How Much Does a Riding Lawn Mower Weigh?

Do you want to know how much does a riding lawn mower weigh if you have to transport it on your pick-up truck or have a lawn mowing business? Riding lawn mowers are typically heavy and they are available for 2 different purposes – domestic and for commercial use. So if you need to know how much does a lawn tractor weigh based on its type, this blog is a must-read for you. 

Obviously, the commercial types are heavier than the domestic type riding lawn mowers because they are larger and are made with heavy-duty components. But how heavy a riding lawn mower is does not depend on the power of the machines but on what’s in it, how it was built and what it was built for. The same thing with the other mower types such as the push lawn mowers, zero turn mowers, and the lawn tractor mowers which are the standard type among riding lawn mowers. 

So in this blog, we will be answering three significant questions: how much does a zero turn mower weigh, how much does a push mower weigh, and how much does a lawn tractor weigh because weight is a common factor when you’re intending to take your machine to other places. The weight of the machine can also tell us how tough it is made of and how efficiently it can do its job.  

How Heavy is a Riding Lawn Mower

Basically, there are three types of riding lawn mowers and these are the rear engine riding mowers, the tractor types that include the lawn and garden tractors, and the Zero Turning Radius (ZTR) mowers or what we call the Zero Turns. The obvious differences in these machines are in their designs which also influence their weight. 

Riding rear engine lawn mowers have their engines underneath the driver’s seat while the tractor types have their engines right up the front much like the tractors we use on farms. Rear engine lawn mowers have narrower and lighter fronts for easy maneuvering on soft ground while the tractor types have heavier and larger fronts that house their engines and these tractors are designed for different kinds of terrain landscapes

 

 

 

The Zero Turns, however, also have their engines much like the rear engine types but their fronts are wider giving their wheels a good distance for more stable balancing during sharp turns. These types, however, are only best on flat lawns but not very safe for high terrains. Why we are discussing the features of these riding lawn mowers’ designs is because their designs can help you determine their weight.  

So how much does a riding lawn mower weigh? According to some lawn mower manufacturers, the weight of the riding lawn mowers like the tractor types and the rear engine riding lawn mowers can range from 300 to 600 pounds while a medium-size riding mower can weigh not less than 470 pounds. 

If we look closely at the different types of riding lawn mowers, they have different sizes for their engines, deck, wheel-base, and wheels and other components that make them heavier or lighter from one another.   

Features That Can Determine the Weight of the Riding Lawn Mowers

Engine. 

How heavy a riding lawn mower is can depend on the size of its engine, which accounts for about 25 percent of the machine’s total weight. However, the power of the engine cannot be used as the basis for the weight of the machine alone. For example, a Briggs and Stratton riding lawn mower that is fitted with a 16-horsepower 656 cc engine can weigh about 84 pounds. But another unit of B&G which has 27 hp with 810cc can weigh only 87 pounds. So even though the latter is loaded with more power, it is only 3 pounds heavier than the first machine.    

Deck.

 The deck also plays a major part in contributing to the weight of every riding lawn mower because it is equipped with the deck shell which is the heaviest part of the machine while attached to it are the gauge wheels, spindles, blades, belt, and the chute for protecting the hardware and keeping them intact. At most, a riding lawn mower’s deck can weigh from 70 to 140 pounds and this weight range depends on how wide the deck is and what kind of metal it is made of. This means the wider and larger the deck and the heavier it is made can really affect how much a riding lawn mower weighs.

Wheels.

Needless to say, the larger the riding lawn mower, the bigger its wheels are. In most cases, the front wheels are smaller and the rear wheels bigger. But in the case of smaller riding lawn mowers, their front wheels can weigh about 8 pounds but their rear wheels especially if these are made of solid polyurethane can weigh up to 100 pounds. So how much a riding lawn mower weighs can also be determined on the wheels of a unit. 

How Much Does a Zero Turn Mower Weigh

Many people are now turning to Zero Turn riding mowers because they are easy to maneuver, can do sharp turns up to 180 degrees, and are best for landscapes with less than 15-degree slopes. Zero-turn lawn mowers also come in different sizes so they normally weigh between 400 to 700 pounds.  The heavy-duty type like the commercial type can weigh up to 1500 pounds. However, if you add more hardware to it or if you choose to change its deck into a heavy-duty type made of solid steel with 3 spindles, a commercial type zero turn can reach up to 2000 pounds. 

In essence, zero-turn lawn mowers are typically heavier than any other type of riding lawn mower. If we compare them in terms of their sizes which means a small garden type compared to a small-zero turn, the zero-turn would be heavier for more pounds. This is because these machines, although they look slimmer at the front, are designed to have bigger and heavier built for more stability and are loaded with more powerful and bigger engines. 

