Commercial Lawn Mower’s Blog

If you have been shopping for a commercial lawn mower, new or used, you have probably found there are at least 20-30 brands to investigate. It is important to shop carefully and thoroughly because prices of commercial mowers can be more than your car is worth.

If you have not read the How to Make Big Money Mowing Small Lawns book, I recommend doing so before you go lawn mower shopping. Don’t get ripped off.

I did a considerable number of online searches for the following phrases: “most popular”+”commercial lawn mower brands”, “commercial lawn mower brands”, “commercial lawn mowers”, “commercial mowers”+most popular, and “commercial mowers”.

When online searching did not give me all the information I wanted I went to my trusty phone book and looked up lawn care and lawn mowers. This search narrowed the number of mower brands in the running to 13. I am going to hazard a guess that if you can purchase a brand locally it is a more widely used brand than if you cannot buy it locally.

The phone book did not satisfy my curiosity completely either, so I put a note pad in the car and started writing down the brands of commercial mowers I saw while driving around the city. When I saw a brand more than once, I put a tick mark next to the brand name so I could easily keep count.

Between the online searches, the Yellow Pages, and keeping count whenever I saw a commercial lawn mower out on a job, the most popular brands of mowers seem to be:

1. Scag – manufactured by Scag Power Equipment, includes the very popular Turf Tiger, Tiger Cub, Saber Tooth Tiger and Wildcat models
2. John Deere – manufactured by Deere and Company, includes the Z-Trak models
3. EverRide – manufactured by Ariens Corporation (Auburn Operations), includes the Warrior, Hornet, YJ, Wasp HP, Scorpion FX, and Scorpion models
4. Toro – manufactured by The Toro Company, includes the Z-Master models
5. Exmark – manufactured by Exmark Manufacturing Company, Inc., includes the LazerZ models
6. Ferris – manufactured by Ferris Industries, includes the IS models and they highlight their suspension as superior to other brands
7. Cub Cadet – manufactured by Cub Cadet, includes the Z-Force, Enforcer and RZT models
8. Hustler – manufactured by Excel Hustler, includes the Super Mini Z, Fastrak, and Super Z models
9. Ariens – manufactured by Ariens Corporation and includes the ZOOM models, smaller than most commercial mowers and priced between $360 and $800 new

I took Grasshopper, Gravely, Echo and Reel out of the list. They are commercial mowers but they are targeted to types of mowing most small lawn care business owners do not do. Grasshopper and Gravely are made for really big mowing jobs like those for a city or county or keeping up Golf courses. Echo is more for brushcutting and would compete with the DR brand. Reel is for turf manicuring and these machines are used after the mowing to height is finished.

• Grasshopper – manufactured by Moridge Manufacturing, models just have numbers, there are a large number of models and cut widths, and prices range from $6,000 to $19,000 new
• Gravely – manufactured by Auburn Consolidated Industries Inc., owned by Ariens Corporation, include the ZT and XTZ models and are priced between $3200 and $18,000 new
• Echo – manufactured by Allpower Industries Pty Ltd. of Australia, targeted at the brushcutting market
• Reel – manufactured by Locke Turf Corporation, includes the CL models and are finishing mowers targeted at Golf courses, and baseball, football and soccer fields for manicuring turf

Other commercial brands I know of but are not available locally and I did not see around are:

• Simplicity
• Husqvarna
• Walker
• Encore
• Yazoo
• Jacobsen
• Wheel Horse
• World
• Snapper commercial
• Murray commercial
• Lawn Boy commercial
• Troy-Bilt commercial
• Craftsman commercial (you can order one from Sears but they do not have any in the store here)

I also excluded the various mower attachments for John Deere and Kubota tractors. Those are available but are targeted more to farming equipment than lawn care businesses.

Are you in the market for a commercial mower? How is your search going? What brands are you considering? Are you planning to buy new or used? Please leave your responses in the comments. Thanks!

Oh, and don’t forget to get your copy of How to Make Big Money Mowing Small Lawns.

Technorati Tags: Commercial Lawn Mowers, commercial mower brands, most popular brands, most popular commercial lawn mower brands

written by Sherri \\ tags: Commercial Lawn Mowers, commercial mower brands, most popular brands, most popular commercial lawn mower brands

If you have decided you want to be a lawn care professional or you have been mowing lawns with a mower designed for residential use, you may be in the market for a commercial lawn mower.

Before You Even Start Looking

My first recommendation is that you pay cash for whatever mower you choose to buy. In the lawn care business you can earn enough money fast enough to save quickly for anything you need, so there is no reason to go into debt to purchase equipment.

My second recommendation is to find out what the seller’s return and refund policies are before you even look at a single mower and start falling in love, rationalizing why you should buy it no matter what. This is a business decision and must be based on logical thinking and strategic planning. If you let your emotions rule your equipment purchases, you will have a lot more trouble being successful.

Commercial Lawn Mowers

Commercial lawn mowers are much bigger than residential mowers and come packed with features that make lawn mowing very fast and much easier. The faster you can mow the more lawns you can cut per day and the more money you will make. A commercial mower is an investment, but it is well worth the money  you will spend because it will pay for itself very quickly with increased speed of mowing.

