Lawn Tractor Yard Cart Review
For a homeowner, having a lawn tractor cart is useful for hauling items around your property, such as dirt, mulch, debris, fertilizer, fire wood, etc. Some may find that a cart with a dump-body is even more useful.
Types Of Yard Carts
There are four basic kinds of pull-behind yard carts - dump carts, utility wagons, foldable carts, and flat-beds. The beds can be made of either poly, metal, wood, or plastic.
Poly Tub
Made of high-impact polyethylene, yard carts with poly tubs are strong and durable, and will last almost indefinitely, provided they are not severely overloaded.
Photo: Amazon
Poly tub carts hold water, which can be good or bad. It's helpful when hauling a load of potted plants or wet mulch across a clean driveway. But when left outside in the rain, they'll fill up the water, and need to be dumped out before use.
Poly vs Plastic
Just like poly tub carts, plastic carts are lightweight, watertight, and strong. But the material is less durable and susceptible to cracking over time, especially if left to sit in direct sunlight.
Steel Bed
Yard carts with steel beds are heavy, susceptible to dents, and they can rust, but hold more weight than other types. If you have a classic or vintage lawn tractor, they'll give you that old school look.
Photo: Amazon
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The Cart We Chose
Being left outside all year round, we chose a poly-bed cart. Ours has a hinged dump body.
When the dump feature needs to be put into use, there is a spring-loaded lift handle on the tub. Lifting the handle releases the catch, letting the tub tilt back for easy loading and unloading.
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Maximum Load
The maximum load weight for dump carts will range from about 300 pounds to more than 1,500 pounds. Adhering to the maximum load weight will prevent damage to the wheels, axles, and bed mounts.
Yard Cart Wheels and Tires
Generally speaking, larger tires roll more easily than smaller tires, and allow you to carry more weight easily.
Our cart has a 300-pound load capacity and hash tubed 15" turf-tread tires on metal rims. Pneumatic tires provide a cushion across the lawn and through bumpy wooded trail.
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Yard cart hookup is easy; pull the cart up to the back of the lawn tractor and attach with a hitch pin.
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Sometimes I just use the cart without the lawn tractor. If filled up with just leaves and twigs, it's light enough to move by hand.
While spring leaf cleaning, this was particularly helpful, as I was only going a short distance (25 yards) to dump the leaves.
After-Storm Cleanup
A recent summer storm left branches and leaves all over the front yard. The next day was spent putting the debris into the yard cart, then pulling it around to the wooded area behind the house.
The pull-behind cart made this chore quick and easy!
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Yard Cart Storage
When not in use, our yard cart stays outside, propped up against a pine tree at the far end of the yard.
This prevents it from getting filled with rain water, or becoming a nest for unwanted animals.
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Conclusion
A yard cart is great for moving landscaping materials such as mulch, fertilizer, plants, tools, bricks, and stones. They're also a time-saver when picking up yard and garden debris.
For occasional homeowner use, we've found that a two-wheel, poly tub cart is the most versatile.
Shop: Poly Tub Yard Cart
If you need something for heavy commercial use, consider a steel bed yard cart. Also consider where you will be storing it when not in use.
Shop: Steel Bed Yard Cart
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