Best Commercial Mulching Mower for Nebraska

[Conn0r33]

When you look at mowing companies that start to broaden their business from small big box store equipment they always go for a commercial walk behind mower. Why? Because there's no yard that it can not tackle. When they make enough money with it then they step up to larger more expensive ride on equipment to handle the lager yards that they were not being as productive on with a walk behind mower. But if you stick to smaller yards you'll never have that worry. And you'll always have the equipment to service those types of clients. On another note you should keep up with the amount of time you spend at each yard from start to finish and use simple math to find out if you're making the money you are looking to make on each individual property.

Thank you so much! I make about $20-30 an hour mostly closer to 20 because with such small equipment if I wanted to make more i would be pricing myself out of my market and not land many jobs. That's why I want to upgrade to increase my productivity and make more per hour without raising prices.

If I have a sulky attached and for example let's say im on a steep hill mowing horizontally would the sulky pivot on whatever it is attached to and sort of slide down the hill or a least be lower and the mower at a higher level on the hill? If so and I step off and just walk behind would i have to walk around the sulky and try not to trip on it or is there some way of keeping it out of my way?

 

[LoCo86]

Thank you so much! I make about $20-30 an hour mostly closer to 20 because with such small equipment if I wanted to make more i would be pricing myself out of my market and not land many jobs. That's why I want to upgrade to increase my productivity and make more per hour without raising prices. If I have a sulky attached and for example let's say im on a steep hill mowing horizontally would the sulky pivot on whatever it is attached to and sort of slide down the hill or a least be lower and the mower at a higher level on the hill? If so and I step off and just walk behind would i have to walk around the sulky and try not to trip on it or is there some way of keeping it out of my way?

There are tricks to using a sulky and you will figure them all out as you go. When using one on a hill side you will have to go slow if you are standing on it. Or you can lift it onto a hook while you mow the hill and just let it down when you're back to flatter ground or you can just walk beside it on the downhill side, which I probably not recommended but you do what you have to. And there's a few more. Seems like a hassle but it's not bad at all. Personally I prefer walk behinds over any type of mower but I only use exmark walk behinds because I feel like they have the best design followed by snapper pro/ferris.

 

[Ric]

Ok thanks!
So I guess I should change my thread name because this is my new question. I need a mower that can handle any job because I don't want to have to turn down work because of something like a hill. I'm planning on running either one 21" mower and a larger commercial mower whatever the members recommend. Or two 21" push mowers and a larger commercial mower. Or a 21" and a Toro Timemaster and a larger commercial mower.
So I need one mower to handle almost every job but if it's super small I have it covered with one of the push mowers. So my question is.
What is the most versatile commercial mower that is an extremely awesome mulcher?

If you were to buy a stander you wouldn't have to worry about hills. I've been using the Toro Grandstand for the last three seasons and it's actually better on hills than a sit down ZTR. I mean really a ZTR is rated for a 15 degree slope while a Toro Grandstand is Rated for a 20 degree slope so that alone will tell you which is better on a slope and you can look at the pdf file on line for each. If you use the GS as a WB it's not awkward to drive if you've never used a wb with a sulky. It's also one of the most productive mowers you can buy. As far as losing traction with a stander goes, you can lose traction on any ztr or lawn tractor you can buy but I've never lost traction on the grandstand because I was off the Flex Ride Platform I mean really the mower weighs in at 756 lbs without a rider

 

[Ric]

I know 21s are horrible for a primary mower I have to use them.
I'm not asking asking how much I should charge I know how much I charge. I charge by the hour with expenses. I'm just asking how much another company would charge for an acre property. What do your competitors charge? What would you say is the average price for an acre because I have absolutely no idea I can't just walk up to some company's guys and ask how much they get for a lawn. I'm in the small lawn market so I know what the going rate is for a 7,000 sq ft property because that's my area. But I would really like to know how much my competition is getting for something like an acre or half an acre or more. I know a guy who only runs large ZTRs and does large properties but I have no idea how much he or anyone gets. That's why I'm asking you because you mow larger properties. you know how much you and your competition is getting. I mean if they get a ton of money i would like to know because that would tell me that larger properties are better and maybe I should switch to that.

Thanks.

