Snapper Commercial mowers, your input.

[proline32]

Ok Guys, with all the rain we had today I thought I'd go around to all the dealerships and check out some new mowers. I was going to just wait and get a new 21" proline and with the 2 cycle engine, but I went to visit the snapper guys today and they were very helpful in showing me thier commercial mowers and they want me to demo some of the different ones for a few days to be sure I am satisfied with them on various lawns and conditions. I really like the design of the drive system and these guys would bend over backward to help me if I have any problems, and give me a loaner if mine broke down, They offer a 2 cycle, 4 horse robin engine or a 5 horse kawasaki, or a 6 horse robin..... These machines are about $200 less than a proline. I am interested in the two cycle engine( be nice to get rid of oil changes) and I beleive that it uses the same mix as trimmers. I also like the hi lift deck or I can switch over to a ninja blade for mulching.

Your opinions please, but no brand bashing. thank you !

[randosh4]

ninja blade is great but drive system slips after awhile

[trimmer]

Will never ever buy a Snapper, and will never reccomend their product.

Jacob

[turfnerd]

I totally agree with randosh4, the ninja blade mulches great.

and the self propell belts slip all the time, I would avoid it, if you are using it commercially, makes a great homeowner mower though.

[Bill Davis]

Personally I love the snappers, I have two of the 4cycl. commercial 21's and they have always been good to me. Great cut and durability and always start on the first pull. The bagging system is the best, just be sure to get the side discharge and not the rear becuase the side is stronger for some reason. It has something to do with the deck, but anyway go demo the mower and decide for yourself.

[keifer]

I have never owned a snapper but that 26 incher with the robin looks nice.

[sheppard]

Have a 36" BD WB. Does a very nice job for what it was desighned for- a trimmer mower.

Snappers tend to be a bit less expensive than most but I have not noticed any sacrifice in quality of cut and dependability.

I do not find the Ninja blades to do even a fair job. No way they compare to Gators.

The mulching block on their mowers works fine but I would just purchase that and get a set of high lift Gators.

Cordially,
Sheppard

[Turfdude]

For a 21" mower, Snapper gives one of the best cuts. I owned several 21" toro self propelled wb's years ago and killed the transmissions. These machines were beasts to push! I will admit, the old 5HP suzuki engines could not be killed!

If you pay for the 21" snapper w/ steel wheels and bearings, the machine is very easy to push. It rolls along effortlessly, so self-propel is not really an issue.

I still own 2 21 snappers (mainly trailer decoration), and my only complaint is that the rear axles get bent by brain dead employees who run into them w/ larger machines.

Good luck
Bob

[Mark]

Personally the best commerciaL mower ive purchased in the last 11yrs is a 52' Snapper 16hp Vanguard it cuts great and ive had no major problems,last yr i replaced the spindel bearings and a coil, other than belts and tires and the normal maintaince its been tops. I just bought a new 2002 Scag hydro hope it gives me the yrs my snapper has,also in southern In,snapper sells for the same price as the scags. Ive rate it 9 on the 10 scale,very good walkbehinds. Marks Mowing Service

[LJ lawn]

i owned one of the z riders and thought it was junk.i have a 21" self propelled that is like new that i bought at a yard sale for $14.00.i always see plenty of them in the trash every spring/fall so i grab a few for parts (gears,belt,setc).i think the "ninja"blade system is a slick marketing ploy for your hard earned cash.they make a gator blade for it now that actually works better and holds up longer.

[Southern Lawns]

Got a Snapper WB 48" belt drive Kawasaki. Great down and dirty machine. No trouble. Starts all the time. With regular maintenance I've had great luck. Cuts well.... either mulch, bag or blow. I use my Lazer Z most of the time now, crew uses the WB and it takes their abuse as well. As a soild walk behind I would say it holds it's own.

[JimLewis]

Snappers are better than most every other 21" on the market. But HONDA mowers are the best, barnone.

If you're gonna spend $600 or $700 on a snapper commercial why not spend the extra $300 and get a Honda Commercial mower? They have so many better features I don't even have room to list them all. But they are twice as good as the best snapper commercial mower. I've used them all. And once you use a Honda for a few weeks, you'll never go back to a Toro or Snapper. There's a reason they can demand the price they do - they're the best and they know it.

Asside from picking up wet grass better than a snapper, the Hondas also are not belt driven. They have a REAL transmission and will never slip.

I'll tell ya what. You want a commercial snapper? Come to Oregon, I know an former LCO who's been trying to off-load 2 of them [used lightly for only 2 months] for almost a year now. He'll sell them to you cheap! But if he had Hondas he would have been able to sell them in 1 week, guaranteed. They're the best and everyone wants them.

Hondas really are top of the line in a whole host of ways. But another reason I really like them is because the Honda dealership will fix a honda in 1-3 days for me. Snapper dealers always have a 2-4 week backup, even for commercial LCOs. If only for the quick service, they are worth the extra $ to buy Hondas.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by jimlewis
Snappers are better than most every other 21" on the market. But HONDA mowers are the best, barnone.

If you're gonna spend $600 or $700 on a snapper commercial why not spend the extra $300 and get a Honda Commercial mower? They have so many better features I don't even have room to list them all. But they are twice as good as the best snapper commercial mower. I've used them all. And once you use a Honda for a few weeks, you'll never go back to a Toro or Snapper. There's a reason they can demand the price they do - they're the best and they know it.

Asside from picking up wet grass better than a snapper, the Hondas also are not belt driven. They have a REAL transmission and will never slip.

