Best Dump Cart for Lawn Tractor – Buyer’s Guide

Whether you own a small bit of land, a large sprawling estate, or simply have an outdoor company, the best dump cart for a tractor can make all the difference. Not only does this product lighten your workload, but it also allows you to complete the job significantly quicker than carrying by hand. That is why we have come up with a list of the 5 best dump carts for a lawn tractor, highlighting what each one does best. Then we provide a helpful buyer’s guide as well as a handy comparison table.

1. Gorilla Carts GOR866D – Best Lawn Tractor Dump Cart

Gorilla Carts is a specialized brand with over 20 years of experience in manufacturing dump carts owned by a parent company with 30 years of experience that focuses on outdoor equipment more broadly. Altogether, this provides an excellent infrastructure to hand your hat on and provide reliable consistency. That said, this brand is a consumer-grade lineup that is a bit limited in some regards, though it more than makes up for it with a superior design to pretty much every other competitor. In fact, this by far the best 4-wheel dump cart for a lawn tractor that we could find – even if it was one of the few.

Great Build

While the Gorilla Carts GOR866D falls a bit short in some categories, most notably that it only has 6 cu ft of capacity, but its design allows some impressive specs in others.

That said, this is almost certainly due to the fact that this is also the only dump cart we reviewed with four wheels. Not only does this make the Gorilla Carts GOR866D the most stable product on our list, but it also more evenly distributes the load weight. While this is great, the 13” wheels do tamp down some of the riding ease, especially when towing over rough terrain.

CHECK ALL SIZES OF Gorilla Poly Dump Carts
	GOR5-COM	GOR6PS	GOR10-COM	GOR10-16
Load Capacity	800 lb	1200 lb	1500 lb	1500 lb
Load Size	5 cu ft	6 cu ft	10 cu ft	10 cu ft
Tire size	10 in	13 in	15 in	16 in
Swiwel	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

2. Ohio Steel Dump Cart 4048P-HYB – Best Tow Behind Dump Cart

Ohio Steel is a bit difficult to pin down as a company, but there is no denying that this is the oldest and most experienced company on our list. With a history stretching back 60 years, the most surprising thing about Ohio Steel is that they make as many or more products made of plastic as they do steel. In fact, the Ohio Steel 4048P-HYB dump cart features a bucket made of the ever-popular polypropylene. Regardless of the base material, the Ohio Steel 4048P-HYB is the second-ranked product for most of the relevant categories – including the negative ones. That said, this combination of features at such a high level definitely makes this the best all-around dump cart for a lawn tractor that we saw.

Excellent Specs

Though the Ohio Steel 4048P-HYB may not actually lead our list in any of the relevant categories, it is also a good bit less expensive than the leader too. For that price, you get a dump cart that is more than capable of providing the necessary functionality for all consumer purposes and even many of the commercial purposes too.

Even better, the Ohio Steel 4048P-HYB provides features at every major point to make towing the cart that much easier.

CHECK ALL SIZES OF ohio steel Poly Dump Carts
	3040PSD	4048PSD	4048PATV	4048PS-ATV
Load Capacity	600 lb	750 lb	1000 lb	1250 lb
Load Size	10 cu ft	12.5 cu ft	12.5 cu ft	12.5 cu ft
Tire size	13 in	15 in	18 in	18 in
Swiwel	Yes	Yes	No	Yes

3. Polar Dump Cart LG7 – Best Poly Dump Cart

Polar Trailer is yet another product line on our list that is not actually its own company and is instead a subsidiary brand. The parent company, Clam Outdoors, originated as a manufacturer of ice fishing products but has recently acquired numerous other high-end brands. Polar Trailer, as the name might suggest, is Clam Outdoor’s brand of dump carts, but the brand is best understood as a consumer-grade lineup. While this does limit the Polar Trailer LG7’s functionality and versatility a bit, it does mean that the brand makes it a point to be more convenient. In fact, we would say that the Polar Trailer LG7 is the most convenient dump cart for a tractor that we came across.

