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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.

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.

Good job on the trail mower mullins87 :thumbsup:.... Much more practical than towing another rider mower...

I think Swisher makes a few different size Tow behind powered decks... :smile:KennyV

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.

KennyV said:

Good job on the trail mower mullins87 :thumbsup:.... Much more practical than towing another rider mower...

I think Swisher makes a few different size Tow behind powered decks... :smile:KennyV

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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.

ybelikeu said:

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.

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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.

ybelikeu said:

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.

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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.

The hitch that I had thought up in my head was the kind that you put on the front of a car when you wish to pull it behind a camper or a truck. This way i could rack the hitch back or remove it to use the slave mower as a regular mower. If I attempted to make the tow bar part of the steering it would be alot more involved as far as installation and removal. I will post some pictures of my contraption that I took after my first prototype run. Thanks for all your help.

I will try to get better pictures of this when I get back. This is what i have for now.

ybelikeu said:

The hitch that I had thought up in my head was the kind that you put on the front of a car when you wish to pull it behind a camper or a truck. This way i could rack the hitch back or remove it to use the slave mower as a regular mower. If I attempted to make the tow bar part of the steering it would be alot more involved as far as installation and removal. I will post some pictures of my contraption that I took after my first prototype run. Thanks for all your help.

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Well, kinda more involved. I can see from your picture that apparently you can weld. I would build a hitch that bolts onto the back of the tow mower that moves the hitch to a point in front of the slave mower, but build it so that you can remove it with little trouble.

As far as the tow bar, I'd mount a stud to the slave mower to act as the pivot point and use a pull pin to remove it. Then I'd do the same on the drag link where it attaches to a steering knuckle. I think you're okay with your idea, you will just need to work out a few details to make it work well.

None of my hitch is welded. I do have a drill press and used it to drill through all the pieces of angle iron. Then I bolted everything together. I used three mounting points on my slave mower. All of these points where pre-existing bolts. It only takes about five minutes to convert my red mower to and from slave mode. The convertion is neccasary for storage. It is also nice to have a spare mower in case one breaks. Both of my mowers are older and I have had things break. I will try to get some better pictures when I get back home.

Wow! you guys are good!:thumbsup: Any chance you could help me design a better exhaust(quieter) for my Craftsman 22 hp briggs v twin? The factory setup is too loud.

dhellinga said:

Wow! you guys are good!:thumbsup: Any chance you could help me design a better exhaust(quieter) for my Craftsman 22 hp briggs v twin? The factory setup is too loud.

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Sorry, I've been working on that one myself. But without a tubing bender, and my being too cheap to have a shop do it, I'm outta luck for now. However, I think you'd be surprised how much noise is coming from the engine itself and not the exhaust.

On an offroad tractor forum im in - a guy used two small mufflers on his tractor - he routed them under the tractor and out the back( no deck)- im not sure if they were dirt bike or ATV types.

Id say best bet is see what a muffler shop could come up with - have to be small and come out the front - probably have to do like a cross pattern- left to the right, right to the left to make em fit under the hood, custom motor adapters and point out the front or side. Take a look on a couple racing lawntractor sites about some wild exhausts and ideas how to make it work.

i plan on taking a tractor to one ( once im done building it - some year) and have em put a custom set of side pipes on it- itll probably cost alot, but should look cool.

Thanks Dangeroustoys. I was thinking I should probably do something like that. There's a motorcycle/ snowmobile shop nearby. I think that's where I'll start.