Commercial lawn mowers are much more sturdy and durable than their residential cousins. They have better quality, higher horse power engines designed for continuous daily use. They usually have higher blade speeds that allow cutting grass of any length easily. Tires are more durable and so are the wheels. Decks are made from thicker steel. Blades are made to be sharpened and switched out for repeated use. Many parts of the mower are belt-driven, preventing damage to the engine if an obstacle is hit that damages the mower blade or deck. Many residential mowers are direct drive machines, and an obstacle can bend the blade shaft and damage the engine in the process. Obstacles that will damage a residential push mower usually won’t damage a commercial mower.

Zero-Turn Radius, ZTR

Most people choose the zero-turn radius models or ZTRs, and for good reason. They are very maneuverable, capable of mowing around obstacles well, can handle difficult terrains, and don’t require you to have a push mower on hand. Your string trimmer is enough to get the spots the ZTRs won’t cut. What is special about the zero turn radius mower is it can make a 180 degree turn the length and width of the mower’s body. It basically turns around in place. It can also make a complete 360 degree turn in place because the controls allow the operator to control the power delivered to each wheel. The mower doesn’t have to move out of place to turn. These feats of maneuverability are handled with hydraulics and a hydrostatic transmission.

There is always the debate between buying used versus new, but as a smart shopper, buying a good used mower is your best choice. Why? Just like cars, the biggest amount of depreciation on a commercial lawn mower happens the minute you take it off the showroom floor and start it up. At that moment it becomes a used mower and therefore has a used value. Unless you are making more money than you know what to do with, let somebody else take the depreciation hit for you and buy used.

What to look for in a used ZTR commercial lawn mower

You will probably want to look locally and online for good used mowers. The advantage of a local purchase is you can easily see it, inspect it and test drive it. Those are very big advantages. This is a big purchase and I really like to kick the tires myself, not virtually.

If you want to shop online, and you can get extremely good deals by doing so, be very careful about the seller, the site’s return and refund policies and protect yourself as much as possible because you may not be able to see the mower until it arrives on your doorstep.

Here is a list of points to check on any used mower you are considering:

• Return and refund policy
• Do you want a ride-on, stand-on or walk-behind model?
• Cut width. You have to choose based on the majority of lawns you will be cutting. Residential mowing requires a smaller cut width than a golf course.
• Terrain handling. Will you be mowing mostly flat residential lawns or challenging terrains?
• Deck position (front or center)
• Ease of use, easy to handle controls
• Engine condition. Does the previous owner have maintenance records you can look through?
• Is the engine leaking oil?
• Is the hydraulic system leaking fluid?
• Blade and shaft condition. Have the blades been maintained? is the blade shaft straight? Does the blade run at full design speed?
• Is the deck bent severely? Scratches and small dents are to be expected, this is a commercial, outdoor piece of equipment, but severe damage is a warning sign.
• What condition are the controls in?
• Is the seat in good condition or is it worn out and needs to be replaced?
• What is the condition of the belts? Do they need to be replaced? Do they squeal?
• What type of fuel do you want to use? Gasoline, propane, diesel fuel? I recommend against diesel because it is currently over $1/gallon more expensive than gasoline.
• Do your customers require grass bagging or can you strictly mulch?
• Is the mower you are considering in use currently or has it been sitting idle for some amount of time? If it has been sitting idle, does it still run well? What maintenance or repairs will be required to get it back up and running?

After you assess the condition of the mower, is the asking price reasonable for what you are getting? If you are doing a private sale, always negotiate on price. Most people are willing to negotiate.

Remember that new mowers can be purchased for $3,500 – $10,000 depending on size and features. Make sure you are not paying too much for a used mower. Once you find a suitable used mower, it is an absolute must that you know what the price of that mower is new or the new price of it’s closest make and model. If there is a comparable new model, you should be able to pay at least 20% less than a dealer’s wholesale price plus any extras they add. That would mean the used mower is nearly new and hardly shows any wear. It should be in like-new condition. If a seller won’t go down to at least the 20% below dealer’s cost, I recommend finding another seller.

If you are buying a mower off of an auction site, such as eBay, is the mower close enough to you that you can inspect it in person before you make a decision to buy? Is the seller highly rated? Does the seller have his or her own store? That means there is another layer of protection for you, the buyer, because eBay won’t allow just anyone to set up a store. A seller must meet some strict criteria before being allowed to open an eBay store.

Where to look for commercial lawn mowers locally

• Newspaper classified ads
• Lawn mower repair shops. Sometimes people bring a mower in for repair and never come back to get it. To pay for the cost of repairs after the mower is certainly abandoned, a shop owner will usually sell it to recover the cost of repairs.
• Craigslist
• Local lawn and commercial equipment dealers that take trade-ins
• Equipment rental stores that rent commercial lawn mowers. They have sales occasionally.

It is also wise to move up in equipment gradually and only buy what you need and can afford now. As you earn more and learn to work more efficiently, you will also learn what equipment you really need. This approach will also give you the time you need to save cash for future equipment purchases out of your profits.

Remember, what you need starting out on your own is not necessarily what a business that has 20 employees and 10 trucks out on the job every day needs. Give yourself some time to figure out what equipment works best for you. To find out more about what equipment you will need to start out, I recommend reading How to Make Big Money Mowing Small Lawns.

Please leave any questions in the comments and I will do my best to answer them or get someone who knows better than I do to answer them.

Technorati Tags: buying used commercial lawn mower, how to buy, how to buy a used commercial lawn mower, used commercial lawn mowers, used commercial mower

written by Sherri \\ tags: buying used commercial lawn mower, how to buy, how to buy a used commercial lawn mower, used commercial lawn mowers, used commercial mower