Sometimes we hear the term lawn tractor and at other times we hear Lawn & Garden Tractor. For those of us who have been around a while will clearly understand the difference. But many times newcomers really do not understand the difference & how it describes a tractor. Most of us who have an interest in tractors & grounds keeping equipment have a lawn, and more than likely a garden. Unknowing people may assume that the terms Lawn tractor or Lawn & Garden tractor are just descriptions that are used interchangeably.

Unfortunately, in today's world many of the tractors that were traditionally sold only through a dealership, are now sold at the big box home centers where the unsuspecting consumer not familiar with the proper terminology & how it applies is left to rely solely upon the descriptions found on the sales & marketing tags & the very little & often incorrect information of the sales person who only ten minutes ago became the outdoor equipment specialist because things were a little slow in the wallpaper dept.

The simple way to define the difference between a lawn tractor & a lawn & garden tractor is as follows. A lawn tractor is designed to mow your lawn. Generally speaking, they are of a lighter weight & design. However most people who are going to invest into a "lawn" tractor want a little more bang for their buck. So many of these tractors also offer a snow removal blade and a tow behind cart. And there are some that will allow you to mount a snow blower as well. In addition you can find tow behind seed & fertilizer spreaders. And that's about all the utility you will get out of a lawn tractor. But for most home owners it covers all the basics.

On the other hand, a lawn & garden tractor is designed with a heavier frame & axles, have engines with higher horsepower rating & more torque & pulling power. They generally offer three, four & five speed transmissions with a Hi & Lo gear range. From there, the features on these tractors are like picking optional packages on a car. They can come with what is known as a mule drive or power variator, four wheel drive, limited slip differentials, hydraulic lift systems & other useful features. These tractors are built for true ground work on a small vegetable garden or ornamental flower garden. Small can be defined as a twenty foot by twenty foot row crop garden to a full one acre plus mini farm.

The lawn & garden tractor is designed to operate in tough conditions & can work with a variety of plows, cultivators, front & rear tine tillers, disc harrows, landscape rakes, aerators, brooms, sprayers, front end loaders and a variety of other attachments which a lawn tractor simply would not be able to handle. The cost of these machines can run several thousand dollars above the cost of a lawn tractor. And some of them can cost more than today's, small size auto.

If you are in the market for a tractor, you must consider current & future needs. If your current need is to just get the grass cut, but you dream about that vegetable garden you want to put in, or how you will handle the winter snow & that landscaping project next season, then you might want to consider the L & G tractor right from the start. But if all you want to do is get the grass cut, move a bag of fertilizer, or be able to load the trash cans into a wagon & bring it down to the end of the driveway, then you would need nothing more than a lawn tractor to do the job.

If your buying for the long term investment, then you need to look at quality as well. Are the axles pressed sheet steel or are they heavy solid cast axles. Does it have wheel bearings or just a wheel mounted to a shaft. Are the body panels flimsy & thin or are they made from heavier gauge steel or high quality fiberglass. Is it a gear drive rear end or just a drive belt. And what type of engine does it have. Is it an aluminum block or a heavy duty cast block. What is the horsepower rating. And be sure to do the research on what attachments beyond a mower deck are available for current & future needs. And the size of the mower deck as well. If you have an acre or two or more to do, you just need something that is well beyond the usual thirty four, forty two, or forty eight inch cut. The size of your property alone that needs to be mowed may dictate to you the tractor you will purchase. There are not very many lawn tractors that can handle mower decks larger than forty two or forty eight inches. Not only will your mower deck size determine how much time you will spend cutting grass, it will also impact on the maintenance as well as the wear & tear of the equipment. These are all factors you will need to think about.

In the end, regardless of which tractor you buy, the quality you buy will be a large factor in you decision. I have seen well built high quality lawn tractors, exceed their intended use & perform under extreme conditions & demand. This is not to say that you should intentionally look to buy less of a machine than what you need & then abuse it. But if you select a machine of poor quality & design and even using it well within its intended range of operations will probably not serve you as well or as long as a quality machine. And if your not sure about which type of machine you should have, you can always post your questions here on the Jerrys Deere Barn forum where others might see your post & give you the benefit of their experience.

Bob Johnson