How many only use walkbehinds

[curry]

I have a homeowner version ztr and realize that it doesnt work good commercially. I have about 25 customers and the yards range from 5000 square feet to 3 acres. I am considering buying a 48" Toro walkbehind and trading in my ztr. I can only buy one mower and really dont want another rider until I can afford a really good one. Im wondering if a 48" will do me as an all around mower until I can get another ZTR. For those large yards I will get a sulky. Most of the LCOs I see around here only use walkbehinds. What do you guys think that only use walkbehinds. I like the look that the walkbehinds leave and very little tracks.

[mowahman]

That's all we use, four 48" JD & Exmark, one 36" JD. We also have one Toro Grooundsmaster 72 that gets out of the barn on special occassions. If it can't be done with a WB, we don't do it. We currently maintain 35 residential lawns, (1.5-5.5 ac.), 7 cemeteries, (2.5-25 ac.) a school, an insurance agent's office, and a Hallmark office. Tried the ztr thing, but couldn't get it to be productive enough around/through the cemeteries to make sense buying one. We use the Toro in an expansion area of one cemetery only. Got a great deal on it, came with a 6' mower, cab with heat, lights, wipers, and a 4' snowblower...for 2K. All the WB's are belt drive, 5 speed transmissions. 2 have floating decks and the rest are fixed decks. We also use 1 wheeled sulkies on ALL of them and to this date, no one has complained about the 3rd wheel track. The sulky increased our productivity 50 % compared to walking, not to mention less fatigue and greater morale of the crews.

[Premo Services]

For my first 4 years in business I used a 48 inch walkbehind. The productivity really was made better when I got the sulky for it. I used this on all lawns from 1/2- 2 acre jobs. Last year I purchased a lazer z hp 52 in. You wouldn`t even believe how much more productive and less beat and tired I am with the ztr. Your best bet would be to dump the homeowner ztr and demo the hydro walk behinds and find the one you like best, and get a sulky for it, and see your productivity increase over the ztr that you have now.. Use this until the time that you are ready to move up to a commerecial ztr, and watch the productivity really increase.:D
I still usethe walkbehind on most jobs, if it is really wet, or this summer, when it was really dry, because of the stress it would have put on the lawns.

[TJLC]

I have a 48" hydro and a 36" hydro w/b. Both are Exmarks. The 36" is only used as a backup. I have an Exmark sulky on the 48". It works very well. The biggest yard I've ever cut is a little over an acre. I have looked at a new Lazer, but at this time, I can't justify the $8500.00. I had a belt drive w/b at one time, some seem to prefer them but me personally, I would go with a hydro, it's worth the extra money. I am not knocking ztrs, just giving my .02 cents. Probally the best setup would be a ztr and hydro w/b, the best of both worlds. Good luck.

[kutnkru]

I would recommend that you purchase a hydrosytatic unit if its in your budget. If not I would make sure that you obtain a reliable belt drive unit.

48" units are nice but if you can get your hands on a 52" deck you will be better suited. The extra 4" of cutting width does make a difference in overall production, AND if you buy a 36" later as a secondary unit the blades are interchangable which helps on stocking parts too.

I prefer NOT to use Zs on my properties and have built my clientele based on this factor. It also helps to get people to part with their wallets a little more because they know that you are not gouging them for a 10 minute job that used to take you 20-25.

Hope this helps.
Kris

[Toroguy]

48" WB only here also. My props are mainly smaller (half acre) so I also cant justify a ZTR's price. I have a couple larger props that I could use a ZTR.

The advice above is good, demo some wb's, but prepare for another upgrade if needed.

[summitgroundskeeping]

We only use w/b mowers. I personally love the w/bs more than anything else, just must be weird i guess. Actually might buy another 36" w/b soon or a super sufer. I like your w/b idea, but wouldn't get a toro. I have heard bad things about them from other LCO's and my dealer. Try a Great Dane Scamper (the very best w/bs ever made), scag, or gravely. We run 48" and that seems to be the best width for most medium to larger lawns.

