"Pull-Along" Mower Doubles Cutting Width

"Pull-Along" Mower Doubles Cutting Width FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 21-5-44 "I got the idea while using my Deere 318 riding mower equipped with a 46-in. deck to mow a 40-acre grave yard. I decided to convert an extra 46-in. deck into a pull-along mower that pulls behind and off to the side of the riding mower. Now I can mow a 7-ft. swath with about 8 inches of overlap," says James Crosswhite, Nevada, Mo. He had a welding shop build a three-wheeled frame to support the deck and a new 8 hp electric start gas engine. The front caster wheel is off an old Sears trailer and the 8-in. high rear wheels and axle are off a riding mower. The deck is supported by a pair of pins that go through brackets welded to each side of the frame and by a pair of springs attached to levers off an old cultivator, allowing mower to float over uneven ground. The levers are also used to raise or lower the deck. The add-on deck hitches to the tractor via a tow arm (made from a steel rod) that ex-tends to the left side of the tractor from a bracket bolted to the front of the tractor. The hitch also floats up and down. "It works great and has greatly reduced my mowing time," says Crosswhite. "It takes me about four or five days a week to mow the graveyard compared to six days before. The riding mower's 18 hp Onan gas engine has no trouble pulling the add-on deck. The mower trails so well it never leaves strips no matter which way I turn. By pulling 2 pins I can unhook the mower in less than a minute." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, James W. Crosswhite, 701 W. Austin, Nevada, Mo. 64772 (ph 417 667-6902).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.