Lawn Roller

[JimMorrissey]

Anybody have any ideas for a pretty big and heavy lawn roller? I'm thinking something to cover my tracks at about 70+ inches. I want to roll the lawn and a field. Needs to be heavy. I actually thought about renting a real roller with tires on the back /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Crazy, I know. It would probably ruin the lawn...it would grow back though.

 

[mathey]

I've heard about people using old water heater "carcasses" and then filling them with concrete with a galvanized pole thru the center. Then you'd need to build some bracketry to tow it and an axle...

Actually, the "real" roller idea isn't too far fetched...most rental places have the smaller sized ones, and the fees are relatively inexpensive...plus it would do a better job than most anything you could make up. You make look a bit silly cruising thru your fields... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[jim_wilson]

I looked around quite a bit for a good heavy duty lawn roller last summer because I wanted something that I could use to roll out the driveway I put in and then later use it for lawn rolling. The best most heavy duty unit I could find came from General Welding - web page - I got the 48" unit and filled it up with sand - heavier than water and it doesn't freeze plus I can still drain it out later if I need to. They make a 36", a 48" and a 72" model. They are pretty heavy duty and should stand up to some heavy use. Web page for the rollers is here.

The other company I found that makes a really good quality roller is Hoelscher . They make construction quality rollers up to 95" wide. The 8ft roller weighs in at 1054lbs - but they are pricey at $1,775.00.

 

[RalphVa]

The only reason for using a lawn roller is to bed in new seed. Otherwise, they have no purpose.

Ralph

 

[thcri]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The only reason for using a lawn roller is to bed in new seed. Otherwise, they have no purpose.

Ralph )</font>

I guess I would tend to somewhat disagree with that. While it may not be good for the grass itself but it does level out your yard. My neighbor and I use his roller when it is really damp or had just rained good in the last few days and it does level things out. But I also would recomend aerating also. I know of a guy that took a 14" culvert about 72" long and filled it with concrete. It made neat strips in the lawn because of the ribs but it really looked nice when done. I am thinking of making one myself some day as my neighbors is a tad bit light.

murph

 

[SteveBenson]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Otherwise, they have no purpose. )</font>

I would disagree with that also. Perhaps that is true for those little cheapo plastic rollers, but not if you have a real roller.

If you ever had to repair chopped up muddy pastures or turnouts after things dry up in the spring you would know that this is an essential tool. I sacrifice one of my pastures every spring and rotate my livestock to another when things dry up. To repair the divots in the sacrifice pasture I drag it with a chain harrow, then roll it. Works better than anything else I've ever tried.

I drove 7 hours to pick up my roller from general welding a couple years ago. I got a 6' roller for $695. It's built like a tank and after 2 years and many rocks it has no dents. The guys up there told me they can make them even wider if you special order it. I highly recomend GW, they were great to deal with.

 

[JimMorrissey]

I would also disagree...completely. I have used them in the past and they do a good job of leveling the lawn in the spring. The bigger and the heavier, the better. It makes a big difference and you can really feel it when you mow afterwards. Ralph maybe you had another idea about the actual use of the roller?

 

[DHennet]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Otherwise, they have no purpose. )</font>

A roller is the only way I know of leveling mole/vole tunnels.

 

[Freds]

Ditto everything Jim said.
Around here the way the ground freezes and thaws several times during the course of a winter season you need to roll your "lawn" to put it back into place. It makes a noticeable difference when mowing... a lot less bumpy.

My neighbor has a 5' roller he made at work that we fill with water and last weekend he came home with an aerator he had made. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif of course he added a hookup on the roller frame so both can be pulled at one time. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I'm curious how you would drain sand out of a roller. It seems that unless the whole side came off, if you just removed a plug then the sand would bottleneck up. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif My neighbor's brother borrows his roller also, so it's nice to be able to drain it when trailoring.

 

[chriswheeler]

I made my roller out of 24" schedule 40 pipe 7 foot long. End bells are out of 3/4" plate and it is through shafted with 2 11/16" solid shafting. used 2 3/16" pillow block bearings on the ends. Empty weight is 900 lbs. With 175 gal of water it weighs 2200 lbs. After the snow melts I run the rake over the drive several times to bring the 3/4" crush rock back to the top. Compact the rock with the roll. Have had lots of uses for this thing, intend to run it over the pasture when we broadcast seed in the fall and roll over the top. It turned out nice, still have to paint this summer. I would recomend this project for anyone with a long drive, gravel surfaces, and general uses. My wife often asks why I need this or that tool and is soon finding herself using it. One design note though. You will find that a ring pull off the draw bar will not be able to turn to well without hitting the rear tires. I made my own version of the "Handy Hitch" with a 2" ball and mounts on the 3 point, almost twice the thickness of steel. I welded a 2" bulldog hitch insted of a ring on the tong of the roll. The ball hitch gets the tow bar away from the wheels and lets you make tight turns. You could tow this thing behind a SUV if you wanted easy enough to pull.
Chris