Thank you so much! I make about $20-30 an hour mostly closer to 20 because with such small equipment if I wanted to make more i would be pricing myself out of my market and not land many jobs. That's why I want to upgrade to increase my productivity and make more per hour without raising prices.

If I have a sulky attached and for example let's say im on a steep hill mowing horizontally would the sulky pivot on whatever it is attached to and sort of slide down the hill or a least be lower and the mower at a higher level on the hill? If so and I step off and just walk behind would i have to walk around the sulky and try not to trip on it or is there some way of keeping it out of my way?

How much another company will charge will very so much from area to area it's hard for me to say. Like I said the going rate is a dollar a minute but larger company's are going to use a 48" or larger ZTR and if there are other expenses for trimming or edging there added to the cost.

Some company's charge by the sq.ft or so much per 1000 sq.ft. plus expenses. The differences in price locally can very drastically. Here if your in say the Orlando area for an acre you can get $60 but go to West Palm or Palm Beach and that same acre could cost you double or triple that because those guys are in a money area.

If it really concerns you to know what your competitors are charging get on the phone and ask, call them and ask them what they would charge to cut your home with an acre of property and call three or four of those guys and tell them your just wanting a ballpark figure and see what they say. Then you'll know the going rate for your area.

I can tell you this if your pushing a lawn for $20 your crazy. I wouldn't touch a quarter acre lawn with a push mower for less than $35 a cut and I'd be using a TM 30" or an Exmark 30" push, you'd up your productivity like 40% over a 21"

 

[Conn0r33]

How much another company will charge will very so much from area to area it's hard for me to say. Like I said the going rate is a dollar a minute but larger company's are going to use a 48" or larger ZTR and if there are other expenses for trimming or edging there added to the cost.

Some company's charge by the sq.ft or so much per 1000 sq.ft. plus expenses. The differences in price locally can very drastically. Here if your in say the Orlando area for an acre you can get $60 but go to West Palm or Palm Beach and that same acre could cost you double or triple that because those guys are in a money area.

If it really concerns you to know what your competitors are charging get on the phone and ask, call them and ask them what they would charge to cut your home with an acre of property and call three or four of those guys and tell them your just wanting a ballpark figure and see what they say. Then you'll know the going rate for your area.

I can tell you this if your pushing a lawn for $20 your crazy. I wouldn't touch a quarter acre lawn with a push mower for less than $35 a cut and I'd be using a TM 30" or an Exmark 30" push, you'd up your productivity like 40% over a 21"

Ok thanks that answers my question.

 

[Conn0r33]

If you were to buy a stander you wouldn't have to worry about hills. I've been using the Toro Grandstand for the last three seasons and it's actually better on hills than a sit down ZTR. I mean really a ZTR is rated for a 15 degree slope while a Toro Grandstand is Rated for a 20 degree slope so that alone will tell you which is better on a slope and you can look at the pdf file on line for each. If you use the GS as a WB it's not awkward to drive if you've never used a wb with a sulky. It's also one of the most productive mowers you can buy. As far as losing traction with a stander goes, you can lose traction on any ztr or lawn tractor you can buy but I've never lost traction on the grandstand because I was off the Flex Ride Platform I mean really the mower weighs in at 756 lbs without a rider

Ok thanks. So between a WB, stander, and a zero turn what will be the least likely to rut up a lawn if I ever have to mow in damp conditions? I heard that a stander might make ruts easier because their all their weight is centered on their back wheels and that it might slink in a little more because all or most of its widget is on it's back wheels.

 

[Ric]

Ok thanks. So between a WB, stander, and a zero turn what will be the least likely to rut up a lawn if I ever have to mow in damp conditions? I heard that a stander might make ruts easier because their all their weight is centered on their back wheels and that it might slink in a little more because all or most of its widget is on it's back wheels.

Any mower is capable of making ruts. The weight is center with the engine on a stander. The or my Grandstand comes in @ 756 lbs the Z Master ztr comes in @ 926 lbs. I would assume a comparable size WB would go about the same weight as the Grandstand.

The thing is that if you have two lawns sitting side by side and one individual waters three times a week you can do them with the same mower and the property that's watered will rut worse than the other. I've mowed lawns with my 170lb Turf-Master push mower and left ruts on a wet lawn. You can minimize the rutting by changing mowing direction.

