Agri-Fab 45-0492 44" Tow-Behind Lawn Sweeper, 25 cu. ft Hopper Bag Capacity; Leaf & Grass Catcher, with Adjustable Brush Height and Dump From Seat Handle

After reading numerous reviews, I was initially unsure about purchasing a tow-behind sweeper. In the end, I decided to go with an Agri-Fab, and I’m pleased with my choice. The unit arrived quickly, and assembly was a breeze—I had it fully set up in about an hour. Finding the right height took a few test runs, but once adjusted, I was ready to tackle my acre-sized lawn.I was impressed with how well it picked up wet grass, leaving my yard looking neat and well-maintained. After just one use, I’m happy with my purchase.However, I do have some concerns about the durability of the catcher bag, as others have mentioned. The corners, particularly where they meet the sweeper body, lack reinforcement, which could lead to wear and tear over time. I also wish there were a way to disable the sweeper while towing it to my mowing area, as I find the bag is already a quarter full by the time I start. On the plus side, it does an excellent job of sweeping wherever I go!After my first use, I’ve already noticed some fabric stress and scuffing on the bag, which makes me question its long-term durability. I may need to reinforce it with patches to extend its lifespan.

This purchase is my best so far. My only complaints: I’m not a fan of the Clevis pin assembly, but I understand for a collapsed storage it is necessary. I think the kit should be modified to accommodate a cover over the dump hinge point to keep from the pivot point in place. Also, a couple warnings about this unit. It’s good. Really good. There’s no way to turn off the brush. If you’re pulling it, it’s picking up. You drive it across your gravel driveway, you have a basket of rock. I have an acre of property, with lots of pine trees. It’ll pull the pine straw and pine cones up in one pass. Picks up sticks, dog poop, trash, right down to the dirt. It’s adjustable to fit your needs.

It's built well. Very sturdy, but the assembly instructions are horrible! Read and re-read all the pictures before starting. Absolutely no written instructions, it's all pictures without labels. Also, two people are better than one to assemble the product.

A well made unit made in the USA, but the bag is flimsy and made in China. My suggestion to all interested in buying this unit to read all the reviews. Especially the Negatives ones to be aware of problems that come with almost any product. That way you possibly will be able to avoid the pitfalls in knowing up front. The bag material is lightweight, it's frame is lightweight and the support rods that hold the bag open pop out and get lost. I added tough nylon reinforce. tape around the small rods at their top to the upper tubing frame of the bag in case they popped out. (they did pop out at the bottom, but never got lost.) I never over loaded the bag to put too much stress on the frame, but I'm thinking on adding maybe extra bracing to strengthen the frame later on (I was in a hurry at the time to get this unit together and picking up) I did make a cover to give extra protection to the outside bottom of the bag using cheap tarp from HF. I check when done picking up that day. I couldn't find any wear on the tarp to justify if it was needed but I was just picking up fairly light thatch and the bag never touched the ground. Still the tarp was cheap and easy to cover the bottom and I will leave it on. Probably the most important negative of the product is the plastic gear teeth in the wheels that can break. I don't know what can be done to prevent this from happening except I feel that lowering the brushes to low into the grass and them not turning has to be the most likely the cause of this. Setting the brushes just to touching the grass by looking down into the unit as you set their height is a good way to get the setting right. I think people may try to get the unit to pick up more by lowering the brushes too deep to get more of a pickup and would be better making an extra passes if needed than pushing their luck. Checking the wheels as you start pulling the unit to make sure they are turning and not scooting is a good thought to prevent this. The hitch on the unit comes with two large spacers that depending on the height of your mower hitch is awkward in making the connection, but adding a strip of duct tape around the two spacers putting them together is less of a hassle when hooking up. I found that storage of this unit to be easier and take up less space if you remove the bag from the unit. Release the two support rods that hold the bag upright allows the bag to be flattened. (putting like a little duct tape over the end of the rods will keep them from punching a hole in the bag is wise too). The two arms on the unit which allows you to attach or remove the bag can be folded inward if you remove the upper pin on each side and pivot the arms inward next to the brushes. Putting those pins back into the holes of the body with their clips for storage will keep them from getting lost. I'm giving this a 5 star because of how great it preformed, and the solid construction of the body. If after finding out later on that this turns into a problem with breakage from the plastic tooth wheels (no matter how careful I am of setting the height right) I will downgrade my review.Update: Still doing great. I am still convinced that setting the brushes too deep into your grass is the reason for the broken teeth in the gear that runs the wheels/ brushes. My setting that seems safe is 7 holes from the top. I found that the two rods that suppose to hold the bag spread in the rear are just too easy to come out and then get dumped with the leaves. Checking each time you dump to see if they are missing will help in finding them if they do fall out. I will look later in the spring to see what can be done about them. I mentioned earlier about folding the arms that allows the bag to be attached to the unit. Swapping out the pins that go into the holes of the arms when in place with a pin that just has a button in place of using clips makes easier to put them in and pull them out. Adding a spring clamp to the two arms in the middle after folding them inward keeps them in place without them falling back in your way during storage. Adding pics to show you what I did to help explain all this.UPDATE: I just got thru sweeping up the lawn of leaves and now after six years I have no complaints. Trust me you will never regret buying it.

Don't make the same mistake I did, The unit that looks like this but for much less money was broken in less that 2 hours of use. I had purchased this one in the past and have just purchased a second unit. This thing does a great job for spring and Fall cleanups. You get what you pay for, a lesson I should have remembered.