How Much Does a Lawn Tractor Weigh

Among the lawn tractor brands, John Deere is the most popular because of its century-old experience in manufacturing quality and heavy-duty tractors for agriculture use and lawn maintenance. As such, it also sells some of the heaviest lawn tractors in the world. So if you’re wondering how much does a lawn tractor weigh, your search can boil down to looking for the John Deere brand. 

For example, the John Deere 455 garden tractor with a 2-wheel steering feature can weigh about 970 pounds but the all-wheel steering type can reach up to 1,060 pounds. This is just for garden use so for the commercial types like for golf course lawn maintenance, the weight of the machine can double because of the added weight like having a heavy-duty made deck and a larger and heavier engine plus larger wheels. 

But for the other garden tractor brands like the Husqvarna, the weight can be lighter like 650 to 700 pounds for the small to a medium-size while the larger high-end units can weigh up to 900 pounds. Yet, their heavier heavy-duty versions can also reach the 1,450-pound mark. So how does a riding lawn mower weigh can also depend on the brand because some brands use more quality and heavier hardware and bigger engines.    

How Much Does a Push Mower Weigh

Lawn mowers also come in a variety of types such as gas-powered, electric and self-propelled lawn mowers. Because of their size, these are the best for maintaining small garden lawns to the average-sized front lawns. So why are we concerned  with  how much does a push mower weigh? The answer is because of its requirement for its mobility. From their name itself, they need to be pushed to do their job. Although some of the push mowers move automatically once you engage their wheels to the engine or what we call them is the self-propelled lawn mowers. 

The weight of the push lawn mowers may simply depend on their size. Normally, the most basic ones can weigh less than 30 pounds and the more high-powered models can reach more than 100 pounds. The electric types have a weight range of 35 to 55 pounds while the battery-operated one can weigh between 35 pounds for the smaller versions and packed with a 14-inch deck to 70 pounds for the self-propelled types and equipped with a 21-inch deck. 

But on the other hand, the weight of the cordless push mower may also be based on the number of batteries it is equipped with and how large these batteries are. The batteries of these machines can weigh from 3 pounds up to 10 pounds for the bigger versions and some of these mowing units can pack up to 2 batteries for longer use and to save time for charging. 

Which Lawn Mower Do You Need?

Self-propelled lawn mowers

are designed for smaller up to the average size of lawns. You can get good exercise with the self-propelled lawn mowers and much more with the push lawn mowers

Riding Lawn Mowers

these are best if you have a large flat yard or a large lawn with gently sloping hills. They can do the mowing job faster and won’t make you feel tired and can save your legs from possible flying hazards.

Now that you know the weight range of every type of lawn mower to help you determine how heavy they can be when transporting them, let us give you some tips on which to choose if  your planning to buy yourself lawn mower but undecided if you need a riding lawn mower or the push or self-propelled lawn mower. 

Self-propelled lawn mowers are designed for smaller up to the average size of lawns. They are also safer to use on hillier lawns with lots of high and sloping terrain. If you have a garden with intricate features, you can easily maneuver these types of mowers and can see where the blades are going. In other words, they can be the best choice for tight corners where the riding lawn mower cannot reach or will be hard to maneuver. 

You can get good exercise with the self-propelled lawn mowers and much more with the push lawn mowers. However, these lawn mowers are difficult to mow up  high hills and are only good for flat lawns. 

Now for the riding lawn mowers, these are best if you have a large flat yard or a large lawn with gently sloping hills. They can do the mowing job faster and won’t make you feel tired and can save your legs from possible flying hazards. How much does a riding lawn mower weigh is also important when cutting hardy grass because the larger and heavier the machine is, the more power it is packed with. In some orchards where the grass can grow fast and become hard due to periodic mowing, the riding lawn mowers can be able to deal with these grasses in a breeze and without putting any  strain on the driver. 

You also have two choices between the garden riding lawn mowers and the Zero Turn types. The Zero Turns can do sharp turns so you won’t have to go back to spots that were missed by its deck and can be easily maneuvered around pots, trees and hedges. 

Conclusion:

How heavy is a riding lawn mower is an important feature that people are always asking about because presumably, the weight of these machines can be the indicator of their toughness, reliability, and long-lasting use. 

How much does a riding lawn mower weigh can also help us to determine how we can transport it conveniently. Yet, we can say that if we have to choose between lighter and heavier lawn mowers, we will prefer the heavier types.  

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