A Stander type mower for me is the best all around mower you can have, the Grandstand in particular stands out above the others IMO because you have a lower center of gravity than the others and the option of picking up the flex ride platform and using it as a walk behind and it will cut anything you need to cut.

The productivity of the mower is much better than the regular sit down ztr or walk behind. Its ability to turn easily, get in and out of tight spaces, and quickly get on and off the mower to pick up debris or move obstacles out of the way saves time and contributes to the In lawn-care time is money thing.

 

[Conn0r33]

Any mower is capable of making ruts. The weight is center with the engine on a stander. The or my Grandstand comes in @ 756 lbs the Z Master ztr comes in @ 926 lbs. I would assume a comparable size WB would go about the same weight as the Grandstand.

The thing is that if you have two lawns sitting side by side and one individual waters three times a week you can do them with the same mower and the property that's watered will rut worse than the other. I've mowed lawns with my 170lb Turf-Master push mower and left ruts on a wet lawn. You can minimize the rutting by changing mowing direction.

A Stander type mower for me is the best all around mower you can have, the Grandstand in particular stands out above the others IMO because you have a lower center of gravity than the others and the option of picking up the flex ride platform and using it as a walk behind and it will cut anything you need to cut.

The productivity of the mower is much better than the regular sit down ztr or walk behind. Its ability to turn easily, get in and out of tight spaces, and quickly get on and off the mower to pick up debris or move obstacles out of the way saves time and contributes to the In lawn-care time is money thing.

So it doesn't really matter what mower I choose they all are about the same when it comes to ruts? I change directions every time I mow.
I would absolutely love to buy the grandstand but I can't afford it. :frown: And I have a dealer that is only about a mile away from me so I would prefer to buy from him than some other shop that is 30 minutes away. For commercial mowers that aren't just ZTRs they have Toro and Snapper Pro. So if I want a stand on I would have to get a GrandStand. I LOVE Toro but I just can't afford Toro. But Snapper Pro only makes WB and Ztrs. I could also go with Grasshopper but they only make ZTRs.

 

[Ric]

So it doesn't really matter what mower I choose they all are about the same when it comes to ruts? I change directions every time I mow.
I would absolutely love to buy the grandstand but I can't afford it. :frown: And I have a dealer that is only about a mile away from me so I would prefer to buy from him than some other shop that is 30 minutes away. For commercial mowers that aren't just ZTRs they have Toro and Snapper Pro. So if I want a stand on I would have to get a GrandStand. I LOVE Toro but I just can't afford Toro. But Snapper Pro only makes WB and Ztrs. I could also go with Grasshopper but they only make ZTRs.

Yes there are a lot of standers by different manufacturers Gravely, Dixie chopper, Wright, John Deere which is a Wright painted green, Worldlawn makes the most reasonable priced stander @ $5999 along with the Rage by Encore. BadBoy also has a stander. Any Stander you buy isn't going to be cheap. Have you thought about going to Toro and trying to get there 0% financing, if you come up with enough of a down payment the payments will be reasonable. Right now I think Toro is offering $300 off the price of there standers.


http://www.worldlawn.com/stand-on/venom-wys52fx730v/


Rage - Encore

 

[Conn0r33]

Yes there are a lot of standers by different manufacturers Gravely, Dixie chopper, Wright, John Deere which is a Wright painted green, Worldlawn makes the most reasonable priced stander @ $5999 along with the Rage by Encore. BadBoy also has a stander. Any Stander you buy isn't going to be cheap. Have you thought about going to Toro and trying to get there 0% financing, if you come up with enough of a down payment the payments will be reasonable. Right now I think Toro is offering $300 off the price of there standers.


http://www.worldlawn.com/stand-on/venom-wys52fx730v/


Rage - Encore

Ok I really want toro. But like I said I'm only 17 years old. I don't want to spend ALL of my money on a mower I would like to have some of advertising and other things. I would buy a toro if I was making a lot of money but to spend a whole years worth of payments on one mower seems like a lot not to mention I've already spent some of the money on other equipment. I would like to wait on even thinking about a stand on until i can post pictures of the hills I have. They aren't huge but I just want to be sure.