Craftsman towing ability?

[Matthewf13]

I have a Craftsman Model No-917. 287261. It has a 24 horsepower B&S Intek V-Twin. How much can this tractor tow do you guys think?

 

[DT86]

It will tow anything you want until it spins out.

 

[yelbike]

It will tow anything you want until it spins out.

I know with lighter duty box store john deeres guys talk about weak trannies, k46 I think. Might be an issue on craftsmen as well, I really don't know.

My JD z465 (ZTR) (gas 27HP) is only rated at 500# for reference.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Yeah I wouldn't want to tow a bunch of weight. Isn't that a belt drive to the tranny? Dad had something that sounds similar and he would tow around a little trailer that we might stack 80lbs of wood in. That was on a flat yard for short distances it didn't seem to hurt that.

 

[radioman]

what are you intending to do with it? generally any gas engine lawn tractor can pull any dump cart that is not wider then tractor with any material is pretty much the limit. wood/gravel/etc. I dont think the problem is pulling things with it. Its the weight of tractor with Operator on it in certain terrains. mud? forget it - you ll get stuck. soft soil from wet winter? stuck. wet clay? stuck. been there, done that.

 

[Matthewf13]

I plan on pulling a rough cut mower with it. The shipping weight is 500 pounds so it might be a little less.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

You might see if Craftsman has anything on their website about that tractor

 

[RandyT]

If it as a LT and not the GT, towing the rough cut mower will overheat the tranny if it is hydrostat, causing transmission failure, possible within a couple hours.

 

[Matthewf13]

If it as a LT and not the GT, towing the rough cut mower will overheat the tranny if it is hydrostat, causing transmission failure, possible within a couple hours.

That is what I was thinking but wanted to be sure...Thanks!

 

[RandyT]

Actually happened to one of my customers with a new Craftsman mower about 5 years ago. Tranny started whining about thirty minutes into the mowing job, after about an hour and a half, mower stopped moving with a loud growling noise.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

I went on to the Craftsman website and down loaded the manual for that tractor and it said that the tranny should be purged of air before operating. Did not know that. My Dad's mower he had the service plan when it was delivered so all of that was taken care of. Just remembered his is a John Deere 18 horse riding mower that he towed the small cart behind.

 

[toppop52]

Don't worry about the tranny if it's a GT 5000, The Craftsman GTS5000 has the Hydro-Gear G700 series which is rated for ground engaging and has an automotive spin on filter, bigger tires and a 7.5MPH forward ground speed.
Until I sold mine last week, I used a Johnny bucket on it and abused it like a bulldozer for well over a year and never a peek from the hydrostatic unit.