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Whats everybody do when the grass and leaf season is over to keep from going crazy all winter?:laughing:

mowerman05 said:

Whats everybody do when the grass and leaf season is over to keep from going crazy all winter?:laughing:

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For me I have couple of small tree jobs to do and some underbrush to clear. But where I live winter only last about 2.5 months then it's time to jump start mowing season with spring clean up. But for the most part I will be spending time in the workshop cleaning it out and getting my equipment winterized and ready for next season and painting and putting new boards on my trailer. Also I might buy a few more pieces of power equipment.

"Non-mowing season" here is around 3.5 months, so I need to find something to do. :laughing: I plan on expanding my snow removal business, and might buy some more small equipment.

mowerman05 said:

Whats everybody do when the grass and leaf season is over to keep from going crazy all winter?:laughing:

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me i have a small engine shop so i work on snow blowers and fix up stuff to sell in the spring

lawn mower fanatic said:

"Non-mowing season" here is around 3.5 months, so I need to find something to do. :laughing: I plan on expanding my snow removal business, and might buy some more small equipment.

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buy a quad or a lawn tractor! put a plow or a snow blower front end on it! and then get a trailer to haul around like a shovel, salt, and your snowblower just in case! and gas. dont want to forget gas.

mowerman05 said:

Whats everybody do when the grass and leaf season is over to keep from going crazy all winter?:laughing:

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Now come you live in Michigan. Move snow.

I have a couple wood jobs but they usually end around Christmas time because i already have all the wood that is needed cut and split. but this year i have a big job where i have the potential to cut like 6-8 chords of wood. there is a bunch of dead trees at one of my buddys neighbors house that she wants cut down and split for firewood. since they are all dead they are good and seasoned so i just basically have to cut wood when she is nearing the end of her pile. its sill a good size job for one person. i think i will have to charge by the hour though. kind of big to estimate.

metz12 said:

buy a quad or a lawn tractor! put a plow or a snow blower front end on it! and then get a trailer to haul around like a shovel, salt, and your snowblower just in case! and gas. dont want to forget gas.

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I will be getting a trailer of some sort, but, though I really want a larger piece of equipment, I don't think a lawn tractor would help much once grass cutting season hits. It would need to be a ZTR. And by this time I am used to walking a lot, so my snowblower is fine. :laughing: I do want a small backup Toro snowblower, but I am still trying to "break even" with the Craftsman.

lawn mower fanatic said:

I will be getting a trailer of some sort, but, though I really want a larger piece of equipment, I don't think a lawn tractor would help much once grass cutting season hits. It would need to be a ZTR. And by this time I am used to walking a lot, so my snowblower is fine. :laughing: I do want a small backup Toro snowblower, but I am still trying to "break even" with the Craftsman.

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have you checked craigslist? you might be able to find something used cheap. and it might be cheaper and bigger then one of those toros. i'm thinking about getting a snowblower too. my craftsman i dont think wants to plow because the starter just went in the thing! like 75bucks for a new one! i think today i might try to put a pull start on it! Easy Emergency Pull Start for Offroad and Racing Mowers - YouTube

lawn mower fanatic said:

I will be getting a trailer of some sort, but, though I really want a larger piece of equipment, I don't think a lawn tractor would help much once grass cutting season hits. It would need to be a ZTR. And by this time I am used to walking a lot, so my snowblower is fine. :laughing: I do want a small backup Toro snowblower, but I am still trying to "break even" with the Craftsman.

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What will you be towing the trailer with?

metz12 said:

have you checked craigslist? you might be able to find something used cheap. and it might be cheaper and bigger then one of those toros. i'm thinking about getting a snowblower too. my craftsman i dont think wants to plow because the starter just went in the thing! like 75bucks for a new one! i think today i might try to put a pull start on it! Easy Emergency Pull Start for Offroad and Racing Mowers - YouTube

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You might be able to get that starter rebuilt for a lot less than $75. I know there is a place around here that rebuilds them.

D2hornets58 said:

What will you be towing the trailer with?


