Re: My budy is giving me a garden tractor
There is a HUGE difference between a GARDEN tractor and a LAWN tractor. If it is truly a garden tractor he is giving you, then you should be OK. If it is a lawn tractor, then there is a good chance you may not be OK. The lawn tractors are built much lighter/cheaper with weaker transmissions.
HP means very little when it comes to the quality of a good garden tractor. If it is a high-quality tractor, then it has already been designed with sufficient HP to handle any job it was designed to do.
It is all about traction and the ability to get the power to the ground (with a transmission strong enough to handle it). Here is an example: My Dad's late 1930's "B" John Deere, considered a row crop tractor (a step or two above a garden tractor), weighs in somewhere around just under two tons, has a real transmission with gears (4 forward, 1 reverse), a two-cylinder 190c.i. engine that produces a whopping 16hp with 4.7:1 compression when new. At close to 75 years old, it will still outpull ANY tractor you can buy at any Big Box store, and do it MUCH faster.
If you want a REAL tractor that is still pretty small, check out the CUTs (compact utility tractors). They are about the size, or slightly larger, than a garden tractor, but built much better. They will run you upwards of $10k for a good one.
