Leaf removal equipment

[Larson Lawn Care]

I have been cleaning up leaves for as long as I have been mowing lawns (7years) I have always just mulched the leaves and then blow them into garden areas or into a pile and pick them up. I bought a 61" ferris walk behind last year with a 25hp engine. It mulches leaves better than the mowers I've had in the past but I know it is not good to mulch too many leaves. I am looking into alternative methods. I've considered enclosing my 12' open utility trailer with sides and using a mesh cloth for the top, and buying a trailer mount vacuum. The only problem is that I have no way to get the leaves back out of the trailer when I get to the dump. I have a billy goat walk behind blower and Redmax backpack blowers, I've considered a walk behind vacuum but I want something very powerful. I've purchased one in the past but it wasn't worth it to me. It would just suck up the leaves and not mulch them at all. At the time, I had a small push mower with a bagger; and that picked up more leaves and it was faster than the vacuum. I found a trailer online designed for leaf removal, it is a hydraulic dump, I'm sure it is all of $10k or more. My current method of mulch and pick up is fairly time efficient but I don't want to ruin my mower in the process. What methods and/or equipment would you suggest?

[sven1277]

You're not going to ruin your mower, just getting a longer season out of it. Some guys have mentioned putting a pallet on end at the front of the trailer and then tying leads to a tree. Now you can drive forward and use the pallet to move all of the leaves out of the trailer. Low tech but effective.

[ChevHayes]

I agree, you will not be ruining your mower, i have for years just put a good set of mulching blades on and watched what i did and have had no problems whatsoever.

[kemco]

Check to see if your dump has a pull off service. I have a hydro dump trailer but the loader I use shreds it up well and then it compacts into a tight brick that wont come out of the dump trailer... I have to pay for pull off service ($25 but still worth it). I have a pallet attached to a 4' section of 2x6 that acts like a foot to help it stand up straight. Then I have a chain from the pallet that is in the back of the trailer that I hook to the back end before I start loading up the leaves with the loader. When full I go to the dump and hook up the chain to the CAT front end loader they have there for pull off service. 9 out of 10 times it all pulls right out.

[Larson Lawn Care]

When you get into lots of leaves (especially when they are wet) and you have the discharge blocked, even with the mulching blades, the blades almost stop because it can't handle the amount of leaves. That is not good for a mower's engine. Also, the air filter gets clogged up with leaf dust. I do not want to use the mulching method anymore, and I am looking for alternative options.

[meicher806]

If you are going to buy a trailer mount vac. invest in a dump bed insert also. thats what I am currently using I made a light weight top and back door for it, comes on and off in about 10 min. then you also have a dump for other small projects. like tree and bush prunes no more hand unloading. such a time saver.

[Larson Lawn Care]

Do they make the dump inserts to fit a trailer or just the bed of truck?

[Larson Lawn Care]

I may buy a dump trailer and build the sides up a bit and put a vac on the back. The only problem is that I only have a 1/2 ton truck. I plan to buy an f250 sometime in the fall but I'm not ready just yet. Do they make lighter dump trailers to fit a 1/2 ton. I did a little research but didn't find much.