Boy, was I IMPRESSED!

[thelawnguy]

I was sitting in the park yeaterday eating lunch, and watching a crew pull up to a home across from where I was parked. One guy jumped out grabbed the backpack blower and started blowing out the beds, the other guy jumps on a walker with a tine dethatcher on the front and proceeded to zip around the yard. <p>Let me tell you, I was AMAZED!!! These guys spent less than a half hour at this home, maybe 1/3 acre from what I could see, foundation plantings around the house but little else in the way of obstacles, and they did perhaps the nicest job on that lawn that I have ever seen without a broom. I was amazed at the crap the dethatcher picked up, and the mower just sucked up everything even the pile of leaves the other guy blew into the lawn.<p>I would seriously consider a setup similar to this for my next purchase. Any other machines that can pick up as well as the walker? Let me know, I havent seen any around here yet this year.<p>Bill

[nlminc]

Bill, I bought a Walker 2 years ago and love it. Saves time and the guys are not worn out by the end of the day. Makes clean ups a breeze. I would charge more for the clean up though because of equipment cost. Customers that appreciate you will pay for it because most see the difference in the quality of work and equipment.<p>Chris

[lawrence stone]

I just got back from surburbia where I employ the same techneque. (sorry for the spelling I don't have time all day to play<br>on my computer thus I am uneducated).<p>I have been doing the same thing for years<br>w/ a 52&quot; toro with hi lifts and a jumbo<br>metal bagger and a tine rake.<p>I just add one more step. I tine rake and side discharge then I tine rake in the<br>opposite direction if possible and then use a<br>metal bagger.<p>Why do you think I drove 200 miles in a <br>snowstorm to buy that 52&quot; toro that was for<br>sale in your area? <p>Instead of spending 10K for a new walker I<br>paid $700 for a 52&quot; toro with less than 600<br>hours usage with a standard toro sit down sulky.

[Toroguy]

I wondered if the tine attachments worked...they also attach to exmarks. Now that Im almost done with spring clean-ups. I will invest in one for future use however.

[nlminc]

Stone, You can't compare. Does your catcher hold 9.7 bushels? That toro,does it put out the power that the 20hp does? What about the vacuum system on that Toro, shred those leaves as well as the vacum built into the Walker? Your about 17' long with that sulky aren't ya! :) Must be a real kicker watching you get in and out of corners and around trees. When you get thru pickin up the pieces to your 62&quot; Toro after one good clean-up, I'll be finishing up on my 3rd or 4th. I payed for my Walker in 16 clean-ups. Buy the Millcreek aerator attachment and you can pay for a Walker with 50 to 60 aeration jobs that will take you half the time of someone using a conventional aerator. Toro makes nice equipment, don't get me wrong. But Mr. Stone, that Toro 62&quot;is no Walker GHS. <p>Chris<p>P.S Is that Toro electric start? If not, you must be doing the John Travolta Stayin Alive dance in every clients front yard trying to get the tired little beast started. Oh ya, that is after it slipped off the homemade ramps and landed in the annuals. <br> <p>

[scottlawns]

me and the guy i work with use a walker for just clean ups,and danes for most of the cutting,the walker makes the yards look so nice,there are alot of mowers that can pick stuff up,but nothing compares to the job the walker does.<p>scott

[lawrence stone]

Chris if you &quot;read&quot; my message it states<br>52&quot; toros not 62&quot;. I have a matched pair that have 16 HP 28 ft lbs of torque ( a 20 hp kohler v-twin has 32 ft lbs of torque)electric start kohler magnums with a pair of older (made of diamond plate steel) two wheel stand on turf rider sulkies. They have more than enough power to even handle a 62&quot; deck.<p>I can put both of the 52&quot;s on a 12 ft trailer.<p>The 52's can pick of everything small rocks<br>bits of deadwood etc into a 3.5 bushel metal bagger.<p>I only use the bagger on my first visit in the spring (if needed). The rest of the season I just<br>side discharge with mulching blades.<p>As for me being able to get around trees the<br>52&quot; toro decks are offset 14&quot; on the left<br>side. How much offset does a 42&quot; ghs deck have?<p>IMHO only fools collect and dispose of lawn clippings on a regular basis.

