People Are Converting Riding Mowers Into Off-Roaders and We Want In

I think we can all agree that there’s an epidemic of people with tiny lawns who nonetheless insist on owning riding mowers. Everyone living in suburbia knows this guy, the one who buys a John Deere lawn tractor with an added cup holder even though the lawn is small enough that an old-fashioned hand push mower would work just fine. But we’re not here to shame any group of eccentric mowers — in fact, we’d like to introduce you to a new one.

Thanks to Jalopnik, we now know that off-road mowers exist. Apparently, there’s a niche set of gearheads out there (to rival all the other grease-stained, beer-drinking, scarred-up niche gearhead groups) that take old Cub Cadets and Craftsman mowers and turn them into off-roading machines.

Having a hard time picturing it? Here’s an example they cite in the story, from a YouTube channel called “Okoffroadmowers”:

Yeah, we want one too.

If this is looking like exactly the pandemic hobby you need this winter, Jalopnik lists a bunch of other videos where you can find inspiration. The first thing you’ll need to do, though, is remove the actual mower blades. These things have a pretty high tip-over rate (from what I’ve gathered watching these highlight reels) and the last thing you want is to come face to face with a pinwheeling blade of death.

So if you don’t get that new Jeep in the driveway or that Bronco voucher for Christmas, don’t fret. You can make all your off-road dreams come true in 2021 with an old riding mower you found on Nextdoor.