Recommendations for best lightweight, easily maneuverable, but reliable/quality push mower

[tommott77]

Hi All,

First post here. I've been trying to find the best push to suit my needs for a couple years now but seem to be going in circles. My application is a bit different. I have and maintain several smaller urban yards which got mowed every couple weeks. Each round of mowing usually consists of a many small mowing trips that take less an hour to mow but the mower has to be loaded/unloaded in the back of a truck constantly throughout the the day. Somedays it feels like as much energy is spent loading/unloading as the mowing itself. I miss my old cheap, lightweight, throw away mowers for their ease of transport of picking up and moving out of my vehicles, to go along with the maneuverability in the small yards.. I don't miss the days and time wasted trying to keep them running after a year or so. A couple years ago I bought my first Honda mower, which was stolen and then replaced with a used self propelled Honda. Not a fan of the self propelled mower, due to its weight and the lack of maneuverability but have had zero down time with both Honda engines.

Looking for recommendations if there is a quality lightweight mower, more along the lines of the cheap throw away models in size/weight, but with a quality reliable power plant (preferably Honda). I really don't need much in terms of features, though I do love the mulching capabilities of the twin blade Hondas. I've not had much luck finding anything along those lines and was hoping someone may be able to steer me in the right direction if something along those lines exists.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Quality & weight are inversally proportional .
Get a trailer that is low to the ground or use a van that s low to the ground and a ramp
Using a van is even better because you can lock & alarm it so this honda does not go the way of the previous one

 

[tommott77]

Quality & weight are inversally proportional .
Get a trailer that is low to the ground or use a van that s low to the ground and a ramp
Using a van is even better because you can lock & alarm it so this honda does not go the way of the previous one

That's kind of what I have been assuming after having no luck searching around. I have a trailer for my large equipment, but it's way too big for just a push mower and to quickly/efficiently get to where it's need to for the small mowing jobs. Have a new 4x4 van, but it's high off the ground, and I don't want to use for the landscaping jobs anymore. I want to start using my 1 ton dump truck but the bed is good 3 feet or so off the ground, way too high get the mower in and out of.

Best I can tell my options are
1) Attach a cargo platform to my hitch receiver. Even then it'd be about as high up as my van, but at least the van would be saved from the wear and tear
2) Take the engine off my Honda and try to retrofit it to one of my cheap broken down light duty mowers I have in the scrap pile
3) Try to find the best quality/reliable light duty mower possible...not looking good at this point.

Perhaps if there's a comprehensive list of push mower with Honda engines I can just go down the last to find the lightest one?

 

[seattlepioneer]

That's kind of what I have been assuming after having no luck searching around. I have a trailer for my large equipment, but it's way too big for just a push mower and to quickly/efficiently get to where it's need to for the small mowing jobs. Have a new 4x4 van, but it's high off the ground, and I don't want to use for the landscaping jobs anymore. I want to start using my 1 ton dump truck but the bed is good 3 feet or so off the ground, way too high get the mower in and out of.

Best I can tell my options are
1) Attach a cargo platform to my hitch receiver. Even then it'd be about as high up as my van, but at least the van would be saved from the wear and tear
2) Take the engine off my Honda and try to retrofit it to one of my cheap broken down light duty mowers I have in the scrap pile
3) Try to find the best quality/reliable light duty mower possible...not looking good at this point.

Perhaps if there's a comprehensive list of push mower with Honda engines I can just go down the last to find the lightest one?

I cut a piece of quarter inch plywood to size and use it as a ramp to let me load my mower in my Chevy Astro van. That works quite well.

I also drilled a hole in the van and bolted a short chain to the hole. The chain has a hook on the end of it which fits into a hole drilled in the mower. That holds it firmly in place with a minimum of bother.

So, when loading or unloading the mower, I connect or disconnect the chain, pull the plywood out and set it in the door, and load or unload the mower.

Inclined planes are your friend! Or mine, anyway.

I used to just drop my mower the six or so inches to the ground when unloading, but that was hard on the mower, and loading up still required awkward lifting. The ramp does a good job.