Decent All-Around

One thing to consider with any consumer-grade product is that it will rarely, if ever, meet the industry standards for a commercial-grade product. In this instance, the Polar Trailer LG7 definitely falls a bit short in a number of the most relevant specs – especially the most important ones of carrying capacity and max load.

CHECK OTHER SIZES OF Polar Trailer Poly Dump Carts
	LG10	8232 HD 1200	8233 HD 1500	8262 HD 1500
Load Capacity	900 lb	1200 lb	1500 lb	1500 lb
Load Size	10 cu ft	15 cu ft	22 cu ft	22 cu ft
Tire size	16 in	18 in	18 in	18 in
Swiwel	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

4. Agri-Fab 45-0101 – Best Steel Dump Cart for a Lawn Tractor

As the name might suggest, Agri-Fab is a company which specializes in the manufacture of outdoor equipment – though the focus is more on agricultural equipment as you might expect rather than the landscaping focus most other companies on our list demonstrate. Either way, Agri-Fab has put out a fairly solid dump cart that comes in a more classic style than any of the other products we reviewed. Specifically, this is the only and best steel dump cart for a lawn tractor that we came across. Aside from the fact that it is, strictly speaking, the least expensive dump cart on our list,  it is also better suited for particular tasks compared to the more common polypropylene material used on other buckets. 

Great Value

A look at the specs will show some of them at the top of the market and one or two near the bottom, but what it will not show is how well this product compares to others strictly from a value perspective.  For instance, this dump cart has a 12 cu ft capacity which, even though it is middle of the pack on our list is closer to the top half than the bottom.  On the other hand, this dump cart does have one of the lower max loads that we saw topping out at only 750 pounds. While this is fine for a number of consumer-grade purposes, even some of the more rigorous agricultural towing will clock in heavier than that. Still, the 16” wheels ensure that the Agri-Fab 45-0101 will have little difficulty navigating its way over rough terrain without instability.

5. Impact Implements – Best ATV Dump Trailer. Largest Capacity!

Impact Implements is another product line that is a brand of a larger parent company. In this instance Motoalliance which makes a wide variety of accessory products for outdoor vehicles. While this specialization is nice, the company was founded this year, so they do not have any real experience or time to properly evaluate their reputation. That said, this dump cart checks in as the number one position in pretty much all of the relevant categories – including price and weight. Regardless,  the Impact Implements dump cart is still the biggest dump cart for a lawn tractor on our list. 

Top Spot

It is definitely a bit surprising to find the best performing product on our list to come from a virtual unknown dark horse company.

However, you are definitely going to have to work a little bit to get all of the benefits out of the Impact Implements as this is easily one of the more complicated assemblies we saw with some of the fastening holes having to be drilled. Still, another solid benefit of the Impact Implements dump cart is that the 18” x 8” are the largest wheels we saw and the pass-through axle allows the cart to swivel as well as provide up to 12” of variable height clearance.

Dump Cart for Lawn Tractor – Buyer’s Guide

Materials

The materials of a dump cart are incredibly important in determining how effective the cart will be, but it may not be quite as important as it might at first seem. Basically, there are only a couple different materials actually used, and they do not necessarily impact a dump cart in the ways you might think. For the materials themselves, they are generally split between different plastics and different metals.  That said, these days heavy-duty plastics are preferred as they can provide more than enough strength and durability without suffering from some of the more common issues that affect metal. 

Plastic

When most people hear the word “plastic,” the first thing they think is “cheap.” While plastic dump carts can be less expensive than metals ones, that does not necessarily hold true. To be clear, the grade, type, and quality of the plastic are incredibly important in determining whether the dump cart is high-end or not. Some plastics are harder than others and each plastic has its own set of strengths and vulnerabilities.

Still, plastics do generally provide some distinct benefits over metal, especially due to its use almost exclusively in outdoor settings. Having protection or outright immunity to certain elemental effects provides plastic a significant advantage over metals in this context. Most plastics are waterproof and many have a fairly high melting point too – though some will become brittle in the cold.