[XOFMOT]

WB's here as well! My customers lawns range from 2000 to 51,000 square feet. I use a 48" fixed deck WB w/velke (single wheel) and some LB's as well. The addition of the VELKE has been unsurpassed! I average a 30% time savings on all my customers properties that I use it on. Looking to pick up a 52" WB this winter as well! I am still tired at the end of the day, but if I wanted to sit down all day, I would have stayed at my desk job! Good luck!

[kutnkru]

Originally posted by XOFMOT
... if I wanted to sit down all day, I would have stayed at my desk job! ... A-Mutha-****ing-Men!! :angel:

[Esby]

I thought they were the greatest mowers in the world. Well, I was about to buy another Exmark walkbehind this fall, but my dealer got me to try out a Lazer Z. I really didn't want to waste my time with it, but I thought I would try it out anyways (so he'd stop bugging me about it). At the time I wasn't in the mood to spend that kind of $$ either. Lets just say after 4 hours on the machine, I was a "changed man", in terms of mowers anyways. I ended up not getting another walkbehind and got the Lazer Z. Sure it was more than double that of a belt drive, but it was worth it in terms of productivity and comfort. Both types of machines have their place in this field, and everyone has their own opinions on this subject. Lets just say my favorite mower these days isn't the walkbehind, its my new Exmark Lazer Z.:D

[Columbia Turf]

CURRY, We use all walkbehinds also. I think the ZTR's have their place but not on my trailers. If I was a one or two man show, I would probably have one, but I am not. Right now, there is no arguing among our diferent crews or crew members as to who gets to use a ZTR because we don't have any. I might have the wrong perception but I think the ZTR's might cause more trouble if operated by different people all the time. To me, it seems there is more to go wrong with them.
I think a HYDRO would be your only choice! you would more than make up the difference in price by the increased production and ease of operation. A cutting width of 48 inches is a good place to start. Your smaller yards will look nice but your bigger areas might seem to take a while to complete. We have a combination of 48 and 60 inch cuts for all crews. I would go with a two wheeled VELKE. We switched this past year and have been very happy with the results
As for the brand,,,,,,,you have to decide what is in your price range and what is available in your area. I am one of the worlds biggest EXMARK fans and would by no other mower. I have virtually no downtime with these machines and they are easy to work on.
I don't mean to ramble but I hope this helps!

[MATTHEW]

I also do mostly 5-8,000 sq ft lawns, and a couple of 15's and 1 30,000. Using a Z on these will not increase productivity enough to justify the expense both in purchasing and maintenance. It leaves more to trim and more unsightly turn around tracks. Using a velkie is nice because I can take it off in seconds.

[AltaLawnCare]

There have been posts on here before about the extra exercise benefit, with a WB (even with a sulky). I know now, thats true.;)

It also seems a lot easier to step off of the sulky and pick up trash, or move flowers from in front of a tomb stone, than to get up off a seat - then climb back on.

[dlandscaping]

first off going from riding on a ztr whether a commercial or homeowner will be hard to go to walking or stading and using pistol grips or tbar etc. the walkbehind or any commercial machine will give you a much cleaner cut and it will not wear down half as easy which means less downtime and less $$ for repairs. a toro is great i have one myself. around here toro is very popular.almost every lco has at least one. my neighbor has all toro but believes exmark is a good machine as well. if you are gettin the 48 toro it is really an exmark metro with tbar steering as opposed to pistol so i dont know how anyone can say the toro has probems if these machines are basically identical. what i can suggest is spend a little more and get a floating deck, i didnt think i would need one or the money was worth but i was wrong. ihave two fixed deck machines and i want floating decks. for those 3 customers who want it higher or lower taking the casters or blades off is harder than moving four pins. (escpecially if you are a one man operation) the toro floating deck is the most popular machine here. the cut is excellent and in wet conditions i think it does the best. i know exmark are good machines, but i find that the fixed deck design (floatin xmark is still a fixed deck design just held by pins) doesnt give as gooda cut as the sfs toro decks, just my opinion. i have a guy near me who swears by exmark and says they are the best but he has never tried a toro. for your machine i would say go with the toro 48 since you have the tbar and it will be easier on a sulky since u have a reverse with toro not a reverse assist like on exmark (gear driven models). your hands will not get as strained while turning and it has the same cut as an exmark.

just wondering but does anyone else have trouble typing replies i sure as hell do!