When looking for a yard sweeper, the main thing is to really think about your expectations. What do you want to accomplish? Most yard sweepers, obviously are used for simply sweeping leaves. Which they work great for by the way.

As do most people, I dislike raking leaves. I guess “dislike” would be a kind word. Don’t get me wrong, I love working in the yard, but I also like being as productive as I can, and spending hours raking leaves doesn’t seem too productive to me when there’s better tools and equipment out there for the job.

Enter the Yard Sweeper! These things are great, you can either get a manual or push model, such as one of our favorites, the Precision Products 26-Inch Push Lawn Sweeper, or one of the bigger boys to tow behind a garden tractor. For a tow behind, one we see getting the best reviews is the Agri-Fab 38-Inch Tow Lawn Sweeper which lists for around $270. Now, with that said, the Agri-Fab is only our favorite here because that’s the most popular model and one where we found the most reviews. We also have a full page review on the Parker Suburbanite – 36in. Wide Tow Behind Lawn Sweeper. This guy is really nice but lists up around $900. Which is a lot for even the serious lawn enthusiast?

The more expensive models such as the Parker Suburbanite is touted to be more for turf professionals and those who take care of turf surfaces for a living. And yes, like anything else, you do get what you pay for. But lets look at a couple important factors when looking to purchase a yard sweeper or lawn sweeper.

First, what do you expect it to do? Meaning, do you expect it to pick up only leaves? If that is the case, then most of the push models (and most certainly the more expensive ones) will do just that. However, it is good to note that they do best when sweeping up dry leaves. That is pretty generally across the board on all lawn sweepers.

If you’re looking for something a little more industrial, and you have a lawn tractor or ATV to pull the sweeper, then some of the more expensive ones may be your better choice. Most sweepers in both categories will pick up small sticks and even some smaller pine cones and maybe pine needles. Check out our reviews and those around shopping sites to see which may work best for you.

And always consider storage space available also and keep in mind that most yard sweepers work best on mostly even lawns.

Whatever model you choose, make sure you know what to expect. Many lawn and yard equipment like sweepers are made for certain jobs. Having the right expectations will making your shopping experience more enjoyable. Oh, and also remember, that unless you purchase a used one, most lawn sweepers come with “some assembly required.”

With so many choices out there for lawn sweepers, one way to go is with the tow behind lawn sweeper. Obviously since it’s a “tow behind” you must have something to tow it with. Depending on what your method will be ATV, Garden or Lawn tractor, you certainly have plenty of models and features to choose from.

The biggest benefit of the tow behind lawn sweeper may be, if you get the right model, that you don’t have to get off your tractor to dump it. The tow behind model we’ll be looking at today is the Parker Suburbanite 36 inch lawn sweeper. This particular model hasn’t been reviewed much, and from what we’ve seen it does not allow dumping from the tractor seat like the Agri-Fab 38-Inch Tow Lawn Sweeper; which is odd since it’s almost three times the price. However, this Parker Suburbanite is a well built and commercial grade sweeper, so if you’re serious about getting a tow behind sweeper, check it out!

Product Specifications:
•    Sweeper Type    Tow behind
•    Sweeping Path (in.) 36
•    Hopper Capacity (cu. ft.) 17
•    Brushes (qty.) 4
•    Height Range (in.) Adjustable
•    Wheel Type Cast iron
•    Wheel Size (in.)    10.5 x 2.5
•    Dimensions L x W x H (in.) 62 x 46 x 32
•    Commercial model
•    Designed for large areas
•    Reinforced vinyl basket
•    Eight polypropylene, steel-backed brushes in four staggered rows
•    Variable vertical front faceplate adjustment helps control how debris is deflected into the basket
•    Heavy-duty rear casters
•    Tubular steel frame
•    Sealed ball bearings on the brush axle for extended life
•    Sintered pinion gears
•    Hard, vacuum-formed polypropylene bottom
•    Tow bars are independent of the height adjustment
•    Top wind apron

The Parker Tow-Behind Suburbanite Lawn Sweeper is the largest of the lawn sweepers we’ve seen here so far. This product is actually advertised as a Turf Sweeper and recommended for sports turf professionals. We have not heard reviews from anyone who have used this product so we don’t have much to go on. With a hefty price tag (we found it from $899 to $930), it would be hard to make a decision on this lawn sweeper without more first hand information. With that said, lets take a look at it’s capabilities.

This sweeper has a huge capacity of 17 cubic feet. One big difference we noticed was the cast iron wheels and rear casters. Since this is a tow behind, it features 10.5 wheels on the front and smaller cast-iron casters on the rear. It is recommended that this sweeper be pulled by front engine turf and/or lawn tractor or ATV with a rear hitch attachment. One thing we did notice, this product boast the ability to work behind a zero-turn riding mower. This is a great feature which is sometimes hard to find in some of the tow behind models.

This sweeper has all the bells and whistles and we hope to find some reviews on this so we can get them up here for everyone. We’ll be checking around to see if anyone has this model and what their experience with it is. One of the features that really excites us is the eight brushes which are polypropylene steel-backed and staggered in rows.
Something else we noticed is not listed as a feature is the ability to dump the hamper without leaving your seat! Hard to imagine on a sweeper in this price range.

Best Qualities: Size (17 cubic feet!), can be used behind zero-turning mower
Bad Qualities: Not enough experience to give good review, will keep looking. Price, around $900.

Specifications:

• Tow-behind lawn sweeper ideal for picking up leaves, grass clippings, and other lawn debris
• Rip-stop vinyl hopper bag holds up to 12-cubic-feet of debris
• Design allows for simple dumping of debris from tractor seat; infinite height adjustment
• Includes 4-to-10-inch diameter replaceable brushes and 10-by-1-3/4-inch semi-pneumatic tires
• 1-year limited warranty

The Agri-Fab 38-inch is a tow-behind lawn sweeper. Which means it must be used with a garden tractor or an ATV for you real outdoors man types! Most reviews seem to love this product and feel it’s best quality is the ability to dump the hopper without even leaving the seat of your tractor.

The hamper holds up to 12-cubic-feet of debris which makes it one of the larger lawn sweepers we’ve seen so far. Although many feel the size is nice for the amount of capacity it offers, maneurvering the sweeper around a small lawn can be quite tricky. Additionally, the large size, 72 x 45 x 23 seems to give many owners problems with storage. The hopper bag is made out of rip-stop vinyl which seems to hold up well season after season.

One great aspect of this lawn sweeper is that it has 4 to 10 inch diameter brushes that are replaceable. Additionally the 10 x 1 3/4 inch tires are semi-pneumatic. This Agri-Fab boasts “infinite” height adjustments making it easy to find just the right height for most lawns and grass lengths.

Overall the consensus is this product was easy to assemble. As with most tow-behind sweepers or tow behind aerator, it will take a while to get used to how fast to pull for optimal results. But hey, it still beats raking!

Users have noted that this sweeper is great for dry leaves, larger pine needles, small pine cones and dry grass. Although picking up anything wet seems to be hard work for this sweeper. But honestly, we haven’t seen one yet that picks up anything wet. There’s no doubt if you have a large lawn, this baby could save you a week in raking leaves. Oh, and did we mention you don’t even have to get out of your seat to empty it?

Pros: Great capacity (12 cubic feet), rip-stop vinyl for resisting wear and tear, easy dumping from tractor.
Cons: Large size requires more room for storage (but honestly, if you’ve got a big yard and tractor, you should have the room)
Price: Sales for around $270