Would it be possible to convert a lawn mower into a lawn "tractor"

Yander · Oct 7, 2022

Forget my earlier response. I just looked that model up on Tractordata. OMG, I think this has to be a spoof or joke. No one but a complete fool would try to turn that LT into a ground engaging tractor w/ 3pt. capability.

Rod in Forfar · Oct 7, 2022

I would watch the ads for an old diesel subcompact tractor. Sometimes they can be bought cheaply and restored to full functionality. This means at a minimum: low gears, strong drive train, 3 point hitch pulling and lifting ability. The good ones also have potential for a loader, 4WD, low range, and additional hydraulic valves for a dump trailer, and a life expectancy measured in generations. Gray market tractors come to North American shores quite cheaply when they are dumped by their owners in Japan. Dealerships don't support these machines. On the other hand Bolens, Yanmar, Kubota and many others marketed garden tractors since the early seventies. In 2010 I bought a 1980 Bolens G174 tractor with a 48" pto lawn mower. The tractor was $3000 CDN and the mower another $300. Looking back after 12 years of service, I can safely say that the tractor was a good purchase. In my case I needed a machine to get into tight spaces. The Bolens will back my 44" by 84" hydraulic trailer into my shop, through the power tools, to the woodpile by the box stove, where I unload and pile each load. It also gets through the many rows of trees on the property. It's not heavy enough for a 5' box blade or a 7' blade, though it will carry a 500 lb. 3pt hitch winch into a tight space and power the windlass to extract logs from tricky spaces. Just don't ask it to skid them.

An even better buy a few years later was a 2005 Kubota B7500 HST with a 5' belly mower for $9600 CDN with only 210 hours on it. It has proven loud, effective, and trouble-free over another 1300 hours of operation. It does a lot of lawn mowing, and runs my 4" pto chipper, 48" bush hog, and block splitter and dump trailer through its auxiliary hydraulic feed.

My avatar photo shows this summer's acquisition. This Case is another Mitsubishi, a direct relative of the Bolens, with 1450 hours on it, though it is about a 1990. Time will tell if was a good buy.

Tony H · Oct 7, 2022

tractor-mower project 1 said:
Hi all. So this is Abit outlandish however I feel like there may be some feasibility. My consideration was to have a small lawn tractor such as a cub cadet lt 1042, gear down the hydrostat so it puts slightly less strain on the system, and re-route the belts to a custom built pto assembly running off the back of the mower, aswell as a winch assisted 3 point. Atleast in theory it would preform similarly to a small 13hp Kubota, and cost far far less. In terms of engineering I have the plan of what to do, however the issue is I'm not sure if itd actually work

tractor-mower project 1 said:
Haha I have the money dw lol, if need be I can buy a little subcompact outright, but I still want to avoid spending 30K on something yk? Rather invest it

Maybe look at an old Can Cadet Garden Tractor. They have real robust frames and drivetrains. Something like their old 782. Many came with cat 0 hitches.
Having said that..
I would never deny anyone a garage project.

Tony H · Oct 7, 2022

Yander said:
Forget my earlier response. I just looked that model up on Tractordata. OMG, I think this has to be a spoof or joke. No one but a complete fool would try to turn that LT into a ground engaging tractor w/ 3pt. capability.

Booo. I turned a '72 Chevy Vega into a Drag car. That is a no frame 4 cylinder putter.
Just so you know what you are in for, garage projects are frustration and theoraputic.

airbiscuit · Oct 7, 2022

All the comments are relevant to a degree. That said, I had a consumer grade 15.5hp MTD with variable speed transmission (not Hydro). For me, it was tough as nails. In its later years, I used it as a rough cut mower - cutting brush up to 3/4+" diameter. Should I have? No. What I learned is it was more capable than one thought if you pushed its limits. I helped a friend make trails on his land, and he couldn't believe it.

Its only problem was that I needed more clearance for uneven ground, stumps, etc. That is why I always dreamed of building a lifted mower. I always thought Swisher or DR should make a lawn and garden tractor with more clearance and a rough cut mower deck that could mow from 3"-6". Perfect for lawn or trails.

BnRidge · Oct 7, 2022

Look up "lawn tractor mud mower", and you'll get an eye full of mod ideas. As far as adding something that would add actual stress to the machine like a 3pt etc, the units are fairly light, and I doubt much work would get done with it. The minute one thing is beefed up, something else would fail to compensate. I used to have a 11hp murray that I used as a tow unit, for pulling a 4x8 trailer and brush mower around the woods and camper around the yard. It did serve the purpose, but there are better ways. It was fun though ripping around with it.

Xfaxman · Oct 7, 2022

BnRidge said:
Look up "lawn tractor mud mower", and you'll get an eye full of mod ideas.

"lawn tractor mud mower" - Google Search

Little Red Tractor · Oct 7, 2022

Gee Ray said:
I don’t believe you will find a cub cadet 1042 has a frame. Nor is the drive train designed to engage in dirt work.

I believe your time and effort could be put to much better use. Find an older true garden tractor to do the chores that you are wanting to do. An older cub cadet, John Deere, wheel horse, or economy tractor will allow you to truly garden. It’ll take some time and effort to shop around to find a quality used unit.

If you’re able to find an International Farmall cub you would truly have something you could garden with.

These new lawn tractors are really not much more than lawn mowers and have really limited abilities to Tractor.

Totally agree with the Farmall Cub advice! A great tractor with lots of simple to use implements available, if you have the patience to look for them.

Vigo327 · Oct 7, 2022

I too agree with almost everyone here, to some extent.

One difference perhaps being, i HAVE made a riding mower do what it was not supposed to do.

It was sort of a big project even though it didn't cost much. I put a small push mower engine on pushed as far back as possible to make room on the front of the frame, reinforced the frame (after bending it) with welded angle iron (but never bothered to run the self-tappers back out lol). Moved the front axle all the way to the front, lengthened the steering rod, added thrust bearings under front spindles, matched up different wheel halves on skinny 4.10-4 tires to tuck the front tires in as close as possible to reduce scrub radius (to minimize steering effort), moved front axle up to hit frame to defeat tilt/pivot (to mitigate tendency to tip over if back wheels come up) built a throttle bracket to idle the engine down, used an ac accumulator as a muffler, used a fan clutch as a flywheel on the engine, pressed a drive belt pulley onto the pushmower blade hub, added 4 bolt wheel adapters to run car tires filled with liquid, another liquid filled wheel on the back, heavy brake drum behind the 'spare' tire for weight, brake rotors behind the drive wheels for weight, stock ~3.5gal fuel tank filled for weight, notched the dash to stow the crane under the hood for weather resistance, etc etc.

In the end it DID work well and could do things my FEL tractors I bought later could not do, like deliver engines through 30-something inch wide openings. Moving engines across dirt and gravel is what i built it to do, it definitely does that. I have had 500lbs on the crane and the back stays down without me sitting on it.

So sure, if you want to then go for it. But understand you might get more out of the learning process than you do out of the machine you'll build. But as far as building things, you gotta start somewhere, and it helps if its cheap and the stakes are low! That's what made me pull the trigger on this thing. I had everything except the $130 crane, and the 4 bolt hub adapters. I put maybe $250 into the conversion, and the rest of the major components i had sitting around.

I also own a garden tractor and a SCUT w/fel and if you want to skip the fab and just get work done you should definitely go that route!
The Case i got with no engine for $250, put a $99 HF predator 212 in it, and made the missing 3pt parts it didn't come with out of scrap car parts. It's vastly more capable (3pt can also pick up about 500lbs, just not as far out because there's no weight on the front) than the crane riding mower. I have lots more mods in store for it.