half actually building it in my free time. I already had a donor rider sitting around, it is a Snapper LT-16, so all I had to buy was the steel to build the frame. Also, I found the front casters on a Toro golf course mower at a golf course equipment junk yard - believe it or not, there's one not too far from me.
How well did the slave mower pull? Did the front tires turn when you turned, or did they just skid sideways?
Please post some pics, I'd like to see what you've come up with. :thumbsup:
Overall it went really well for the first prototype run. I had to put vice grips on the steering shaft to keep the front wheels lined up straigth. When I would try to turn the wheels would track the opposite direction and roll the tire under when it got to full opposite lock. Thankfully I did not take te tire off the rim and then have to reseat the bead. After that engeeniring fix the front tires would just slide. I guess that i was wrong thinking that a riding mower would track like a car behind a rv.
Yeah, riders don't have caster or trail built into the front end like cars do.:thumbdown:
If you can weld, then you can fix this without too much trouble. You'll need to rig up a drag link to connect the tow bar to one of the steering knuckles on the front axle of the slave mower. I'll see if I can find a picture of anything similar to post here as I know I won't be able to describe it with words.
This is what I'm talking about. Notice how the tow bar pivots at a point near the center line of the front axle. The rear of the tow bar is attached to a drag link that is attached to one of the steering knuckles, while a tie rod connects both front steering knuckles. When the tow vehicle turns, the tow bar turns the wheels allowing them to track properly.
I hope this helps.