The starter rope on my beloved gas-powered Honda HRX217HYA lawn mower was extremely hard to pull when I tried to start it this past spring. I attempted to debug the problem myself by removing the spark plug, which made the starter rope easy to pull. But when I put the spark plug back in, the rope was still hard to pull. I had no idea how to debug this further, and searching the internet did not provide useful clues.
Time for Plan B. Since my Honda mower was broken, I cut the grass this season using my backup mower – a battery-powered Toro 60V Super Recycler. This is a good mower that cuts grass well, and is very lightweight. But I dislike Toro’s “personal pace” self-propel system. For me, “personal pace” should be renamed “personal push” – pushing the mower up hills requires a lot of effort. Even worse, when pulling the mower backwards, the back wheels often lock. The Toro Super Recycler is definitely usable and I recommend it for flat lawns with few obstacles. But I love how my Honda mower pulls me up the hills in my yard.
This fall I decided to finally take my Honda mower to a dealer for repair. Honda has recalled many mowers (including mine) for a problem related to starter ropes being hard to pull. Sound familiar? I asked the dealer to perform the warranty recall repair and see if this fixed the problem. It did.
How to get the mower to dealer? My car is a hatchback with plenty of room to hold the mower when the back seat is down. But the Honda mower is very heavy (about 90 lbs) and also bulky. Could I get it into the back of my car without help?
Engineers spend their lives solving problems by applying scientific principles using available tools. Getting the mower into the back of the car is an engineering problem. I can figure out how to to do this!
I had several 8 foot by 6 inch boards from an unfinished raised bed project. I could use these to build a ramp. But I didn’t want to prop the boards directly against the back of the car. I was concerned that the boards would slide when I tried to roll the mower up the ramp into the car. I also did not want to scratch or dent the car.
My wheelbarrow is roughly the same height as the back of my car. I could prop the boards against the wheelbarrow instead of against the car. But how to keep the wheelbarrow from moving? And how to prevent the mower from falling into the empty wheelbarrow?
This spring I purchased several large bags of Potting Mix (dirt) from Costco. These bags were quite heavy as the soil was saturated with rain. I dragged three bags into the back of the wheelbarrow, making it heavy and quite stable. Because the bags were flexible, when I propped the boards against the bags, the boards sunk into the bags which prevented them from moving.
Wheelbarrow with Soil and Ramp
At the base of the ramp, I propped the boards against three additional bags. (Costco has these on sale every spring, and I stock up!).
Ready to Push Mower Up Ramp
Finally, I folded the mower’s handle and pushed it up the ramp into the wheelbarrow. From there, it was easy to push into the back of the car.
Ready to Push Mower Up Ramp
Mower at Top of Ramp
Ready to Push into Car
Disclaimer
THIS POST IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY! IT IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION FOR HOW TO GET YOUR MOWER INTO THE BACK OF A CAR ALL BY YOURSELF!! FOLLOW THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE MOWER USER MANUAL! USE A SECOND PERSON TO HELP YOU LIFT THE MOWER (this is how I loaded/unloaded it at the dealer).
DO NOT COPY ME!! DO NOT DO THIS ALONE! THIS IS DANGEROUS! If the mower slips, it could hurt you or damage the mower. If the boards move, the mower could fall to the ground and break. It could also land on your foot. It is also easy to scratch or dent your car.
REMEMBER – I am a professional. I am a Retired Engineer. I carefully tested my contraption before using it. I made sure the wheelbarrow would not move. I made sure the ramps would not move. I pushed the mower very slowly. I covered the back of the car with thick towels. I put a jacket over the pointy parts of the mower. I took all the precautions I could think of.
Do you have a better idea for getting the mower into the car? Let me know in the comments below!