You might be able to get that starter rebuilt for a lot less than $75. I know there is a place around here that rebuilds them.

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well i originally wanted to rebuild mine, but i cant find any parts for it. i was hoping it was the solenoid so i could just jump it from the starter but its not. the whole starter is fried.

metz12 said:

well i originally wanted to rebuild mine, but i cant find any parts for it. i was hoping it was the solenoid so i could just jump it from the starter but its not. the whole starter is fried.

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Yeah its probably hard to find parts for those. Are you planning on plowing with that this year?

D2hornets58 said:

Yeah its probably hard to find parts for those. Are you planning on plowing with that this year?

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thats what i had hoped. i reinforced my plow mount and everything. im really thinking about how i can do the pull start with my tractor. might save me a little cash.

briggs said:

me i have a small engine shop so i work on snow blowers and fix up stuff to sell in the spring

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Yep same here our non-mowing season is about 4 to 4.5 months so I tinker around in the shop, and fix a few mowers for customers. I dont work on them as much as I use too I even had a little 90cc atv a few weeks ago. I had to put a new fuel tank, and carb on it but it was something to do to keep busy.:thumbsup:

D2hornets58 said:

What will you be towing the trailer with?


You might be able to get that starter rebuilt for a lot less than $75. I know there is a place around here that rebuilds them.

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Some sort of vehicle, not a garden tractor. It will probably be 5x8.

lawn mower fanatic said:

Some sort of vehicle, not a garden tractor. It will probably be 5x8.

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what like a truck?

mowerman05 said:

Whats everybody do when the grass and leaf season is over to keep from going crazy all winter?:laughing:

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Mulch as many leaves as possible. Trim a lot of shrubbery, get up Pinestraw and bale it to sell for beds. Put straw in beds. :wink:

Hope we have an early Spring to get back to cutting grass.

metz12 said:

what like a truck?

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By the way I finally found a plow for my truck Metz

metz12 said:

what like a truck?

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Yeah or even a car--it can pull a light trailer! :thumbsup:

D2hornets58 said:

By the way I finally found a plow for my truck Metz

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did you get it? and how much? what kind?

metz12 said:

did you get it? and how much? what kind?

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Ya i got it but im just waiting for the guy to find the push plates. Its a fisher speedcast. I got everything for $500.

lawn mower fanatic said:

Yeah or even a car--it can pull a light trailer! :thumbsup:

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get something 4x4, awd, or even a front wheel drive car. i like the older 2wd chevy trucks too. they last forever but they are terrible in the snow. my dads s10 which just ran up for inspection and it wont pass because of rust. but the thing i believe has like 280k on it. still runs great too. it will do a brakestand no problem too. i dont know, i have a 98 cherokee now and i like it. i dont like working on it because the straight 6 is crammed in the engine compartment, but its a good car. i am more partial to gm and toyota.

metz12 said:

get something 4x4, awd, or even a front wheel drive car. i like the older 2wd chevy trucks too. they last forever but they are terrible in the snow. my dads s10 which just ran up for inspection and it wont pass because of rust. but the thing i believe has like 280k on it. still runs great too. it will do a brakestand no problem too. i dont know, i have a 98 cherokee now and i like it. i dont like working on it because the straight 6 is crammed in the engine compartment, but its a good car. i am more partial to gm and toyota.

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Love them old 2wd pick ups!

Well, I go to University, drift my Ranger and plow a few entrances and think of all my old lawn boys that I want.

D2hornets58 said:

Ya i got it but im just waiting for the guy to find the push plates. Its a fisher speedcast. I got everything for $500.

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sweet. you have people you can plow for?

metz12 said:

sweet. you have people you can plow for?

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Ya someone I know who has been plowing for awhile wont be plowing this year so hes giving me all of his driveways. Not sure exactly how many yet but between those and the ones I have im sure ill be busy when it snows.

D2hornets58 said:

Ya someone I know who has been plowing for awhile wont be plowing this year so hes giving me all of his driveways. Not sure exactly how many yet but between those and the ones I have im sure ill be busy when it snows.

