# Loading lawnmowers



## SteveD(TX) (May 14, 2002)

I bought a ramp kit to load my riding lawnmower into the bed of my pickup. It says to be sure and not drive it, but winch it up. Does anyone have any tips on making this a one man operation using a come-along? My thoughts are to run a chain in between the tie-downs at the front near the bottom of the bed, hook the come-along onto the mower and guide it up that way. But I also thought someone here might have some experience. Thanks.


----------



## moopups (May 12, 2002)

I would suggest useing a snatch block for the comealong's cable, that way you would stand out side of the bed while pulling the mower up.


----------



## SteveD(TX) (May 14, 2002)

moopups said:


> I would suggest useing a snatch block for the comealong's cable, that way you would stand out side of the bed while pulling the mower up.


Thanks. I was hoping not to have to do this under a tree or in my tractor shed if possible.


----------



## ponyboy123 (Jun 5, 2006)

I would drive the mower on, just find a spot where the lay of the land is of benefit. Some place that lowers the rear of the truck to reduce the angle you have to drive up, and be very careful.


----------



## PyroDon (Jul 30, 2006)

mount a little 12 volt winch on the mower and hit the button


----------



## SteveD(TX) (May 14, 2002)

I accomplished the task the other day. Used the arched aluminum ramps and a small berm that's on our place in the country to load. Unloading was a matter of controlling it's descent manually by letting it down one rung at a time. Loading at the city house will be a little more difficult since there are no nearby berms, or even a curb that could easily be used.

I like the idea of the 12v winch on the front, but with the rough and sandy (dusty) terrain I'll be mowing, no doubt it will either ruin the winch or jar it off of the mower. I think the come-along and chain will work, after I build a harness to attach to the frame next to each front wheel. There are no other places to pull from at the front.


----------



## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

Get the 12 volt winch from HarborFreight. This just hangs around in the truck or such to pull whatever. They're on sale right now I think. Quite usefull.


----------



## PyroDon (Jul 30, 2006)

SteveD(TX) said:


> I accomplished the task the other day. Used the arched aluminum ramps and a small berm that's on our place in the country to load. Unloading was a matter of controlling it's descent manually by letting it down one rung at a time. Loading at the city house will be a little more difficult since there are no nearby berms, or even a curb that could easily be used.
> 
> I like the idea of the 12v winch on the front, but with the rough and sandy (dusty) terrain I'll be mowing, no doubt it will either ruin the winch or jar it off of the mower. I think the come-along and chain will work, after I build a harness to attach to the frame next to each front wheel. There are no other places to pull from at the front.


Not sure of the brand mower you have but on my sears and JD it wouldnt be hard to make a quick attach on the mower or even mount the winch in the truck bed . though neither of mine will fit in the truck bed . we have a small tilt bed trailer which cost about the same as a winch .


----------



## John Carter (Oct 6, 2004)

welp for sure dont try driving it up.
those ramps WILL shift.
The mower WILL flip.
You WILL be pinned under it.
If your lucky you WILL be able to tell others to
"Dont try driving them on the ramps.

I was lucky, I was only trapped for about 10 minutes before help came to get it off me
I was lucky that I only CRACKED my spine
:flame:


----------



## cseger1 (Mar 23, 2007)

Get a boat trailer winch that is fueled by elbow grease. Less than $20 and way more torque.


----------



## SteveD(TX) (May 14, 2002)

The cowling/hood on the front of the mower is extremely flimsy. No place to mount a winch in front of the mower, so that's out. Haven't figured out a practical way to mount a winch to the front of the truck bed, either.

So, I made a harness out of heavy rope to wrap around the front axle of the mower next to the wheel, to attach the come-along to. Ran a chain between the tie-downs at the front of the bed where I'll attach the cable hook. Will try this out tomorrow and let you know how it works.


----------



## PyroDon (Jul 30, 2006)

For the winch mount in the front a piece of channel iron with some 1.5" square tubing welded to drop in the stake pockets would make an easily removed mount . If you got a hand winch you might choose to mount it on one side of such a mount and have a pulley attached in the middle for the cable to run through. 
below the hood down low there should be a couple holes in the frame or J cut outs that could be used to hook to .


----------



## okie-steading (Jul 19, 2007)

i 'invented' a way to load our riding mower. actually my dads riding mower. if i want to use it, have to load it up in his horse trailer and take it to my house. heres what we did. took 2 2x8s, and lined them up with the tires. the key here is to put the boards about half way up into the trailer. push the mower on, and the mower and boards do a teeter-totter effect and once the weight transfers, the boards are straight out and the mower rolls in. keep in mind, this a quite a bit lower than a pickup.


----------



## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

I would buy a trailer. those small portables are pretty cheap and just fit a riding mower. Or put an atv winch on the front of the mower.


----------



## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

SteveD(TX) said:


> The cowling/hood on the front of the mower is extremely flimsy. No place to mount a winch in front of the mower, so that's out. Haven't figured out a practical way to mount a winch to the front of the truck bed, either.
> 
> So, I made a harness out of heavy rope to wrap around the front axle of the mower next to the wheel, to attach the come-along to. Ran a chain between the tie-downs at the front of the bed where I'll attach the cable hook. Will try this out tomorrow and let you know how it works.


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43331
You attach it to the truck bed just like you did. If you want a semi-permanent anchor point, use the angle iron as another described. Just mount a hook to drop this winch on.

Put the hook around the axle of the riding mower.


----------



## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Next time, find a buddy with a snowmobile trailer that you can borrow. You can borrow mine if you want to.

If you go the winch route, attach the cable to the tractor's radiator hose.


----------



## SteveD(TX) (May 14, 2002)

Cabin Fever said:


> Next time, find a buddy with a snowmobile trailer that you can borrow. You can borrow mine if you want to.
> 
> If you go the winch route, attach the cable to the tractor's radiator hose.


 :rotfl: 

WIHH needs to keep you out of that blackberry brandy.


----------



## SteveD(TX) (May 14, 2002)

SteveD(TX) said:


> The cowling/hood on the front of the mower is extremely flimsy. No place to mount a winch in front of the mower, so that's out. Haven't figured out a practical way to mount a winch to the front of the truck bed, either.
> 
> So, I made a harness out of heavy rope to wrap around the front axle of the mower next to the wheel, to attach the come-along to. Ran a chain between the tie-downs at the front of the bed where I'll attach the cable hook. Will try this out tomorrow and let you know how it works.


This method worked quite well. The only problem was finding a come-along with a long enough cable to reach the chain. Once I found it, no problems. It even has a feature allowing you to let the load down one click at a time. But I find that just letting the mower down one rung at a time while physically restraining it from rolling on it's own, works just fine for me.


----------



## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

SteveD(TX) said:


> The cowling/hood on the front of the mower is extremely flimsy. No place to mount a winch in front of the mower, so that's out.


You do it the same way you mount one on the front of a snowmobile.....Cut a hole in the cowling for the cable to pass through and mount the winch to the frame....in front of the engine.


----------



## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I used to just drive mine up and down until one day it wasn't lined up quite right and I hit the clutch/brake. It lurched to a stop and almost shifted one ramp off the tailgate.

I bought a $400 dollar tilting trailer.


----------



## Jim S. (Apr 22, 2004)

What the poor folks do around here is, they back the truck into a ditch, let the tailgate down without the braces connected, so it hits ground, and drive on. :shrug: Gotta have a ditch, tho. Heh.

fishhead's right, though...those trailers are the best. I got one used for $250. Saw it on the side of the road on the way to work, called the guy right away and left a message. He called back and said I was caller #1 out of 35 calls he got that day after putting it out that morning!


----------

