RYAN Lawnair 28 vs. Plugr 850HD

[Exact Rototilling]

$5,595.00 with shipping for the Ryan 28?

-or-

$4,870 with tax for the Plugr 850HD?

I'm currently leaning towards the Plugr 850HD :rolleyes:

Thanks for your input! :waving:

[Exact Rototilling]

Bump

Any input much appreciated. :waving:

[grass disaster]

Bump

Any input much appreciated. :waving:

they are both too much $ in my opinion.

it would take me too long to make a profit. at least 10k in sales i would figure.

[LawnTamer]

I got a quote for $4,100 for a Plugr 850HD yesterday, that was before tax. I own a plugr, and was eager to try the hydro, it would make aerating a lot easier with the stepsaver. The one I tried had a step saver, I was able to maneuver it all over, no problem, even backed into corners, just for fun. I was very impressed.

[Exact Rototilling]

they are both too much $ in my opinion.

it would take me too long to make a profit. at least 10k in sales i would figure.
Spendy yes and that's what makes me nervous about it to some degree.

I did find a used Plugr 800 on craiglist with less than 50 hours for $1700 but it was in New York state and I'm in Idaho :cry:

If I only offered it to my mowing clients it would be a huge loss. I plan on marketing it heavily as a stand alone niche service.

[Exact Rototilling]

I got a quote for $4,100 for a Plugr 850HD yesterday, that was before tax. I own a plugr, and was eager to try the hydro, it would make aerating a lot easier with the stepsaver. The one I tried had a step saver, I was able to maneuver it all over, no problem, even backed into corners, just for fun. I was very impressed.
$4100 for a Honda powered 850HD is a great price . . . or did it have the Briggs? Did it feel underpowered pulling the sulky?

Which Plugr do you own? 400, 600 or 800? Which engine? If it's the 400 do you find it heavy enough to do it's job? I did consider getting the smaller unit however I'm planning on doing 5 to 10 aerations per week and many yards are well over 1/4 acre here.

[LawnTamer]

$4100 for a Honda powered 850HD is a great price . . . or did it have the Briggs? Did it feel underpowered pulling the sulky?

Which Plugr do you own? 400, 600 or 800? Which engine? If it's the 400 do you find it heavy enough to do it's job? I did consider getting the smaller unit however I'm planning on doing 5 to 10 aerations per week and many yards are well over 1/4 acre here.


I own a pl 600, it is 8 yrs old. It came with the old Briggs 5HP flat-head, I put an Intek 5.5 on it 2 yrs ago and have been very pleased. I thought the Briggs engine was fine on the 850HD, the Honda was $300 more! For $300 you could almost buy a new Honda when the Briggs died. And I must say, I have been very pleased with my 5.5 Intek, starts first pull every time, good power, smooth and I can hear my phone ring while aerating.

If your lawns are mostly under 1/4 acre, you could get by without the hydro, I wouldn't even get the hydro unless you are planning to use a step saver.

[LawnTamer]

One other thing, if you have rocky soil, plan on replacing the aerator tines regularly. On the PL600, I replace mine about every 50-60 lawns. Occasionally you can find the tines for $9 ea.

I bought 4 PL600s in 2000, Rock Solid, (the old owner of the brand) was selling off some factory direct, I bought 4 of them for $1,600 ea. I sold 2, then a little later one more, all four are still in service.


BTW, did you notice that Ron Paul was beating Guliani and Thompson in Michigan, despite his exclusion from debates:laugh::laugh: I guess they are going to have to include Dr Paul, or exclude Rudy and Fred. :laugh::laugh:

[Exact Rototilling]

LawnTamer,

Honestly I've never seen a single presidential debate all the way through ;) . . . but yes whenever Ron Paul is excluded form a debate, Fox news etc. the grass roots support goes wild. Ends up on Jay Leno because of it. :laugh: :clapping:

________________

If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay from the manufacturer for each of your Plugr 600's? I won't quote you. :)

Anyhow I pulled my dealer quote for the 850Hd and it's $4100 for the Brigs and $4375 for the Honda

800 is $3085 for the Honda

[Exact Rototilling]

:usflag:Purchase time for one of these is inside of 8 weeks. Please chime in if you have experience with these units. Good, bad or ugly?

Even if you hate Ron Paul your input appreciated! :laugh:

RYAN Lawnair 28 vs. Plugr 850HD*trucewhiteflag*
*newusflag*

[lawnpro724]

What about Bluebirds H742 24" core aerator? www.alamia.com $2,495.00 free shipping and tax free.

