Just purchased a 24hp Husqvarna lawn tractor/riding mower and was excited to use it to drag the ring since it’s smaller than the tractor and can get closer in the corners. But, when I hooked up my little harrow to drag, the tires kept losing traction and spinning. It was having trouble even with nothing attached. My footing is just angular sand.
For those that drag with a riding mower, what type of tires do you have? Any other tips or tricks to make this work?
I have that same HV lawn tractor and it does bog down in soft sand. I have to keep my speed up going through sandy areas or wait til it rains and packs down the sand. Otherwise I get stuck.
For what it’s worth, I blew the transmission trying to use my JD lawn tractor that way. I don’t know the HP on that one, but the transmission couldn’t do the work.
Sold our tractor and now just have a zero turn, a riding mower and newer spreader. The riding mower works great for all farm chores except for dragging the ring. Had thought about buying a Gator, but it’s hard to justify the cost when it’s primary job would be to drag the ring…which is only used by two retired horse occasionally.
So, is their a super lightweight drag that my mower could actually pull? Chain link fencing or something? I’d use my truck, but my ring is pretty small and I don’t think it would work well.
I currently have a diamond-chain harrow thing, and it’s heavy and cumbersome. Hoping the lawn tractor can handle something lighter…
The Hand Dozer drag works well with my Husqvarna. The mower deck has been removed to make it easier to work the arena. I’ll admit we do use a harrow with our tractor to “rip” the arena every few months. If your sand arena is not packed, this should work well enough.
I also have a problem of getting stuck in the corners where the sand is deeper. I like this drag because I can detach it easily to get unstuck.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Handozer-42-in-Dirt-and-Gravel-Drag-for-Lawn-Mower/5001895989?cm_mmc=shp--c--prd--sol--google--pla--146--sosopemaintenance/accessories--5001895989-_-0&placeholder=null&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyNKjwJDW8AIVQxh9Ch2zrgv6EAQYASABEgJ5gfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I agree that a lot depends on your footing. I like this little drag shown above (maybe I’ll consider buying one!) but at times that would be tough to use in my arena because the footing can compact and I think if it wasn’t heavy enough it would just skip over the top.
So, I’d have to weight it down (the ad suggests cinderblocks) - but then it might be too heavy for a lawn tractor to pull.
What is your footing like?
My footing is washed sand mixed with pea gravel. The arena builder said it would not pack. It did, hence the need to “rip” it every few months. I think it packs mostly because it didn’t drain as well as it was supposed to and winter rains created pools that added weight. I sometimes put a cinder block on the drag. Dragging after watering helps. The Hand Dozer really won’t work on packed footing. It does just skim the surface.
The same arena builder also put in arenas for a few friends, but they both bought Parma Groomers and have had better luck keeping their arenas from packing.
My big problem is gravel is mixed in with the footing. When I hired someone to work my arena (before I bought a tractor), he dug down into the base, scattering gravel everywhere. I keep my arena dragged and watered, so that helps with the gravel problem. I don’t want to spend $$$ to redo the footing. I do add sand as needed.
I bought a four foot Premier arena groomer ( the same thing as a Parma Groomer only painted another color). At the time I did not have a tractor ( much less a three point hitch) so I got the attachment for the groomer so I could use it with my 25HP Husqvarna riding mower/ garden tractor. Supposedly it would work per the literature. When I got the arena done I looked at the groomer and at my lawnmower and I said " No way". By this time I had a tractor. It would be helpful to use my lawnmower since I could get in the corners but I don’t want to break it. I guess if I got it stuck I could pull it out with the tractor.
I am not brave enough to try this. The secret with dragging your arena per the Premier guy and my experience confirms this is to only groom the top inch or so of the footing. Then the sand underneath packs and forms a cushion over the base. You REALLY do not want to go down into the base and some of the old style groomers dig way down and you cannot control how deep. This is easier said than done. Also frequent grooming is best. It is a TOTAL PIA to move stuff around to get to my groomer but I try to drag at least once a week and usually every time I use the arena. I think this keeps stuff from packing down. I do have fiber in mine but it would work pretty much the same way if I just had sand. And I have the fine sand with a little clay in it. I am sure with no grooming it could pack.
Oh and sometimes I need 4W drive on the tractor to get good traction and not be slowed down.
Yep, same issues with mine no matter what drag. We just use the big tractor and try not to hit anything with the bucket.
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