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Nice! :thumbsup: I have 5 customers as of now.

lawn mower fanatic said:

"Non-mowing season" here is around 3.5 months, so I need to find something to do. :laughing: I plan on expanding my snow removal business, and might buy some more small equipment.

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Here you go.. I'll sell you this and you can expand your mowing and snow removel business... special deal for lawn forum $3500 for every thing, Z, Snowblade, chains.

I was just mowing with it yesterday and thinking man this thing is so quick. Probably shouldn't sell it but I don't need it. It clears snow very fast also.

I have it on craigs list for $3900. Hustler Mini Z 580hrs 19hp Kaw. 52" deck (Can mow at 8mph) Search Craigslist Columbus Ohio to find it. Don't know if I'm allowed to link it on here.

Hustling said:

Here you go.. I'll sell you this and you can expand your mowing and snow removel business... special deal for lawn forum $3500 for every thing, Z, Snowblade, chains.

I was just mowing with it yesterday and thinking man this thing is so quick. Probably shouldn't sell it but I don't need it. It clears snow very fast also.

I have it on craigs list for $3900. Hustler Mini Z 580hrs 19hp Kaw. 52" deck (Can mow at 8mph) Search Craigslist Columbus Ohio to find it. Don't know if I'm allowed to link it on here.

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Yeah that would help! Someone closer to you will really benefit from that machine! :thumbsup: It's a bit far for me.

i dont like the idea of plowing with a ztr. i think they are just too high end for plowing. they arnt meant to do that kind of work. lioke i wouldnt pull a huge trailer with it.

metz12 said:

i dont like the idea of plowing with a ztr. i think they are just too high end for plowing. they arnt meant to do that kind of work. lioke i wouldnt pull a huge trailer with it.

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I know that is the conventional thinking.. all of my neighbors tell me that too - while they all plow with their ATVs.

Question for you: What has a heavier frame, hydros and everything else a commercial ZTR or a Craftsman mower - Same Question but ZTR or ATV?

Anyone with any reasonable understanding of how a ZTR is constructed would laugh while answering a ZTR is far heavier constructed in every way than either of the above mentioned and ZTRs are meant to do that kind of work. I have been doing that kind of work for myself and all of my neighbors for over 5 years now - large driveways too.

So is a Sears craftsman meant to do that kind work or an ATV.

They put snow moving factory attachements on numoureous ZTRs now and it does not void their warranty to put their own factory equipment on the Z. How many ATVs do know know that are selling snow blades as factory attachements on their ATVs. I'm really interested, does anyone know of even one? I'm not saying you shouldn't plow snow with an ATV or Garden tractor either - YOU SHOULD! - because you can and they hold up just fine. Same is true of a ZTR. Pretty much any company that has an out front deck ZTR offers front mount snow blades - there are just not that many of them.

Here is a list of some ZTR companies who have or once had factory attachments on their Zs - these are the only ones I know of there may be more:
Huster Fastrack - Snow Blade
Grasshopper - Dozer/Snow Blade
Kubota F Series - Snow Blade
Woods - Snow Blower

Winter lasts 6+ months up here..was 20c below this morning 3" of snow.
I'm thinking of hibernating...zzz :cloud9:

Polaris Off Road Vehicles: Four Wheelers, RANGER RZR Side by Side ATVs and UTVs

http://www.purepolaris.com/en-us/Atv/pages/listing.aspx?Listing=ATVPlow(PolarisPGACatalog)

thats just polaris. but my friend plows with his yamaha grizzly and his plow is made for that quad, but is made by a different and better plow manufacturer then yamaha itself.

metz12 said:

Polaris Off Road Vehicles: Four Wheelers, RANGER RZR Side by Side ATVs and UTVs

http://www.purepolaris.com/en-us/Atv/pages/listing.aspx?Listing=ATVPlow(PolarisPGACatalog)

thats just polaris. but my friend plows with his yamaha grizzly and his plow is made for that quad, but is made by a different and better plow manufacturer then yamaha itself.