[Exact Rototilling]

I've seen people really struggle with the drum tine type of aerators. Last fall my neighbor had her lawn aeratored by one of the big lawncare Co's. The poor guy looked like he was really chasing and struggling with the machine. Looked like a real PITA. :cry: I thought no way am I going to add that service to my list. Then I heard about the Plugr being waaaay easier on the body as well as the camshaft Ryan 28's. The only type of rear tine drum style I'd go with would be the spilt drive. Even then It would have to be for cheap for a barely used machine. From what I understand the Plugr 850HD has one of the denser aeration patterns out there. Not sure about the Ryan 28 but the author of a Aeration Book I'm reading is claiming the Ryan 28 beats the rolling tine units on density as well.

So my plan is to go with the Plugr 850HD or Ryan 28 and market my entire area with this service. My plan is to aerate spring and fall and part of the summer but not during the heat stress time of the year unless the homeowner waters daily and they don't cut their grass any shorter than 3.5 inches. The top setting on many mowers.

My plan is to make the bulk of my income for 2008 from aeration alone. I'm planning on marketing overseeding as well but I'm not 100% sure what the market demand will be. It will be an up sell tag on to the aeration. payup

[Exact Rototilling]

Does this unit have a reverse? Or does this involve lots of tugging and pulling to go back wards? :confused:

[jmoore16135]

No reverse, but it doesn't require that much tugging and/or pulling to move it backwards. It also pivots very well in transport mode.

[Exact Rototilling]

No reverse, but it doesn't require that much tugging and/or pulling to move it backwards. It also pivots very well in transport mode.
Is there more than one speed going forward? Any other input on ease or lack of ease on operation? General impression compared to any other aerators?

Thanks :waving:

[Albery's Lawn & Tractor]

Don't know about your area but here there is little demand for aeration. I've only used the drum style aerators and some are a real workout, especially if you try to get the widest one they make (I think I used a turfco 26" that was a real long day) but I have found that if I use a smaller width (a bluebird 18-21") I am a lot more productive and finish quicker then the bigger machines. I would recommend buying a used Bluebird aerator ($500-750 in good shape) just to start with to see if there is any money in it, then if there is you could sell it and probably get most of your money back and then buy one of these high dollar ones. Just my two cents.

[joesimoes2]

What are you selling it for? :drinkup:

[Exact Rototilling]

Don't know about your area but here there is little demand for aeration. I've only used the drum style aerators and some are a real workout, especially if you try to get the widest one they make (I think I used a turfco 26" that was a real long day) but I have found that if I use a smaller width (a bluebird 18-21") I am a lot more productive and finish quicker then the bigger machines. I would recommend buying a used Bluebird aerator ($500-750 in good shape) just to start with to see if there is any money in it, then if there is you could sell it and probably get most of your money back and then buy one of these high dollar ones. Just my two cents.



I'm not 100% sure of demand but I do remember seeing a fair amount of ads in the local service paper last year. We also know of several people who pay big bucks every year for this service. I know some of the irrigation Co's charge major bucks for it so why not me? From what I can tell there will be little demand, cash flow, if you don't market properly. However my plan is to bring in 40% to 60% of my income from this service alone by running the best equipment on the market that doesn't beat me to death doing 5 to 10+ aerations per week.

I'd be a complete clown to NOT market this separate from the rest of my services. Aeration will probably be 70%+ of my advertising budget.

I've been desperately searching for used aerators in my area. All the ones I want to buy used are over 1,000+ away from my location. There are very few if any Plugr 850HD that show up used. Actually I'd be really happy to pick up any of the Plugrs or a Ryan 28 used in decent shape within a 300 mile radius.

Honestly if the only units I could use were rolling drum tine units I don't think I would bother offering this service in any shape or form. Not saying if I found an exceptional used drum unit I would probably considering buying it but only on a temporary basis. My marketing strategy will largely focus on why my camshaft aerators are superior to the more common rolling tine drum style equipment. Why my services are better than the other guys. The minor will be why the client needs aeration done. #1 Why aeration #2 why my service is superior - pulls better cores - more per square foot etc. payup

[Albery's Lawn & Tractor]

Your only talking about 5-10 per week. Hell when we aerate we do that many in a day. If your area is already heavily marketed towards aeration why would customers choose you over the competition? Usually the only reason is price. It's great to have the best equipment but I think for what you are saying you want to do these aerators are way overkill and I don't see you making the money you think you will. Remember, if it was so easy everyone would only be aerating rather then other services.

