John Deere 17P Utility Cart Review

The John Deere 17P dump cart is tough as nails and built to haul heavy loads with relative ease.

A foot pedal dump release and lightweight poly design are real pluses.

Despite its higher price, the quality and durability make it a solid value.

I use this utility cart nearly every day and it has never let me down.

How many times have you needed to haul anything from firewood to dirt, rock, mulch or anything else for that matter, and didn’t have a good utility cart to help you with the job?

A utility cart is simply one of those must-have pieces of equipment for anyone who works in their yard or needs to carry things from one place to the other.

During this past year I was looking to replace my old home-built utility cart with something that would last much longer than a couple of years.

The old cart was rotting out and literally falling apart from heavy use. Here’s what I mean…

While talking to the guys over at our John Deere dealership one day, I noticed they had a nice-looking John Deere 17P Poly Utility Cart sitting there. After looking it over and checking out how it worked and what it could handle, I decided that it was exactly what I needed around the property.

Key Features Of The John Deere 17P Utility Cart Review

• 1,000 lb. Weight Capacity

Having a larger weight capacity is one of the areas that caught my attention.

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make in selecting a cart is not getting one with a higher weight capacity.

When John Deere states that this cart can handle 1000 pounds, they mean it.

In fact, I’ve had a few loads that I know exceeded that limit.

It will haul just about anything you can imagine. I use it to haul limbs, brush, gravel, logs, large rocks, bags of concrete and more. I’ve even used it to move furniture from a storage shed to the house.

• Poly Cart Bed

With a poly bed you’ll never have to be concerned with it rusting out or denting.

I’ve put this cart through quite a bit of abuse over the past year without any sign of damage.

It’s seen its share of driveway gravel, large rocks, logs, cement blocks and bricks without any issues. A steel cart would have dented all over and started to rust by now.

Another big plus with having a polyethylene bed is the lighter weight.

It’s so easy to maneuver around that our 9-year old son hooks and unhooks it with ease.

When it’s empty you can literally push or pull it around with one hand.

John Deere has added pockets around the sides for placing stakes when hauling brush and other material that would normally fall over the sides without them.

They work well, but I find it easier to use a smaller rope that is knotted in the middle on one side and then when loaded, gets put over the limbs and tied on the other side.

• Foot Pedal Dump Release

Using the foot pedal to dump any load makes the job much easier.

You won’t get worn out from having to shovel out material from inside the cart.

One negative that I often see mentioned is that this cart has no tailgate and will often leave dirt, mulch or other material sitting on the backwall of the cart.

I’ve heard a few complaints about having to shovel out the remaining dirt or rock instead of it being fully dumped.

This hasn’t really bothered me. I found that you can get the cart fully emptied by driving forward a bit and letting the remaining material come out on its own. This does the trick in most cases.

Of course, there are advantages to not having a removable tailgate. You don’t have to mess with it or misplace it. Yes, I’ve had the tailgate bounce off our older cart before and had to go around looking for it.

• Bigger 16 x 6.5 inch Tires

Most carts in this size generally have smaller tires on them, which often fail when hauling heavier loads.

I went through a half-dozen tires on my old cart due to the tread separating and other issues.

The larger tires on the 17P can easily handle these heavier loads.

They also hold up better than I expected.

In most cases I tow this cart with an ATV on a quarter-mile gravel drive. It will often be going much faster than it would by being towed by riding lawnmower or smaller garden tractor. The tires have never failed after heavy use.

Pros

1. Polyethylene body will never rust or dent
2. 1,000 lb. hauling capacity means you can haul anything you want
3. Toughest cart we’ve ever used – you won’t be wearing it out
4. Easy-to-use foot pedal dump release
5. It’s made in the U.S.A.

Cons

1. No removable tailgate
2. Can be a little noisy when pulled empty behind an ATV
3. Not the cheapest by any stretch

Bottom Line

I have to say that overall, this John Deere 17P cart has been a good addition for us.

While not perfect, it has hauled everything asked of it without any problems. That in itself is half the battle right there.

If a rugged, durable and well-constructed utility cart is what you need, this 17P is up to the task.