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Yeh, If I had a rig like that I would want to push some snow with it too!


Dozer Blades Snow Removal, Dirt, Gravel | Grasshopper Zero Turn Mowers

Bison said:

Winter lasts 6+ months up here..was 20c below this morning 3" of snow.
I'm thinking of hibernating...zzz :cloud9:

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It got pretty cold here too. Yesterday the low was 64F(18C).
I thought about getting the sweater, I haven't seen it in 8 months......




The high was 78

RobertBrown said:

It got pretty cold here too. Yesterday the low was 64F(18C).
I thought about getting the sweater, I haven't seen it in 8 months......


The high was 78

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Lol 18 C. That is nice weather were I am. When I am in Fl anything around 15 is awsome.

We usually get -15C to -20C during the winter. Sometimes we get the occasional -30. Last winter we even hit -45 C!!! That was very cold. I thought my truck was gonna die in the cold. It sounded like a washing machine when I started it up.

Lawnboy18 said:

Lol 18 C. That is nice weather were I am. When I am in Fl anything around 15 is awsome.

We usually get -15C to -20C during the winter. Sometimes we get the occasional -30. Last winter we even hit -45 C!!! That was very cold. I thought my truck was gonna die in the cold. It sounded like a washing machine when I started it up.

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I'm pretty sure at -49F I'm not going to start my truck unless the garage it's in is on fire. I thought you guys had block heaters.......Don't they just stop things when it's that cold? You could die or loose fingers and toes if your out in temps like that for more than a couple of hours.
What part of Canada do you live in? Yukon?

RobertBrown said:

I'm pretty sure at -49F I'm not going to start my truck unless the garage it's in is on fire. I thought you guys had block heaters.......Don't they just stop things when it's that cold? You could die or loose fingers and toes if your out in temps like that for more than a couple of hours.
What part of Canada do you live in? Yukon?

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May I state it is in Celcius! Lol. If it was in Fahrenheit, my truck wouldn't be moving! Ahahaha But still, -45 Celsius is very cold!

I live in Nothern Canada. Close to Toronto. Yes, I have a block heater, but I never need it. I have a very strong battery that always cranks that old German V6 4.0 liter!

Lawnboy18 said:

May I state it is in Celcius! Lol. If it was in Fahrenheit, my truck wouldn't be moving! Ahahaha But still, -45 Celsius is very cold!

I live in Nothern Canada. Close to Toronto. Yes, I have a block heater, but I never need it. I have a very strong battery that always cranks that old German V6 4.0 liter!

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Yea, I know what the "C" stands for. -45C is -49F .
https://www.google.com/search?sourc...n-US:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7LENP
Ahahaha.... If Toronto is in northern Canada, then they must have moved it when no one was looking. Cause the last time I checked it was in southern Canada. It is almost the southernmost part of Canada, furthermore......
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Toronto was -31.3 Celsius in January 1984 at the Pearson airport. Ahahahaha!

RobertBrown said:

Yea, I know what the "C" stands for. -45C is -49F .
https://www.google.com/search?sourc...n-US:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7LENP
Ahahaha.... If Toronto is in northern Canada, then they must have moved it when no one was looking. Cause the last time I checked it was in southern Canada. It is almost the southernmost part of Canada, furthermore......
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Toronto was -31.3 Celsius in January 1984 at the Pearson airport. Ahahahaha!

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Ahhhhh, my math is off. I forgot that, on a grah the merging point for C and F was at about 45. Sorry about that.

I am a couple of hours from Toronto tho. In the Quebec Region. Not everyone knows where Quebe is. That is whey I said that
I sometimes head down to Fl during the Holidays for some sunshine

RobertBrown said:

Yea, I know what the "C" stands for. -45C is -49F .
https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=ie7&q=TEMPERATURE+CONVERSION&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7LENP
Ahahaha.... If Toronto is in northern Canada, then they must have moved it when no one was looking. Cause the last time I checked it was in southern Canada. It is almost the southernmost part of Canada, furthermore......
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Toronto was -31.3 Celsius in January 1984 at the Pearson airport. Ahahahaha!