In fact, the biggest concern a plastic might have is with UV radiation – and largely depends on which kind of plastic is used. Polyethylene is the most common plastic used because it is inexpensive, easy to mold, resistant to elements, and lightweight. On the other hand,  polyethylene is also more susceptible to UV radiation and has a lower melting point than some other plastics like polyurethane. 

Metal

Metal is slowly being faded out of the dump cart for a lawn tractor market largely because it is no longer the best option at this scale. Sure, if you need to haul a few tons of stone or other dense materials, you will definitely want to make sure the bed is made of metal. But when you are dealing with loads often less than 1000 pounds, it does not make sense to use a more expensive, less resistant, heavier option.

 Of course, this is not to suggest that metal is a poor substance to use for a dump cart as it is definitely more impact resistant than even the strongest plastics used.  The biggest issue with a metal dump cart has more to do with the additional weight and load that it places on your tractor than it does with a failure of the material. However, all metal’s susceptibility to exposure to water for extended periods of time does mean that you generally have to do more to maintain a metal dump cart.

When it comes to specific metals, steel is the most common, because it provides a good blend of strength without being too heavy. Aluminum is not unheard of, but it is significantly more expensive than any other material used for dump carts and is reserved for commercial uses more than consumer ones. With a steel dump cart, make sure that it either comes with some form of protective coating against water or that you add one to increase the cart’s lifespan.

Max Load

This is definitely an incredibly important quality regardless of your particular needs, but it will definitely be more important depending on why you need a dump cart. Granted, you need a dump cart to help haul things from place to another, but the density and amount of things will determine whether or not you need to spring for a higher-end dump cart with a larger max load or can get by with a consumer-grade model. In this regard, the larger max loads will generally hover around 1000 pounds give or a take a couple hundred pounds either way. Of course, if you just need a dump cart to help clear away branches and or other organic materials, the additional max load is likely not necessary. That said, you should likely make sure that your dump cart can at least haul up to 500 pounds as that is generally the floor for the industry standard and anything lower should inspire some caution.

Capacity

This is fairly similar to max load in terms of whether you need a larger capacity or not, though it is not determined the same way. Basically, while max load will generally rely almost exclusively on the strength and durability of the frame, the capacity will be based primarily on the shape and engineering of the bucket. That said, it is actually much easier to get a larger dump cart with more capacity than it is to find a dump cart with a stronger frame for larger max load. On the other hand, the necessary capacity of your dump cart will not be determined by what you carry as much as the size of the jobs you need to do. In this instance, while a dump cart for general debris does not need a larger max load, it generally does need a larger capacity.

Mobility

While this may seem like little more than an afterthought, the mobility of a dump cart will heavily impact how easy and convenient it is to use the cart. That said, the mobility of a dump cart is not actually determined by a single quality or feature like many of the other major considerations.  The most important quality affecting a dump cart’s mobility is the wheels – both in regards to size, tread, and material.  In this instance, the size of the wheels is generally the most important aspect of the three as more surface area provides better stability. The other major consideration affecting a dump cart’s mobility is whether or not the trailer hitch and frame allows the dump cart to swivel or not. A dump cart that swivels is significantly easier to move around tight areas, but it also makes the dump cart significantly more difficult to back up.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the whole purpose of a dump cart hinges on its ability to carry things from one place to another. A dump cart that can carry larger things which weigh more is functionally more useful than one that can carry less. For this reason, we recommend the Impact Implements dump cart due to the fact that it has the largest carrying capacity as well as the largest max load at 15 cu ft and 1500 pounds, respectively.

Of course, if you are looking for a less expensive dump cart, the Gorilla Carts or the Agri-Fab are both significantly less expensive and still offer excellent performances. That said, considering they are budget-friendly options, it should not be that surprising that the former has a smaller carrying capacity and the former has a smaller max load. Still, depending on the kind of hauling jobs you have to do, either of these is a solid, cheaper alternative to the more expensive Impact Implements.