Can a 10 HP Sears garden tractor PULL or PUSH anything?

[Iowa883]

Is it a hydrostat or gear transmission ?

[Ignoramus19325]

I recently bought (for $50, non working condition) and fixed up a little a used 10 HP Sears Craftsman garden tractor.

It is relatively heavy. Maybe 300 lbs or so. With me on it, it would be 475 lbs.

Sometimes I need to move heavy things. Can I use this tractor to help them move along? Is the transmission/drive/engine designed for that?

As a related thought, do they take snow plowing attachments?

thanks

i

[Ignoramus19325]

Honestly, I do not know, but my guess would be gear or belts. I just got the engine running (the seller could not get it to run) and was happy with that.

i

[Harry K]

I had a 10hp Bolens way back when. Used it for tilling, mowing, towing, snow pushing. Of course Bolens was built with cast iron axles and heavy steel frame, my guess is the Craftsman is probably built with light steel stampings. In order to push snow with that light of a tractor the question comes down to traction. In my case I had the rear wheels liquid filled and had wheel weights also, could have used even more weight but it was useful.

Harry K

[.]

x-no-archive: yes

Some take snow plowing attachments and some don't.

You will be able to push or pull just the smallest of items, similar to what bulk and weight of what you can move by hand. Other than that, you might find belts smoking or mechanisms bending or breaking. The little Sear Craftsman tractors just don't hold up to heavy use. I have tried to do this, only to find myself underneath the tractor removing pulley attachments to straighten them in my vice.

For the money, vs a new Sears tractor and a used farm tractor, I would choose a used farm tractor, similar to a Ford 8n or 9n. You can pick up a 8n or 9n used often for about $1500.00 in good running condition. If you want to do a lot of work, that would be the way to go. And for snow removal, they are great with a drag blade on back.

[Pop]

In general, you can pull with any tractor that has a place for a pin in the back step. Breaking stuff isn't usually much of a problem since the wheels will slip before it gets to that point unless you're the kind like to jerk & pull. Check how the transaxle is connected to the body. If it's little U clamps, similar to muffler clamps, keep an eye on them! If one loosens, it'll wear thru in a hurry and soon you'll have one rear tire trying to be a front tire. If things slip, or the wheels spin, you know the load's too much for it. Oh, brakes are about useless too if you need to stop a heavy load. And of course keep an eye on the hitch pin hole wear. They wear quickly if it's a thing gauge metal. That metal is likely to bend before damage occurs, but take it as a serious warning! I used to use my little Cfartsman 8 hp 32" to pull everything from cinder blocks to bags of cement on a little 6-wheel trailer I built and never had a problem. Dragging things without wheels was really a lost cause. Even my 25 hp tractor can't drag well because the wheels will slip. It'll pull a trailer with about any load, though, all the way up to 7th gear at mid-throttle. Pushing is something else: The fronts of the frames just aren't designed to push as a rule and if it is, it'll have attachment places obvious for the equipment. I've never seen one that small that could push and I can see how it would easily screw up things like the tie rods, axle mount/connections for the front wheels, etc. Also, sometimes those parts are cast iron, so you only get one chance to mess them up .

HTH

Pop

"Ignoramus19325" wrote in message news:vidLe.87910$ [e-mail]... :I recently bought (for $50, non working condition) and fixed up a : little a used 10 HP Sears Craftsman garden tractor. : : It is relatively heavy. Maybe 300 lbs or so. With me on it, it would : be 475 lbs. : : Sometimes I need to move heavy things. Can I use this tractor to help : them move along? Is the transmission/drive/engine designed for that? : : As a related thought, do they take snow plowing attachments? : : thanks : : i :

[Ralph Mowery]

The easy way to tell is to see if it has a lever that has several steps for the speed (gear type) of if it has a foot peddle that you mash on like a gas peddle in a car that will give you a smooth control of the speed (hydrostat) .

[meirman]

In alt.home.repair on Sat, 13 Aug 2005 03:04:06 GMT Ignoramus19325 posted:

Congratulations.

I know just how you feel. I bought an airpump and lawnmower at a junk yard for 20 dollars. Fixed the little airpump first - replaced the 4-diode thingy -- and then tried to figure out what to do with it. Not much, but I'm happy anyhow.

May have fixed the lawnmower, but I folded it for the winter and don't want to dig it out since the other one works now. I've found 3 more lawnmowers in the trash since Spring. Yesterday's looks brand new, don't know what's wrong with it, and another loks one about a week old

-- needs an electronic magneto ($40 dollars) and caps for the oil and gas (about $10 or 15) Well worth fixing, except I have two mowers that work now.

Meirman

-- If emailing, please let me know whether or not you are posting the same letter. Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

[maradcliff]

I have two 11HP garden tractors. I operate a small farm. I use both tractors to haul around 4 bales of hay at a time, every day. I have a trailer on the back for that. The 4 bales of hay would weigh 150 to

200lbs. However, I have filled that cart with dirt and manure several times, which I estimate a full load to weigh as much as 600lbs. The tractor pulls it fine, unless the tires start to slip on wet grass or mud. They work pretty well, but go no balls on ice, mud or other slippery surfaces. I wish they made more rugged gripping tires for them. I should note that the trailers easily tip over on sideways hills under heavy loads. One of mine is hydrostatic, the other is belts. Both work fine. Only the belt one has a mower deck, so the hydro is ususlly what I use to pull stuff. The hydro is much slower though, too slow when I am in a hurry, even at full engine.

Mark

[Eric]

[Bob S.]

I had a 5hp riding mower that I used to move my bass boat around the yard when I needed to mow under it. Worked fine.

[Chris Lewis]

According to Ignoramus19325 :

I have a 12HP hydrostatic Cub Cadet that's over 30 years old. We routinely use it to pull around a 4x8 trailer (500 pounds _empty_) and whatever we've put in it. We've probably pulled well over a ton total upon occasion.

The trick is to be _careful_, particularly of engine loading and hills - both the up and down, and watch your tongue (of the tractor that is! ;-) loading!

While our tractor is considerably beefier than a 10HP Sears (weighs nearly double I think), with caution, they can do quite a bit. But neither the traction nor brakes are all that good, and with a heavy load, you won't be able to go up hills, nor stop going down.

The only time I stall the tractor is when I try to take too big a bite with the snow blower ;-)

Yes.