Lawn Mower Storage Caddy

How to Build DIY Storage for Lawn Mower

It’s July and grass is in full-on grow and mow mode. And with that comes a big ole lawn mower taking up space in your garage or shed. For most models, about the only way you can consolidate space is by folding the handles over.

But I came up with this, um, unique way to store a traditional push mower. I call it a lawn mower caddy.

It has a small ramp to help you get the lawn mower up on the platform. And with the lawn mower up off the floor you now have space underneath the mower to store other various yard tools, gas cans, etc.

Materials

• 4’x8’x1/2″ plywood
• 2x4s
• 2x2s
• speed square*
• tape measure
• pencil
• straight edge, like a 4′ level
• clamps
• circular saw
• drill/driver
• 3″ exterior screws
• 1 5/8″ exterior screws
• jigsaw
• slip-resistant treads
• lawn mower, duh

Measure Twice

First things first. Since we were building this contraption specifically for Howard’s mower, we measured it to get a perfect fit. (If you don’t know who Howard is, be sure to watch the video above!) Front to back (tire to tire) was 33 inches and side to side (from outside of tires) was 22 inches. But that’s not what we used to make our cuts.

The final top of the caddy will have 2x2s around all 4 sides to keep the mower from rolling off. So we had to add those dimensions to the overall length and width.

To create the frame we made 2 u-shaped pieces using 2x4s. The cut list is below, but I’ll explain how we got those dimensions so you can adjust them to fit your mower. For the length, the mower was 33 inches. Plus the width of (2) 2x2s meant we needed it to be 38 inches. (2x2s aren’t exactly 2 inches thick, but we wanted a some breathing room too.) But the other 2x4s were going to be on the outside of this 2×4, so we subtracted twice their width (3.5 inches) to get our cut length of 31″.

For the width, our final dimension was 26 inches after accounting for the 2x2s. So those were cut at 26 inches.

We just made up the overall finished height, figuring 16 inches would be adequate to store many different things underneath. So to get our vertical cut height, we subtracted the thickness (1.5″ each) of (2) 2x4s to get 13 inches.

Cut List

2x4s:

• (2) 31 inches
• (4) 26 inches
• (4) 13 inches

plywood:

• 38×26 inches
• 26×22 inches

2x2s:

• (2) 38 inches
• (1) 23 inches
• (2) 22 inches
• (1) 21 inches
• (2) 16 inches
• (2) 13 inches

Assembly

We decided to attach a 2×2 to the 2 vertical 2x4s for extra support in the corners.

Don’t forget to watch the video above for all of the nitty gritty details, like where to cut a notch in the 2x2s with a jigsaw and how everything got assembled together!

The ramp at the back of the caddy is the same width as the platform but with a shorter length to save as much space as possible. Its final dimensions were 26×22 inches. It also had the 2×2 border on the side edges. The pieces for the ramp are included in the cut list above.

We figured out the angle at the top of the 16″ 2x2s using a speed square and then a circular saw set at the same degree to cut them. These are supports for the ramp where it meets the 2×4 legs of the platform. (This is best explained in the video above.)

Once everything was assembled together, we added some adhesive slip-resistant treads to the ramp to assist the mower tires in the climb and knock off any dirt leftover.

Lawn Mower

Now might be a good time to mention what’s so special about this lawn mower that we built a throne for it. As you can see in the opening shots of the episode, Howard’s yard is an incline. Not easy to mow for your typical walk-behind mower. But the Lawn-Boy mower Howard and his son Howie used is self-propelled. So it’s doing most of the work, they just have to guide it. But what’s even cooler is that it’s all-wheel drive. Just like an all-wheel drive vehicle, the front tires are working just as hard as the back tires which really helps it move up a hill like nobody’s business.
(This video post is sponsored by Lawn-Boy. All opinions are 100% my own.)

Speaking of hills…before we pushed the mower up to its new “storage pavilion” (I keep coming up with new names for this thing!), we took some of Howard’s yard tools from around the shed and stored them under the mower. Things like a chainsaw, hedge trimmer and gas cans fit under it perfectly, freeing up space in other parts of the shed for more tools and toys!

So now not only is it easy for Howard to mow his lawn, it’s also smooth sailing when it’s time to store his lawn mower as well!

Thanks for Checking In! ~ Chelsea

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