My lawn is crap. And in my brilliant plan to restore it to lawnyness this year has in aeration in the plan. I am also cheap and am trying to avoid paying someone who knows what they are doing.
Has anybody rented one of them(plugs not spikes) from Home Depot, or Lowes or etc.? Any guesses if one will really fit in an Outback? Would it be impossible to load solo?
They are heavy, around 300 lbs at least if memory serves. I was thinking about renting one again earlier this week, but on reflection farmed it out. Wrestling to load/unload p 300+ lb equipment is not a fun solo project, and then you still have to d the actual aerating.
The weight very much depends on the type.
The one I rented from HD several years ago had a heavy bar under the motor. Take that off and it’s like a heavy, awkward to move, rototiller. I managed to get it in and out of my Mazda 323 hatchback. This had a high lip to get over. So a board to ramp it up/down to the bumper then a big lift to get it over the lip.
Went over the lawn several times. Worked well except where there were tree roots.
But still a pain. I’m having some trees removed and come fall I’ll just hire it out.
There are also the type with a steamroller-style barrel. You fill that with water for weight.
The aerator won’t do all that much that you can’t accomplish with water, fertilizer and weeding. It won’t hurt anything but I doubt it helps much.
I took the ultimate cheapskate way out. Purchased golf spikes at a yard sale and wore them as I walked back and forth over the lawn.
Our lawn looks fine. Then again, it has always looked fine.
First of all you’re smart. Spikes are a really bad idea, and you’ll just compact the soil even more. Plug aeration is the way to go. I do it every couple of years here in the AZ where I don’t want the money I spend on water to run off into the street.
They’re heavy as a bitch. Sometimes they have removable weights to help with lifting.
But I used to be in the biz and here’s what we’d tell people. Get your neighborhood together and you all rent the thing. Cuts down on cost, you’ve got loading/unloading help. If you have willing neighbors, of course.
IDK what HD rents out-I think the Ryan units are the best. If you have sprinklers be sure to mark them. I’m glad you’re thinking aeration, it’s really one of the single best things you can do for yard and turf help.
Water the lawn before aerating to soften the soil. You want the aerator to penetrate 3 or 4 inches.
I rented a gas powered aerator from Home Despot last year. It fit into the hatch of my elderly Ford Focus without issue. The handle collapses down similar to how a lawnmower does. The HD guy and I were able to load it, and my wife and I were able to unload/load it. It’s heavy but not impossible for 2 able bodied people.
The only issue I had, was that on the way home with the aerator in the hatch, the wheel chocks I used to secure the aerator came loose. I used the removable weights DummyGladHands mentions as wheel chocks. Accelerating away from a green light, the aerator rolled backwards quite violently, and smashed my back window. I spent about 150 replacing the back window, which erased any savings from aerating my tiny back yard myself. :( The hatch itself was also tweaked by the impact, and now it squeaks when driving over bumps. %$&@#!
My local Home Depot charges $89 per day or $69 for four hour minimum to rent an aerator. Local lawn service charged me $60 to aerate the lawn.
Just be sure to ask for an “air-ee-ay-tor” so folks know what you’re talking about. 
Rent a tool and do it yourself or hire someone? Round these parts, I can hire someone with their own aerator for $100 to $150 to perform a single pass aeration. A days rental costs between $80 and $90. For $30, I don’t have to break my ass.
I disagree. I think that aerating is the single most important thing you can do for your lawn.
Did it myself once with a rented plug aerator from HD. Lot slightly under a half acre, with a slope in the back. A real workout muscling that thing around the yard, I was sore for a week. Never again.
Solved my problem by moving to AZ, where I never have to aerate (or mow, or fertilize) the decorative gravel.
Thanks for the input folks, the comments like these make me think pro is the way to go after all.
I’ll call around the weekend and see what locals have for quotes.
Note: Be VERY attentive. When those machines are moving, they have pretty much the ultimate traction. Not like a lawn mower that you can just hold onto to stop.
Also if you have a sprinkler system, flag the heads.
If your lawn is on the small side, there’s a pitchfork-like device called a Coring Aerator you can buy for a very reasonable price.
I agree with most of the comments so far: the one I rented was heavy but it fit in an SUV, but renting it wasn’t really much cheaper than the folks who come down our street offering to aerate one’s lawn.