If you’ve got a large lawn and you don’t fancy spending hours every weekend maintaining it, you may want to consider a ride on mower or garden tractor.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!A great alternative to conventional walk-behind mowers, ride on mowers and lawn tractors cover a far larger area in a shorter amount of time. The comfortable seat may not be as good for your daily step count, but it makes a notoriously difficult task a whole lot easier.
Here at Mowers Online, we have a wide range of ride on mowers and lawn tractors to suit any garden, produced by the UK’s best manufacturers. Explore our ride on mowers and garden tractors.
The Differences Between a Ride On Mower & Lawn Tractor
Both ride on mowers and lawn tractors are perfect for very large gardens, but there’s a couple of differences between them.
Ride on mowers can have a front mounted cutting deck. This is helpful if you’ve got a lot of obstacles in your garden, as the deck is low enough to get underneath them. It’s easy to mow the area underneath garden tables, benches, bushes or swing sets, as the cutting deck is positioned in front of the driver’s seat.
Lawn tractors are more suited to garden maintenance as a whole, and not just cutting the grass. Lawn tractors are extremely versatile, capable of sweeping leaves, shifting heavy snow, spreading fertiliser or pulling trailers. They usually have more power than ride on lawn mowers which makes them a better option for tougher tasks.
Lawn tractors also have different cutting blades. Whilst ride on lawn mowers have blades at the front, tractors usually have cutting blades at their centre. This makes them more efficient when cutting around objects or on large open areas of lawn, but they are unable to get underneath obstacles like tables and benches.
Both ride on mowers and lawn tractors can be either two-wheel or four-wheel-drive. If you’ve got a lot of slopes around your property, a 4WD model will give you better traction.
Battery vs Petrol Powered
Ride on mowers and lawn tractors can be either battery or petrol powered.
Battery powered models are better for the environment and a lot quieter. They are also easier to start, and can simply be recharged when the battery is drained. The battery life tends to be a lot longer than battery powered walk-behind mowers, usually over an hour.
For sheer power, a petrol lawn mower or tractor can’t be beaten. Petrol powered lawn tractors are best for towing, as well as navigating tough terrains and slopes.
Grass Collection Mechanism
Both ride on mowers and lawn tractors offer different ways to collect or dispose of the grass clippings.
Ride on mowers are usually equipped with a grass collection box, and they may also come with a mulching plug (or this can be purchased separately). This allows you to either collect the clippings or mulch them and deposit them back onto the lawn, adding nutrients and moisture to your cut grass.
We also stock a range of either grass collection, mulching or side discharge garden tractors. Mulching lawn tractors will cut the clippings finely, depositing them back onto the lawn. These are best suited for overgrown areas or brambles, although a grass collector can be purchased separately.
Cutting Heights and Width
Like walk-behind mowers, both ride on mowers and lawn tractors will have a set cutting width, alongside a range of cutting heights.
Those with a larger cutting width are more efficient when covering open stretches of lawn. You’ll be able to cover more lawn in fewer passes than you would with a narrower cutting width. Lawn tractors can have cutting widths of up to 120cm, whilst ride on mowers tend to be more compact.
The downside to a wide cutting width is that it can be harder to manoeuvre around obstacles such as flowerbeds, trees and garden furniture. If you’ve got a lot of obstacles in your garden or limited access, opt for a more compact model, such as the ATCO Rider 28H Compact Lawn Rider which has a cutting width of just 72cm.
Zero turn garden tractors are a good option for gardens with lots of obstacles. As the name suggests, they have a zero turning radius, which allows them to mow very close to edges.
Both lawn tractors and ride on mowers should have a number of cutting heights, usually between 25 and 90mm.
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