[EarthWorks]

Ihave a '96 Walker 42&quot; GHS with 16 hp. It only has 500 hrs on it. Does anyone know what it is worth? Getting out of the lawn care business.

[MOW ED]

I've been using a Walker GHS 25hp to dethatch, mow and pick up leaves. I am a solo operator and I will ALWAYS own a Walker. The customer support is great and the machine is unbelievable. I have had some problems with Kohler but as I learned I have a &quot;special&quot; engine.<br> It is hard to make a lawn look bad with a Walker. The spring tine dethatcher is priceless. It costs about 200 bucks and you can make that in 1 job. I have people stop and give me their address for more work. The only limiting thing for profit is when the grass starts growing. Walker is a first class mower and even though it costs 10 grand you can make many times that over the course of the mowers life. I know I'm doing it.

[cantoo]

Hi my name is cantoo and I'm a fool.<br> I have two Walkers and would never be without one. I also have a Toro wb that I have never even used, I just bought a Yazoo too and have mounted a aerator onto the front of it. I collect the clippings whenever I want to which is most of the time on highly visible areas. I can never figure out why you guys who make so much money are obsessed with how much the Walkers cost. I know they are expensive but in this case you get what you pay for, they do everything that Walker says they will do. There are machines that will cut much better than the Walker and are much cheaper but ask anyone who owns one and they will say it is worth every penny. In the future I may buy another brand of mower but I will always have a Walker type around too.

[FIREMAN]

EARTHWORKS.........<br>IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SELLING YOUR WALKER EMAIL ME AT FIREMANNC138@AOL.COM

[Retro67]

Cantoo-<p>I was wondering if you mounted Jrco aerator on your Yazoo/Kees? I am not aware of other front mounts except for the Grasshopper and Walker mounted units other than the Jrco. I bought the tine rake dethatcher and paid for over half of it in two hours.<p>If that was the Jrco unit, tell me how you like it? Hate to keep asking the question over and over, but I don't seem to get many responses. Apparently not many forum members own one.<p>John

[lawrence stone]

cantoo wrote:<p>&gt;I also have a Toro wb that I have never even used, <p>A 36&quot; right?<p>Look for a beater 52&quot; in your area for cheap<br>and swap the decks.Add a good stand up sulky <br>for $300 and with 15&quot; drive tires you will<br>have a machine that cuts a solid 2 acres per<br>hour. <p>IMHO 52&quot; machines rule on areas up to two acres.<p>

[cantoo]

No Stone, it is a old 44&quot; I bought it last year cheap, I always wanted to try a walk behind so I bought it. I used it for about 100' and the novelty was over with. I like to try everything once but I found that I like to sit.<br> As for the aerator, it is a Brinly from Home Depot. It was a pull type until I took the welder to it. Now it is a front mount with no wheels and alot heavier frame ( 2&quot; angle iron. I was going to buy plugs and build my own but it was easier to start with the Brinly and rework it. I have more fun building the stuff than I do using it. Next on my list is a type of slit seeder to mount on the front of my old Walker. I'm thinking something like a short spike aerator with two rows of spikes to loosen soil and a hopper to drop seed into the bed and a roller on back to pack it down....Fire up the welder.

[SLSNursery]

I guess I'm just another fool, but that Walker really does a great job. We have a diesel GHS and a JRCO tine rake. In the Spring, Fall, or after heavy thatching it cleans up lawns nicely. During periods of heavy growth, the Walker picks up after the side discharge machines. Then, as any fool would do, I recycle the clippings (they add nitrogen to the leaf pile), and after a few years I screen and sell the compost for new lawn installations or beds, etc. The Walker adds some variety to the fleet, especially for tight jobs, like banks or detailed front lawn with curvy landscapes (no clippings or debris in the beds). 52&quot; mowers are great, I have a few and used to have side baggers, but for all out cutting on some big accounts we run the Walker on the Islands and around the buildings, a Turf Tiger on the 2 acre 'field' and a 52&quot; walk behind for tight areas. Just for the record, every machine has its place. The Walker isn't the most durable all out cutting machine, but it works great in its niche.<p>----------<br>Phil Grande - Soundview Landscape Supply - http://members.aol.com/slsnursery<br>Ivy League Landscaping - http://members.aol.com/scagrider