[Exact Rototilling]

Your only talking about 5-10 per week. Hell when we aerate we do that many in a day. If your area is already heavily marketed towards aeration why would customers choose you over the competition? Usually the only reason is price. It's great to have the best equipment but I think for what you are saying you want to do these aerators are way overkill and I don't see you making the money you think you will. Remember, if it was so easy everyone would only be aerating rather then other services.
I'm a solo operation and I intend on keeping it that way. 5 to 10 per week is just an estimate. Sure 5 to 10 a DAY would be better. I like to project conservatively.

So if I was to apply this logic to mowing then the only way I can capture the market is to drop my mowing rates and under cut the competition by $5 to $10 . . . and it has nothing to do with having better equipment or superior service and attention to detail. That would make me a borderline low-baller IMHO. Every Joe around here has a mower in the back of his truck so should I NOT try to expand my mowing service this years since the market is flooded? I think I have a fairly decent grasp of what I need to make. If it turns out I'm not able to make at least double [x2] what the same yard would be to mow - I may just bail on offering the service. Considering that most yards have sprinklers [time marking or even replacing a few heads if I mess up etc.], tine replacement cost and the amount of rocks that naturally occur in the soil I can not be profitable if I drop my rates down to $35 a yard the current going rate for mowing here.

In my brother in-laws area, near Portland Oregon, there are mass market lowballer outfits that do crummy work for roughly $25 a yard. There is no way I would ever aerate any small yard for that rate.

This business has it's risks and yes I'm willing to gamble to some degree. The Biggest mistakes I made last year was purely by not offering services or thinking there was a no market for it. Late October I decided to NOT offer snow removal and it turned out the be the heaviest year for accumulated snow fall since 1954. I'm still kicking myself on that. :cry::cry::cry:

If by some chance I fail so be it . . . Until then I will give it one hell of an effort to take serious bite out of the market.

:waving:

[Monroe74]

I haven't Had much luck with the pluger w/hydro on hills just my two cents

[Exact Rototilling]

I haven't Had much luck with the pluger w/hydro on hills just my two cents

Can you go into some detail on this? I'm assuming you have the Plugr 850HD? From what I have a gathered the hydro drive is just to the front wheels and several people have griped about it's use with the step saver and the engines seem to be borderline underpowered. Beyond that complaints seem to be minimal.

[humble1]

my buddy has a plugger and can aerate a lawn and drink a coffee. In regards to dropping price why not keep your price up and offer a 30% discount on aeration. Also if your dealer is any good he should be able to get you a demo unit of each to try. You wouldnt buy a new truck w/ out a test drive would you?

[hanson's glc]

i have a ryan 28. it is ok but i will look hard at the pluger next spring. i have done 5 yards in a row and i was a but done for the day 3.5h. i would demo both. if your dealers any good you need it bad then you may buy the demo. hope this helps.

[Exact Rototilling]

Just ordered out a Plugr 850HD and I pick it up in 2 weeks. For 2008 Plugr up'ed the ponies to 6.5 from 5.5 on the Honda engine :)

This should help the unit out since some here have claimed that the 5.5 hp unit seemed underpowered. A dealer across state line offered me a sweet deal.

:cool2:

[mostevenings]

If you get the PL850 HD and add the sulkey you'll have to adjust the cable's eye bolt by bending it toward the operator. Just thread the eye bolt all the way out and then bent it at that position; however, mark it and take it out of the plastic plate before bending. I've found when you engage the tines in the "UP" position, the tines hits the back o the bracket that hitches to the sulkey. If you call the manufacture, they will send you some type of spring to install between the eye bolt and cable.

[mrmoww]

I second what you say ALBERY'S....... 5 to 10 a week? we've done that in a day also and have sometimes done that before noon. The drum machines do to much damage if you don't know what your doing, around corners, turning, etc. Just one question though...... why so many questions on a piece of equipment that you claim to already own?

[mrmoww]

Hey glad to see you made a choice...... you'll have good luck with this machine, I hope your market will be strong 4 u. We have seen a decline in this area due to people being able to go to the local rental shop and do it themselves, or the fly by nighter renting the machines and cut throatin' us regulars. Hopefully you'll see different! Good Luck.

[georgiagrass]

Well ... ? It's 8 months later. What happened? How was the Plugr and how did your business plans work out? Inquiring minds want to know.

[jason u]

I added a new service of aerating, overseeding, and top dressing and cleaned up on the revenues. On an average size lawn here (about 4000 sq ft), it took about 45 minutes to do all three, and the demand was there all year, although I only did them in the spring and the fall...

P.S. i prefer the lawnaire 28...seems to be easier to work with...and easier to repair in the field if something goes wrong!!!:canadaflag::canadaflag:

[ZSpray Info]

Keep our machine in mind as well. 36" zero-turn. Hopper is optional.

