Listen, never trust a car guy who tells you they’ve actually got their finger on the pulse of what’s cool at this very moment in the automotive world. Car culture is too big, too sprawling for that. But it’s true that we at The Drive noticed earlier this year that off-road riding lawn mower builds were becoming a thing for some reason, and I’m here to report that it looks like the trend is continuing unabated.
Witness the flex of one Jaymes Davis, who posted this video on TikTok of his much-modified, four-wheel-drive riding mower named “Bowser.” Painted rattle-can green, Bowser uses a lot of nicely-welded pipe, a three-speed Saginaw transmission, a Toyota transfer case, a custom four-link suspension and a couple of axles that may or may not have come from an old Jeep. Plus a racing seat.
“OK, so you got a lawnmower,” Davis says. “It’s got an 18-horsepower Briggs & Stratton. It’s got 38-inch boggers, and it’s actually got four-link suspension. How does it flex, you ask?” I didn’t, but now I’m curious. Fortunately, Davis has both an Instagram page and a YouTube channel with plenty of answers.
What we are witnessing here may well be part of a trend, as stylish as underbody lighting or eight wheels per car: Off-road lawn mowers. We told you about this in August, and they just keep coming, but Bowser, complete with a little dog face painted under the name, is remarkable in its straightforward simplicity.
Ryley Kesslar, another off-road-mower fan, spokes to us three months ago about his less-ambitious ride, called Musty, which has a light rack and a winch on the front. “Growing up as a kid I couldn’t afford [trucks] yet so I bought myself a ride-on mower,” Kesslar told The Drive at the time. “After watching some videos as a kid I said, ‘One day I’m gonna build an off-road lawn mower!’ Well about a year ago a couple lawn mowers piped up for sale and boom we bought them and started working!”
Boswer, with all-wheel-drive, is more sophisticated than most off-road riding mowers, since it needs a driveshaft running to the front wheels. Which is also painted rattle-can green.
So, how does it flex?
“It’s not hurtin’ for flex by no means,” Jaymes Davis pronounces.
“It pulls these tires really nicely. I am a big fan of this unit.”
As am I. A final trip to Jaymes’ TikTok page shows he’s got at least one other mower-buggy in the works. We say, keep the weird off-road toys coming thick and fast.
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