When you look at your lawn mower in the garden, it might not seem like the largest piece of equipment, but when it comes to loading it into a vehicle, you might think again. If you’re looking at lawn mower transport, you might be asking yourself will a lawn mower fit in a car? Let’s find out!
Most of the time, you won’t need to even think about moving a lawn mower; it will remain in your yard or stored in your shed. However, there are times that you will need to transport a lawn mower in the car or another vehicle. Typically, this will be when you first purchase your lawn mower or when you need to transport it to another location.
Buying A New Lawn Mower And Bringing It Home
One of the great things about having the lawn mower in a box is that there is very little risk of it becoming damaged. Everything will be securely packed and the manufacturer will have kept in mind that the mower may have to be transported several times before reaching its final destination. That being said, you have got to think about how easy it will be to load the box into the car.
Lawn mowers, especially gas-powered ones are not light pieces of equipment. Even those that claim to be lightweight have a decent amount of bulk and this means that you will need to have the strength to lift the box and place it into the car. For this reason, it might be worth seeing it the supplier offers a delivery service.
However, you may also wish to think about how you are going to get the lawn mower in a car if you are purchasing one second hand. In this case, there is a chance that the mower will be assembled and short of taking it to bits and reassembling it when you get home, you’ll probably want to put it in the trunk for convenience.
Transporting A Lawn Mower
There may be times that you need to transport a grass cutter in a care; you may need to take it to a repair shop, you could be selling it on, moving home, or perhaps you are lending it to a friend whose mower has broken down. Whatever your reasons, there are a few things to think about.
One of the good things about this is that a lot of the more modern lawn mowers come with a folding lawn mower handle. If you have found yourself wondering how to transport a push mower, this feature is your answer. That being said, if you are using an older model, the handle may not fold down and in this instance it may be that you have to admit defeat and take the handle off entirely, reassembling it when you reach your destination.
But in addition to this, you must think about how you will safely transport the mower. For example, if you are using a gas-powered model, it is imperative that it remains in a horizontal position for the entire journey. This is to prevent the fuel from getting to the air filter or spark plug and causing irreversible damage.
It is always a good idea to drain the fuel before transporting the lawn mower in a car. However, there is always a risk that a small amount may remain. Furthermore, the spark plug should always be disconnected when travelling.
Can A Lawn Mower Fit In A Car Trunk?
When we think about the modern push lawn mowers, it isn’t difficult to see how they will quickly and conveniently fit into the trunk of most cars. This is because of the folding lawn mower handle which makes them much easier to store and makes them far more portable.
However, you also need to think about the size of the car compared with the size of the lawn mower. It is no use thinking that you will be able to load a huge gas-powered mower without a folding handle into a mini; it’s just not going to happen. In the event that your car and mower aren’t compatible, it might be time to admit defeat and call a friend with a larger vehicle.
If this isn’t possible, then we would always advise finding another way. It can be tempting to force the mower into the vehicle to avoid having to find another solution. However, this can prove problematic in several ways. Primarily, you could cause some severe damage to the mower, not to mention you may end up scratching the car.
Lawn mowers may feel like robust pieces of equipment but in truth, they are very delicate. Sometimes, just a small crack or seemingly insignificant piece of damage can be devastating and can render the mower entirely useless. You could end up with anything from a broken handle to a loose wire that interferes with the mower’s ability to start.
How To Load A Lawn Mower In A Car
The most simple way of loading your lawn mower into a car is to fold the handle down and pop it into the trunk or onto the back seat. While this may be a good method for cordless or electric mowers, when it comes to gas-powered equipment, this may not be quite as easy.
This is because, you will first need to drain the fuel from the mower and disconnect the spark plugs. The reason that this is so important is because it will prevent any accidental start-ups during transportation. Safety should be at the top of your priority list when performing any maintenance of your lawn mower, using it, or transporting it. There is a significant risk of injury with this type of equipment and it simply isn’t worth neglecting. In a single ten year period in the USA, almost a million lawn mower injuries were presented to the emergency departments in hospitals.
Now that we have safety out of the way, it is time to think about innovative ways to get your lawn mower into the car without damaging it. The last thing you want is for the lawn mower to be banging around in the trunk and causing damage to itself and the car. The best way to transport a lawn mower in the car is to make sure that there is as little free space as possible.
This means that you should find a box that the mower can sit inside, if you still have the box that it came in when you purchased it, this is just the occasion to pull it out of the back of the shed. If you don’t have a box, it is a good idea to wrap the machine in some kind of protective material. You could use bubble wrap or even old towels.
As we have already discussed, even though you will have emptied all of the fuel from the mower, you should still keep it upright so that there is no chance of any residual fuel flowing where it shouldn’t.
The final preparation step should be to take off any removable parts and transport these separately. Small parts can be put into a container and anything larger can be wrapped separately.
If you have a very lightweight mower and adequate strength, you may simply lift the mower into your vehicle and ensure that it is securely placed. However, for those of you who have much heavier equipment, you may need to get a little more creative in terms of how you get it inside the car. One of the best ways is to make a ramp, you can use this to help you get the mower inside and this will also help you to prevent pulling your lower back.
Riding Mowers And Push Mowers
It pays to think about the type of lawn mower that you are using. For example, while most push mowers will fit nicely inside the trunk of the car or even on the back seat, there are models that won’t go in, no matter how hard you try.
For example, there are some enormous commercial push mowers that won’t fit into a car in any event. However, if you are using a commercial mower, it is likely that you are working on a commercial scale and in this case, we would suggest investing in a larger vehicle to safely and easily transport all of your equipment.
Furthermore, many homeowners with a much larger yard invest in a riding mower and these are often extremely heavy. Some of them can weigh as much as 500lbs, which, as you can imagine, is not a weight that any of us would be able to pick up and pop into the trunk. Even if we could, the mower would be far too big for the car anyway!
For this reason, if you have a riding lawn mower, you will need to use either a trailer or a pick-up truck to transport it.
How To Put A Riding Lawn Mower In A Truck
Moving a push mower is one thing but when it comes to how to put a riding mower in a truck, you may have much more of a challenge on your hands. One viable way of doing this would be to hire a moving company who will have the right transport as well as appropriate equipment for moving larger objects. However, there is a problem with this method.
In the USA, moving companies are not legally allowed to transport any combustible items. This is because they may serve as a fire hazard. Of course, you could empty the tank entirely and this may or may not have an impact on whether the company will move the mower. But even then, there may be some residual fumes that enter the passenger section of the vehicle and could be detrimental to health.
But this is not something that is unique to the USA. Most countries have some sort of law that prohibits transporting hazardous materials. Draining the fuel tank may make a difference, again, but this will be at the discretion of the individual moving company and is something that you will have to check out.
Alternatively, you will need a larger vehicle that you will drive yourself. A truck or van that opens at the rear is an excellent option although you will need a ramp or lift to get the mower inside. Some of these vehicles will have a tailgate that doubles as a ramp and when hiring a truck, it is worth looking for this feature.
Furthermore, you should consider the weight limit of the transport vehicle to ensure that it can safely carry the riding mower. Once the mower is inside, you will need to make sure that it is secured with ratchet straps.
Summary
For the most part, your lawn mower won’t need to leave your home, but there may be times that you need to transport it. If you have a newer push mower then the folding handle will make it easy to get into your vehicle. However, for larger mowers, you may need to get a little more creative.
