tow with a graden tractor?

[Stimw]

My Searay Boat weighted about 4000lbs. The MTD has a variable speed pulley for a transmission and at 12.5hp is a light duty mower. The MTD will just spin the tires if it can't move a load.
I call the MTD my Baby Bushhog! When I got my two acres the grass and weeds were 2' tall or more. I cut a path very slow and then did a half cut until I got it mowed.
My neighbor just bought a Cub with hydro and we are going to put a bracket and ball on it. There are bolt holes in the axle on each side and I plan to come off of these with a U bracket and put a brace down to the bolt hole in the rear of the frame.

 

[Joe1]

When I wanted to put a hitch on my Toro, I used an 8" long 2" wide 1/4" thick piece of mild steel stock into which I drilled 4 holes of different sizes. There were two holes in the triangular plate at the rear of the tractor so I bolted the stock to the tractor with the first two holes. The 1 7/8" ball went into the third hole from the rear. The 4th hole is so I can tow implements with drop pin attachments. There is enough clearance so the trailer tongue doesn't hit the tires and the pin implements also clear.

I primarilly tow a small trailer of 180 lbs but I have towed my 6 X 10 loaded with brush weighing aroung 1,500# total for a short distance on level ground. I've got a 17 HP Hydro on a tractor weighing over 1,000 lbs with my on weight added.

The plate on the rear of the Toro was pretty stout and I've noted no flexing of that plate when the tow is attached.

 

[Kevin Beitz]

At one time you could buy a ball with an 1/2" bolt just for garden tractors... Maybe you could still find one on E-bay...

 

[stanz]

I have a nice lawn tractor very similar to yours, 18HP Kohler, cast iron front axle, hydro tranny.... I wouldn't think of towing with it.

I have a stable of garden tractors that I wouldn't think twice about towing with, I do it all the time. If you plan on doing this often I would pick up a good running garden tractor on ebay, local dealer, or scrap yard. (Yes, people scrap good running garden tractors.)

If your lot is not level look for one with good brakes. My Case has dual rear disk brakes. Your Cub probably has a small disk or a band brake. That's fine for mowing and light towing but your boat will overpower it.

I normally use the low range on whatever tractor I'm towing with to maintain the highest level of control. I don't need speed, control and safety is more important to me.

Most good garden tractors can handle the tongue weight so long as it doesn't go beyond 500 pounds. People put weights on the garden tractors for better traction. You might even need front weights if the tongue weight is high.

If your tongue weight is more than 500 pounds I'd build the wagon style hitch mentioned earlier. If you go wagon-style go even slower since you have added another axle into the mix.

Oh, how much will a good tractor cost? I purchased a nice 1970s Wheel Horse for $250 from a local dealer. My least expensive running garden tractor was $125 for my Case,(scrap yard) it needed some welding but it's a nice strong tractor. Depending on where you live ebay tractor run from $100 to $1500, decent runners should be around $250-$500.

my 2 cents,

Stan in MA

 

[crbr]

I have a Cub Cadet 1050 with a 20 something horsepower engine. I wan to be able to tow my boat around the yard. However, I can't find anyway to get a 2" ball on the tractor. Does anyone make something to do this? You can't just drill out the small hole to 3/4" and bolt a 2" ball in place. It's too close to the back and there's not enough room to clear the the hitch.

A-bit-Nutz

 

[chatme]

This is what happen when towing with my Cub3240 garden tractor(1300.00 to fix) I so glad I got rid if it!

 

[stuart]

Whatever happened to Abnitz who started this whole thing?
He never told us how much weight he wanted to tow. How much actual weight do you think a garden tractor, say 20 hp can tow around a yard?

 

[VABlue]

Depends on the yard and tongue wieght. If the yard is smooth and flat, and the tongue wieght isn't too much on the tractor, then keep pulling until the wheels spin. Just go ssllllooowwwwwww.... I've pulled close to 1000# in a dump cart over my rough, sloped yard without any problems using my 18HP hydro Craftsman. I wouldn't think twice about pulling 1500# out of the garage and pushing it back in (easier than with a full sized truck).

 

[kwolfe]

My brother pulls a 5'x10' trailer with his Troy Bilt (MTD model), variable speed belt tranny garden tractor. No problem whhat so ever. We have had 4 adults and 4 kids in it during Trick or Treat. That MTD pulls it just fine, up and down hill.

 

[LBrown59]

I have a Cub Cadet 1050 with a 20 something horsepower engine. I wan to be able to tow my boat around the yard. However, I can't find anyway to get a 2" ball on the tractor. Does anyone make something to do this? You can't just drill out the small hole to 3/4" and bolt a 2" ball in place. It's too close to the back and there's not enough room to clear the the hitch.

Bolt a plate to that hole and drill a bigger hole in the plate for the bigger ball.