what will pull a 4' lawn roller?

[Mosey]

what will pull a 4\' lawn roller?

Since I have been unable to find a 5’ lawn roller (see the post “where to buy a 5' lawn roller”), I’m considering getting a 24” x 48” one at TSC. They have a pretty decent price of $165 and I’ll get 10% off that because I got a raincheck at their grand opening. Since it will be too narrow to cover the tracks on my Boomer, I’m considering pulling it with a 15HP Craftsman 42” lawn tractor. Will the Craftsman be able to pull that big of a roller?

 

[looch]

Re: what will pull a 4\' lawn roller?

My buddy and I built one out of a 40 gallon hot water tank. We pulled it with his John Deere LT135 (less than 15hp), although it did spin the tires a few times on start up and there is no way we would have gone across a slope.

Paul

 

[rdln]

Re: what will pull a 4\' lawn roller?

I roll my moms lawn with the equivalent JD and a rented 4'roller, it does fine

 

[Mrwurm]

Re: what will pull a 4\' lawn roller?

I used to use my YardMarn 18hp tractor to pull my 48in lawn roller. It handled it just fine. But I'm curious as to why you are concerned about the roller being wide enough to cover your tracks? I now pull my roller with my NH TC30. The TC30 is wider than the roller but does a fine job even on very soggy ground.

Jerry

 

[Ozarker]

Re: what will pull a 4\' lawn roller?

Ok, I'll bite. Why do people roll their lawns?

Forgive my ignorance but I spent most of my life trying to kill grass so I wouldn't have to mow it. I have only recently decided, at the urging on my wife, to make grass grow so it will look nice. So why drive around with a roller? What purpose does it serve?

 

[Mosey]

Re: what will pull a 4\' lawn roller?

Jerry – “I'm curious as to why you are concerned about the roller being wide enough to cover your tracks?”.
It might not matter actually, I really don’t know. I guess I figured that if the lawn is soft enough for the roller to do any good, then the R4 (industrial) tires on my Boomer would dig in enough to leave marks, so I wanted a roller wide enough to smooth out those tracks again.


Ozarker - “Why do people roll their lawns?” .
See the post “where to buy a 5' lawn roller” where another guy asked the same question and a few answers follow. I also don’t like to spend any more time than I have to with the lawn. The way I see it, the smoother it is, the faster I can mow without jarring myself and the equipment.

 

[TresCrows]

Re: what will pull a 4\' lawn roller?

Lawn rolling is of dubious value and can cause compaction, but maybe it helps sometimes. Here is an idea, buy two of the 4 foot rollers and bolt/weld them together and then you have an 8 foot roller. J

 

[Mrwurm]

Re: what will pull a 4\' lawn roller?

I'm with you on that, Danny. The smoother my lawn is the faster I can cruise on my ZTR.

Jerry

 

[jimgerken]

Re: what will pull a 4\' lawn roller?

I would not waste any money on a 24 x 48 roller. Assuming it is filled with water, the pressure per square area will not be enough to make a difference, unless you are rolling in early Spring or after several inches of rain and the lawn is squishing out water. This advice is based on my home-built roller specs: 30 inch diameter by 3 foot width, steel tank, steel frame, water filled, plus an added 500 lbs of tractor weights hung on the frame of the roller. The diameter is significant, the width is not. The larger diameter will produce more pressure per square inch. The length does nothing to add to the pressure per square. After building mine and using it full of water, I then added 500 pounds of weights (about doubling the weight). Now the roller makes a difference when using it on watered or rained-on turf. I pull it with a 18 hp honda hydro. On hills it will become difficult to maintain traction, in this case I end up removing some of the added tractor weights that are on the rear of the roller frame, leaving the ones on the front of the roller frame, thus adding hitch weight to the tractor. Normally I run the whole thousand pounds on the 3 foot width.