60-80k per hour.

[georgiagrass]

Keep our machine in mind as well. 36" zero-turn. Hopper is optional.

60-80k per hour.

what does this machine cost?

[DUSTYCEDAR]

i have a z plugr it rocks

[ZSpray Info]

what does this machine cost?


$6795.00 We are offering $250 off that until Jan 15th. the Hydraulic hopper system is an additional $995. We also manufacture a spray system, snow plow, slit seeder and de-thatch rake for the unit as well.

[Exact Rototilling]

Well ... ? It's 8 months later. What happened? How was the Plugr and how did your business plans work out? Inquiring minds want to know.

Sorry been super busy with snow removal the last 3 weeks record snow storms. :dizzy:

....Anyhow I bought the Plugr 850HD and I'm favorable impressed with the machine. The sulky is basically next to worthless IMO worst $200 I've ever spent.

What I like about the Plugr is that it flat out pulls more pugs per square foot than the other common rolling tine machines. It's a very common response from my customers who have had another company aerate for them in the past with a standard aerator and they always say. "wow that's a lot of plugs". I'd really like to get some comprehensive data on the Plugr in direct comparison to other machine on the market regardless of size. One of my customer even rented a rolling tine WB unit just week prior. There were hardly any plugs to be found anywhere - after I was done it looked like geese went wild in her yard. The biggest resistance factor I run up against in trying to sell core aeration is the customers bad "Prioir" expence with another company that runs a mchine that doesn't pull good plugs. Their attitutude is that aeration is a waste of money.

I only had one complaint from a neighbor of a client who was under the impression that my plugr only pulled 2.5" to 2.75" inch plugs. They were expecting 5" plugs ?


It works very well in rocky and difficult soil, the hydro drive really helps make the unit faster and easier to control back up and even to stop - and hills are a breeze. Struggle factor is very low IMO. Slightly tougher to run than a 21" mower and nothing like the other touture WB devices on the market. A bigger tow behind unit or ride would not work well for most of the properties I've done. I'd still need the plugr even if I had a bigger unit. It would be nice to have a bigger machine for large properties however that is a relatively thin part of the market for me.

I'm planning on working myself silly in the spring with aeration. Fall aeration here was a bit weaker than I thought it would be. I'm considering getting a second Plugr 850HD as a backup machine. There was demo unit that sold on eBay last spring for cheap for around $2600 with low hours on it.

If I could only do aerations payup :cool2: and drop mowing altogether I'd be a happy camper.

Hope this helps.

[aloha]

Its two years later. How is your business? Are you out of lawns and just doing aeration?

[Exact Rototilling]

Its two years later. How is your business? Are you out of lawns and just doing aeration?Funny you ask...I've been reflecting on the very issue. Aeration has been a bit of mixed bag for me. I run both the Plugr 850HD and now the 2010 Lawn Solutions WB I purchased this spring.

Lets just say several posters here privately tried to tell me there is more money in mowing. Overall considering capital investment I'd have to agree.

I advertise more plugs and better service and this is a fact. Even the lawn solutions WB pulls a bit tighter pattern than the other WB machines.

I get complaints all the time that I charge more than the last guy but when they approve the job they say,..."oh yeah that is more plugs"... or..."yeah you covered more of the lawn than the other company"

Generally I'm NOT getting 2.5 time the mowing rate. I'm doing good to get 1.5X to 2 times the mow rate. I don't do that well for time spent on bigger properties and now I typically steer away from lawn bigger than 1/3 of an acre. At this point I have no plans on getting a more productive aerators to speed up large properties.

I've spent a load of cash on aeration specific discount weekend marketing. It was basically a flop. I drifted always from more technical advertising which has worked well for me in the past to what has been repeatedly suggested more of "do what the golf courses do". Spring sprinkler turn ons are a problem. I started doing aeration's on March 1st this year. Money seems to be tighter but it was my busiest spring ever.

I do very few spring clean ups and my business model is Mow & Blow with immaculate edging plus I do aeration's, power racking/de-thatching, lawn overseeding and garden rototilling. SO instead of doing clean ups I do aeration's and a few power raking and such.

I would not recommend an aeration only business plan unless it was a part time venture.....at least in my area. Way too many $39.95 with free herbicide and fert half price hacks in the area. Too many potential "cheap" clients complain that they can rent the machine for $5-$25 less than what I can charge. :hammerhead: Hey knock yourself out ...I think to myself.

Once spring mowing season gets well under way I pretty much ignore aeration's...it gets pushed to the back burner. I will again push aeration's in the late summer early fall but Fall aeration's seem to be slow here.
:waving: