Large jobs

[wriken]

I own a 60" ztr and am going to get a wb this winter, probably 48-52" I'm going to bid on 2 jobs one is 11.06 acres and the other is 15 acres. Question is I have a kubota L3000dt, 30 hp, thinking about getting a 72-84 in. finish mower for it, pull behind to put on these jobs. what do u think and anybody know how the cut looks. Thanks

[EJK2352]

Depends on what finish mower you end up purchasing. There is a guy in my area that runs a Land Pride 3 point finish mower, and it cuts nice. I've seen other 3 point mowers that cut like crap. Have you considered a belly mount mower??? :) ED

[wriken]

Yes I have thought about a belly mower, not sure if they make it for this tractor. was thinking about Land Pride hard. would like you guys to know both jobs together have about 20 trees, pretty flat also.

[morturf]

This ground fairly level or does it undulate? There are some really nice articulated pull behind batwing mowers out there. I know you can really know off some acreage with them. I know the golf courses here use them and they look very nice. Need a name let me know.

[Runner]

Man, a batwing WOULD be the way to go on jobs like these. Just don't let one spoil you and start bidding jobs too low because of the ease of the massive cut. When you cut with ANY kind of wide area mower, it's easy to ask yourself if you're doing it for too much money. It almost seems unfair, with the amount of area you can knock out, but that's what justifies the cost of these implements.:cool:

[Eric ELM]

If it were me, I would just use the 60" or get a 72" ZTR for that small amout of turf. Even 2 - 60" ZTR's would knock that out in a hurry. I can tell you this, a tractor is about half as productive as a ZTR unless this is long narrow turf areas.

[wriken]

The reason I was thinking pull behind, was i think for $1000-2000.00, for the mower, and 1100.00 for turf tires and rims, it would be cheaper then another ztr. Because I already have the ztr, and am getting a wb. Also I've looked at 2 self propelled bat-wing mowers, one was a Jacubson (sp) 12 or 14 foot cut, good shape, I ended up knowing the guy that ran it for the local college said it was excellant running order, had a perkins diesal went for $5100.00 at the auction. can't remember what kind the other one was, I'd know the name if I heard it, but to me was in better shape and went for $4900.00 12 foot cut on that. Oh well did'nt have the cash then. If I can remember correctly the local Kubota dealer had a 11 foot brand new bat-wing pto, I thought he said 8000.00, I wish I had it all, LOL

[wriken]

Oh I forgot to mention in last post, The 15 acre job is all together, no trees etc, 1 gentle slope. The 11 acres I divided in 6 parcels when I measured it out, sizes from 1680 sq. ft. to 121806 sq. ft. level as can be. see ya. Thanks

[Runner]

Wriken,

You mentioned that the other wide area mower, you didn't know the brand right off hand. Was it yellow? Was it a Howard Price? Was it sitting right next to the Jacobson? Your local Kubota dealer, are they an Exmark dealer, too?

[David Haggerty]

wriken,

Eric's 100% right. Add a ZTR.

I've been targeting these large lawns for years. The only ones I've ever lost went to people with ZTR's. I just drove past one I used to mow yesterday, 13 acres and they were cutting it with 3 grasshoppers. They were done before lunch.
Another job I used to mow, also 13 acres the guy does with a single ZTR. It takes him all day, but it looks good. He stripes it right down to the fence.

A tractor on a lawn puts you at the mercy of the weather. Even more so when the mower is behind the tractor tires. I've only seen one bat wing pull behind mower. It's a homeowners'. They get way behind in the spring. With a ZTR you can mow during a rainstorm if you want to.

They gotta be easier to trailer too.

The ZTR reaches further into the large commercial market than a lot of people might suspect. right up to the large commercial self propelled mowers. I don't think the tractor mount mowers are even in the running.

Dave

[wriken]

Originally posted by Runner
Wriken,

You mentioned that the other wide area mower, you didn't know the brand right off hand. Was it yellow? Was it a Howard Price? Was it sitting right next to the Jacobson? Your local Kubota dealer, are they an Exmark dealer, too?

yep, yellow probably is a HP, They were sitting in Mt. Pleasant for awhile, now there up in Harrison, they were sold at the CMU auction, I don't know how much they are marked up now, but if its who I think bought them there probably alot higher. I don't know if they were in Clare at the Kubota dealer or not, I go buy there everyday, I never seen them there, but could be wrong. yes they are a Exmark dealer, pretty good people there.

[wriken]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by David Haggerty
[B]wriken,



A tractor on a lawn puts you at the mercy of the weather. Even more so when the mower is behind the tractor tires. I've only seen one bat wing pull behind mower. It's a homeowners'. They get way behind in the spring. With a ZTR you can mow during a rainstorm if you want to.

There was a pull-behind batwing at the Kubota dearler, I think it was a Landpride. The only reason I would go with a finish is to keep my tractor working more, I believe too a ztr is much faster, but I was thinking of monitary value, I guess I'll have to figure more on this subject. see ya

[Runner]

Well Hallelujuh! Finally someone from the Mt Pleasant area! Did you say you had a friend that worked for the college? He must be in facilities management / Landscape Operations, eh? I just recently applied for a position there. (Didn't get it - YET!) I stopped and looked at those mowers myself when they were out on Hwy 20. Anyway, I plan on moving up there around mid winter. I want to bring the business up. Maybe we can have breakfast sometime. (Shoneys always has a good buffet). Where do you do most of your work, right IN Mt. Pleasant, or the outskirts? I'm told there is alot of good work to be had in the Midland area. This is where I was thinking of marketing - some of the high end residential areas.

[wriken]

Originally posted by Runner
Well Hallelujuh! Finally someone from the Mt Pleasant area! Did you say you had a friend that worked for the college? He must be in facilities management / Landscape Operations, eh? I just recently applied for a position there. (Didn't get it - YET!) I stopped and looked at those mowers myself when they were out on Hwy 20. Anyway, I plan on moving up there around mid winter. I want to bring the business up. Maybe we can have breakfast sometime. (Shoneys always has a good buffet). Where do you do most of your work, right IN Mt. Pleasant, or the outskirts? I'm told there is alot of good work to be had in the Midland area. This is where I was thinking of marketing - some of the high end residential areas.

I was born and raised in Clare, then in 95 moved to MP, last July I bought some land in Harrison, and moved my house up there. The guy works for cmu, his name is Floyd Showers, went to school w/him. are you going to do landscaping or run the facilities dept at cmu? I have a few jobs in MP. but I started this in may 01, so most of my work is in Clare and Harrison, and Rosebush. I think theres alot of mowing crews in MP, but there going wild w/building there., but I heard the same about Midland.Lots of rich people in Midland. Do you gamble? I'm a security manager at Soaring Eagle, I'm working the 3rd shift right now, been working there for 9 yrs, stop by and I'll get supper some time. Work hrs are 11pm -7am. Just ask a guard for me Bernie, and I'll hook up w/you

[Runner]

A security manager for the casino? That's pretty cool! What an interesting position. That's is so strange, because we've discussed the casino as a possibility. What's the hiring prospect around there? I have a degree in Criminal Justice, several years of campus safety security experience, and am most recently employed as a store detective in the Loss Prevention division of a major retailer. Let me know! Oh, and no, I'm not much of a gambler, myself.:blob4:

[wriken]

Runner

Are you looking for a job like in 1 of our dept's, like security, sounds like you have the neccesary requirements. We just had a job fair, and security hired last friday. But we will be posting again, they have a job hotline, maybe you can take my job, planning on resigning in March if everything goes as planned . I to have a degree in CJ, went to Mich. State, actually had a Baseball scholarship, made it for 2 yrs, but thats another story, LOL. see ya.


PS anybody else have opinions on pto pull behinds? Has anybody heard of a fininsh mower by the name (Stilex), there red in colar. Might not even been the name, I've looked at so much equipment its hard to remember them all. But after looking at Landpride I think there one of the better brands. Bye:) , and Thanks again

[johnhenry]

Just my two cents worth
I go with the ztr. I mow three different commercial properties that all in all have about 30 acres. My two ztr handle it with no problem. Plus the cut will be much more better with the ztr. Plus you can use the ztr in so many different aspects in lawn cutting. Where a finish mower or belly mower on a tractor can hamper you in different area. Ive seen the Landpride finish mower .Its a nice looking cutter.

[soups10]

My ? is , How long will it take to mow the 25 acres with two ZTRs and what did you bid for the job .

[wriken]

On the larger propertys I use, Can't remember who put it on the site, but works good, is to take the sq. ft x difficulty level then x the price of your wage you want to get. ex. 880000x1.5x3.50=price per-mow. 1.5 easy mowing to 3.0 trees etc., the price is ex. $35.00=3.50, $30.00=3.00, $28.00=2.80, etc.
My Cub is rated at 3.91 ac. hr at the very best conditions, at 80%. Both propertys are pretty much tree free, so at say 3.5 acs per hr, would be 7.14 hrs

[RON66106]

I have a Kubota 2410 with a Land Pride 60" finish mower that works well and leaves a good smooth cut. I got tired of the belly mower hanging up on everything including the trailer. If the tractor breaks down the mower will fit on any cat 1 3 point ,if you have a belly mower it will only fit what it is on now.

[FrankenScagMachines]

Having never done this, i'm not going to argue any side, but i'll offer ideas:

Tractor: A mid deck on a tractor takes less space than a rear mount, usually cut alittle better, doesn't "swing " out like a 3pt. hitch mower, which makes it harder to get around objects and in corners, etc.
On the other hand, as RON66106 mentioned, greater versatility in that it can be disconnected very easily and put on another rig.

ZTR: Of course better maneuverability, and faster usually, but a couple ideas for it would be:
1) A flex-deck extension if available for your mower
2) A tow behind offset mower (I think up to 60" or 48" widths, some triple blades with many anti scalp wheels for better lawn mowing, powered by their own engines. Not sure if you could go full speed with this or not, have to check with the Manufacturer about that.
3) Reel Gang mowers - up to somewhere around 15' cut

Bigger mowers such as self propelled bat wings, or estate mowers like bigger front mowers (JD for example, not sure who else makes 'em.) usually upto 84" or so, and very short turning if not 0.

Just some ideas.
Good luck with your properties.
Eric