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Lawnboy18 said:

Ahhhhh, my math is off. I forgot that, on a grah the merging point for C and F was at about 45. Sorry about that.

I am a couple of hours from Toronto tho. In the Quebec Region. Not everyone knows where Quebe is. That is whey I said that
I sometimes head down to Fl during the Holidays for some sunshine

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I accept your apology and I apologize for my sarcasm .....I'm just mad because your guys don't know how to make bacon......beer yea, bacon...not so much. Why cure a pork tenderloin? It's good just cooked as it is....
Anyway.... next time you come down, I'll take you fishing and show you around the gulf coast. Maybe shoot some wild hogs and have a BBQ.
They (the hogs)are thick as fleas on a feral dog here.

RobertBrown said:

I'm pretty sure at -49F I'm not going to start my truck unless the garage it's in is on fire. I thought you guys had block heaters.......Don't they just stop things when it's that cold? You could die or loose fingers and toes if your out in temps like that for more than a couple of hours.
What part of Canada do you live in? Yukon?

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He!! up here they start up when it gets cold, when the muskeg is froze is the only time one can get anything done in the bush...Drill Drill Drill.
I'm sitting smack center of the "Seal Lake oil sands"(the third largest oil field in Alberta), in a months time its gonna be busier than a cat on a hot tin roof around my place.

A block heater is a must but that won't mean it'll start...sometimes one can't turn the key for fear of breaking it off, and the seat is as hard as an anvil.

RobertBrown said:

I accept your apology and I apologize for my sarcasm .....I'm just mad because your guys don't know how to make bacon......beer yea, bacon...not so much. Why cure a pork tenderloin? It's good just cooked as it is....
Anyway.... next time you come down, I'll take you fishing and show you around the gulf coast. Maybe shoot some wild hogs and have a BBQ.
They (the hogs)are thick as fleas on a feral dog here.

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Bacon? Ohh we are not that bad! Don't forget our specialty... Poutine! That stuff is sooo good!

I did not know that wild hogs were that good to eat in the South.

Well, I learned 2 new words today.....poutine and muskeg. I had to google both of them as we don't have either here.
I once had a girlfriend in Montana named Rose. She would always order gravy on her french fries. She was a thin but shapely. Only person I've ever known to do that. Did not have cheese curls, but did like the gravy. I like ketchup on french fried potatoes.

A muskeg is a bog with sphagnum moss. Sounds dangerous, unless your a moose. We have swamps and slews here, no muskegs.
We do have muscadines, and you can drive on them without a freeze.

RobertBrown said:

Well, I learned 2 new words today.....poutine and muskeg. I had to google both of them as we don't have either here.
I once had a girlfriend in Montana named Rose. She would always order gravy on her french fries. She was a thin but shapely. Only person I've ever known to do that. Did not have cheese curls, but did like the gravy. I like ketchup on french fried potatoes.

A muskeg is a bog with sphagnum moss. Sounds dangerous, unless your a moose. We have swamps and slews here, no muskegs.
We do have muscadines, and you can drive on them without a freeze.

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How about a caesar or bloody Caesar? Yuck!

I love poutine and they have so many variations now it's great.

RobertBrown said:

Well, I learned 2 new words today.....poutine and muskeg. I had to google both of them as we don't have either here.
I once had a girlfriend in Montana named Rose. She would always order gravy on her french fries. She was a thin but shapely. Only person I've ever known to do that. Did not have cheese curls, but did like the gravy. I like ketchup on french fried potatoes.

A muskeg is a bog with sphagnum moss. Sounds dangerous, unless your a moose. We have swamps and slews here, no muskegs.
We do have muscadines, and you can drive on them without a freeze.

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I have never heard about a muskeg! Ahahaha

Poutine is just soo good, but I don't eat it often... it's bad!