If you have a large lawn, and need to do a lot of hauling or digging, it may be time to move up from a small riding mower to a more powerful lawn tractor. You'll save a great deal of time in mowing your lawn that you can then spend doing something a bit more enjoyable.

Of course, lots of people enjoy the feeling of power that mowing a lawn gives them. Richard Widmark, in an article in Architectural Digest way back in 1991, said, "Mowing is very satisfying. It's all about wanting everything to be neat and under control."

Large lawns take a lot of water, and a lot of fertilizer, to look their best all year round, unless you are careful to choose those types of grasses that don't need a lot of water, and typically don't need a lot of fertilizer. Native grasses are growing in popularity, as opposed to importing "exotics" from other climate regions, and then forcing them to grow where they don't normally grow. However, that's an issue for another time. Let's get back to lawn tractors.

Buying A Lawn Tractor

Treat your purchase of a lawn tractor as you would that of buying a car or any other means of transport. It is after all a major investment. Visit the showrooms of various manufacturers (or look at their sites on the web) to see what kind of features each model has, and what their quality and reliability ratings are from such independent consumer groups as Consumer Reports. If possible, test drive the tractor.

Engines

There are three types of engines on a tractor - air-cooled and liquid-cooled gasoline engines, or liquid-cooled diesel engines. Each one has its advantages...and its attendant costs.

Accessories

The basic cost of a tractor usually does look quite attractive...and then you learn the costs of those add-ons, or accessories. Just like a car, the nicer the accessories, the more expensive the model will turn out to be.

Accessories consist of such things as canopies over the driving cockpit to keep you protected from the sun on hot days, and grass collection bags. Cutting decks are considered accessories. They vary in width. A smaller cutting deck will come standard on the tractor, but you can replace it with a larger deck, for a fee.

Safety

Lawn tractors have a low center of gravity. This makes it possible for them to mow on slopes - there's less chance of them tipping over. However, most accidents with lawn tractors do happen on slopes - no matter how low the center of gravity a steep slope will have the last laugh. The best thing to do is plant ground cover on the slope which will prevent erosion - and yet never need mowing.

Always wear ear protectors and safety glasses and sturdy shoes. Never have a "lawn mower race" - if you like to get some speed out of your tractor do it on a track in a recognized event - not on your own lawn.

Never mow with an audience. Kids may become distracted and run in front or behind you and be hit by flying rocks. Never mow with passengers.

If your mower jams, turn everything off. Clear any jam with a tool - not with your bare hand.

A manual will come with your lawn tractor. Read it, and keep it in a safe place so you can refer to it when needed.