What would you do?

[J&R Landscaping]

I was talking to my accountant over the weekend and he was pushing an idea that I wasn't crazy about. We were talking about me looking at a larger walkbehind and a bigger trailer.

My accountant tells me that since the majority of my yards are smaller in size and have gates where a 36" wb can fit, she thinks I should just get a brand new 36" hydro wb instead of keeping the belt drive 36" that I have and getting a new or used 48" wb or maybe a 52" hydro turf tracer hp or a rider.

After thinking about it, she might have a point in thinkingI can keep just 1 small trailer and still get all my lawns done failry efficiently. (the biggest yard i have takes about 40 minutes to mow. When I was cutting the yard last year with my 52" wb, it would take about 20-25 minutes to mow.

All the yards I have except for 1 are almost completely flat and about 1/2 of them have gates. I've been debating in my head but what would you guys do?

[Landscapes-r-us]

Wow an accountant/LCO...

[LawnTamer]

I've been debating a similar question with my mowing truck, here's what I did. I have a 36" and needed a second WB I went through all my properties and looked at 2 criteria.
1. would a 48" fit through the gate? if so how much time would it shave off?
2. Would a 36" be more useful or the 48"

I added up the projected time with the 48" and compared it to the known time that it takes with 2 36" machines and that made my decision.

[ed2hess]

Why not focus on one size yard so you don't have this extra investment when starting. And what is wrong with the 36" belt driven WB?

[K.Carothers]

Why not focus on one size yard so you don't have this extra investment when starting. And what is wrong with the 36" belt driven WB?


The belts!

I hate my 36" belt wb


kc

[Soupy]

Why not focus on one size yard so you don't have this extra investment when starting. And what is wrong with the 36" belt driven WB?

Belt drive sucks for primary mowers. I own a Toro T-Bar belt drive that I only use about 1.5 hours a week. That is 1.4 hours to much. I hate belt drives. They are the better buy though for just a few gated lawns a year. If all your lawns have gates, or you use a 36" on the front too then a hydro is a much better way to go.

[J&R Landscaping]

The belt drive mower is ok but the keys inside the transmisson are starting to wear. The machine slips out of gear sometimes. Runs great, cuts great, stripes great!

[rustyb265]

Why is an accountant helping make equipment decisions for a lco? Do you tell them what type of ledgers to use?

[Mac_Cool]

Why is an accountant helping make equipment decisions for a lco? Do you tell them what type of ledgers to use?
That's what real accountants do, help you make resource allocation decisions. An accountant can tell you if you really have enough business to justify that fancy smancy new mower or if you should get off your tail and get some new accounts. You can buy software to keep the books, an accountant is not a calculator.

[topsites]

The belts!

I hate my 36" belt wb


kc

Then something is wrong, buy 2 brand-new 50-dollar belts and another brand-new transmission belt and put them on and tighten that trans-belt about like your car's alternator belt and you should be good for at least a year.

All I have is belt-driven, I can buy 20 of those 50-dollar belts before I cover the cost of the hydro and I might break one or two / year so it will be 10 years before I'm up to the hydro in parts.

Granted, it took over 2 thousand yards before I learned how not to have belt problems, has a lot to do with how hard you push that Wb when you're on the velke, stepping off at the right times helps a LOT.

Far as the accountant, soon as she gets out there and covers the next thousand yards I'll listen but in the meantime, start thinking about getting out of those small yards and into a 48" Wb anyhow :laugh:

[rustyb265]

My accountant may tell me if I can afford a piece of equipment that I pick out, but there is no way I am taking her advice on belt drive vs. hydro, or 36 vs. 48. Not till she mowes a few hundred yards. :nono:

[J&R Landscaping]

The belts on the machine are brand new. It is an inteternal transmisson problem.

I hear and can understand what all you guys are saying! My accountant is just trying to help me out. I'm just not sure if the advice is good because it gets me thinking but we are definitly not on the same page.

[Runner]

Fix the tranny, and keep the 36 belt. Do NOT go and spend that much on a hydro unit for 36" deck! you already have a 36" mower,...it will suffice. If you're going to purchase a new mower, purchase one that has a more efficient cutting power. That would be crazy to put all that money into a hydro unit - just for a 36" cut - especially when you already have one. you will get alot more jobs and make more money knocking out more grass faster.