[lawrence stone]

Cantoo you can turn that 44&quot; toro into a usable piece of equipment by adding on stand on sulky. Northern tool has rocket wheels for<br>$300. <p>I also need to fabricate an aerator for my<br>athletic field work. My buddy who owns a golf course said he had something rusting<br>in back of his maint. building that I might<br>be able to modify to fit my needs. I would have inspected the unit today but he<br>went to A.C. to play blackjack for the weekend.<p>I would be interested in taking a look at your aerator. Does it mount to a JRCO bar?<br>Can you take a pic and sent it to me via a<br>e-mail attachment?

[AB Lawn Care]

We use our walker in the spring with a 42'' ghs deck and dethacher.It's the best thing since sliced bread.We also have a 44' power broom on our scag.Some people think that if you own a Walker than you must bag year round.Like me and most of the people in my area once the spring clean up is done we swap decks.I use a 54'' side-discharge deck.I have found that this deck gives an even better cut than the 42''.We do mainly hi-end residential lawns so we wanted to maintain the Walker standerd of cut and be able to do large propertys.Walkers are not the fastest mower but the make up for there lack of speed in spring and fall clean-ups.Some don't want to pay that much money for one.But I have never heard anyone who has owned one complain about them.Also Walkers only go around 5mph from the factory but for a couple of bucks they can be speeded up to 8mph.I make more money from my walker than you will ever make from a walk-behind.Don't get me wrong I'm not someone you only uses one brad of mower.I use sevral brands but so far the Walker is what has saved me the most time,money and pain.It really depends on what type of jobs you do.Becouse I do mainly residential Walkers are awsome.If I did commercial jobs I would probably not use mainly Walkers.I would still use one maby for a trim mower and cleanups.<p>from:Adam<p>AB Lawn Care

[Doug406]

How does the de thatcher work?/ I know what it looks like. Does it pick up the leaves that are stuck to the ground?/ Then what, it does not pile them, does it? it loosens them up and then the bagger sucks them up right??

[dylan]

hey Cantoo<br>I like your way of thinking. I bought a dethacher from Home Depot and mounted it to the front of my mower. Made it a bit sturdier and away I went. Does a good job and half the fun comes from welding the thing together. Next on the to do list is an areator. If you draw up some plans for that slit seeder and don't mind sharing I would like to see them.<br>Dylan

[cantoo]

dyan, yeah I am going to build a dethatcher too but the one fron HD is too small and has too few teeth so I will just buy them from the local tractor dealer. I'm still not sure on the seeder design yet, I will spent the summer finding the parts I need to make it. I'm thinking of maybe buying a farm type seed drill with the grass seeder attachment and cutting it down. Then I will resell the drill. I love auction sales, I go to as many as I can.

[cantoo]

Stone, I already have more than enough mowers so the toro will sit until I find another use for it ( maybe a stump grinder platform ) I already have a sulky for it, bought cheap at a sale of course. <br> As for the aerator it attaches to the front of the Yazoo by the old lift arms. I welded a steel frame around the aerator &quot;tin&quot; and welded the lift arms to the frame at the proper angle. The Yazoo has a handle to lift the deck so I adjusted the cables so that I could lift and lower it with my foot so I have both hands free to turn Now I can put weight onto the frame without it bending. 50lbs seems to be enough for the moist ground now. I have taken some pics and when I get them developed I will scan them and send them. I can really fly with it and it does a much better job when you don't make a mess turning at corners because it can be lifted easily. I paid Can$500 for the Yazoo with a 16 hp Briggs on it. It was owned by Ministry of Natural Resoures and had't been used in years, it started right up.