I'll tell ya what. You want a commercial snapper? Come to Oregon, I know an former LCO who's been trying to off-load 2 of them [used lightly for only 2 months] for almost a year now. He'll sell them to you cheap! But if he had Hondas he would have been able to sell them in 1 week, guaranteed. They're the best and everyone wants them.

Hondas really are top of the line in a whole host of ways. But another reason I really like them is because the Honda dealership will fix a honda in 1-3 days for me. Snapper dealers always have a 2-4 week backup, even for commercial LCOs. If only for the quick service, they are worth the extra $ to buy Hondas.

Honda Hydro drive 21" best push mower made.

I have a Snapper push and love it, but it never gets used.

[Hobart]

Hondas are too heavy & can't side discharge spring growth. Love watching the LCO's using Hoda's bagging spring growth while we discharge with LB comms in half the time.

[Kent_M]

I bought the 21" Commercial Snapper with the Robins 6 H.P. 4 stroke engine on it last winter. This past summer I used it to service my 18-20 residential customers. It was a great mower, and it held up nice. I am kind of wishing that I had gotten the 2 cycle (I don't like changing the oil=LAZY :) ). Other than that, the mower has held up great for the first season. The bagging system is incredible, and with the Ninja blade, the mulching is great. I would highly recommend.

BTW: I printed off the price from Alamia.com, and brought it with me to the local lawn shop. He happily matched the price.


Kent

[proline32]

Well, I took jim lewis's advice and went to see my local honda dealer and looked at the commercial 21" with the shaft drive and hydro static tranny......SWEEEET machine! and at 1100 bucks too. Now I'm kinda on the fence on this, I like the snapper and I did really like the service guys, But the honda was great and built real solid, but I didn't like the fact that they don't have an oil filter on them, :( and The dealership as kinda indifferent to me and didn't seem like they REALLY wanted to sell me a mower, I asked if they had a demo I could try out and the guy kinda said they'll have to talk about it. Also the honda is a good 15 lbs heavier with a 5 horse engine where the snapper has a 6 horse robin and lighter. So, there I am...... I do really like the wheels on the honda, geez, this is worse than buying a car. The snapper guys were willing to bend over backwards to help me, and did a great job answering my questions, and I do really count service as a prime factor in my purchases.

[Tim Canavan]

Who's the closer dealer? Sounds like the Snapper guy has the one up on service. If he'll give you a loaner, that's great.
I prefer a Honda, though. You probably won't be needing a loaner with this machine as long as you take care of it. It is by far the best out there. My only gripe is that it is a little on the heavy side. Oh well, the pros definitely outway the cons.

Hey Hobart. What do you do with the side discharge? You still have to clean it up don't you? If we're not mulching we're bagging. No problem.:cool:

[proline32]

They are both in my town so distance isn't an issue..... I stpped by today to the toro guys and they were the the same as the snapper guys, more willing to help me out and dying to give me a demo, but I already have a proline 21' and it is a good mower and I know how good it is.

[RB]

Hasn't anyone heard of a commercial duty lawnboy. Just turn the governor spring up a tad and that thing will mow through anything.

I purchased a 21" honda commercial last season and returned it before I finished trimming my first lawn with it. After using a commercial duty lawnboy the honda is way too slow and awkard to use. And it doesn't mow as well as a lawnboy.

I think honda makes a great engine, but I don't like their mowers. I owned a 52" honda hydro. Greate machine, nice cut, huge engine, I think a 20 hp., but the fixed deck would always scalp in places no other wb would. And there was always a problem discharging grass.

I guess it's really what you are used to using.

Ron

[gusbuster]

proline32

We only use 21" mowers. The brands:
LawnBoy
Snapper commercial 6hp robin
Honda

Honda- I love the machine, but the drawback is weight. I have the 216 with hydro drive. Cuts good, but a total pain to bring up stairs. A 2 person job.

Snapper: good machine, cuts fine, but blade dulls fast. other drawbacks, easy to crack\break air filter neck, don't like the drive lever...have to use your full hand instead of the finger controls that honda and L.B. Harder to turn around than honda. 2 hands needed.

LawnBoy #22601 I think it the best compromise machine. It's lite and 1 man if need be can lift up machine up a stair case. Great mulcher. Speed on tranny is ok. Decent bagger if using proper set-up. And cheaper than the above machines. $700 to your door. Just remeber something, Toro makes the 22601. Check out their web site.

Out of all the machines up above, the usage by me and my crew is as follows:
70% lawnboy
25% honda
5% Snapper.

The snapper is a good machine,just hard to get use to it.

John

[proline32]

Thanks, when I first started out I had a lawnboy pushmower with the 2 cycle engine. It was a good mulcher, but wasn't that great on bagging wet grass( with the rear bagger). The lawnboy does fit most of my requirments..... Lighter in weight, large fuel tank, aluminum deck, 2 cycle engine with plenty of Horse power and I recall it did have a nice cut and a heavy duty blade. Perhaps if I went to the smaller side discharge bag and eliminated the tube it may bag better, I noticed they have a sealed deck too like the prolines and snapper, From my experience the LB was easy to maintain and I like the fact that it didn,t scalp near as bad.

[jay warner]

Atleast in my book anyway. I have run only Snapper mowers since 91 and over the past few years their commercial stuff has really come around. Their first shot at Z's was rough but now they run with the best of them. The joy stick, win's hands down over the double stick. All we run now is WB's, hydro and belt. We prefer the hydro's but the belt's are war horses and stripe better than the hydro's. That probably has something to do with speed. Any how, Snapper has caused me very little down time and make sure you have good service, that makes it with any brand.

[proline32]

Where are you at in SC jay? Originally I'm from Goose Creek...

[proline32]

Well after a month of searching around and trying out different new mowers I purchased new commercial LAWNBOYs, ordered them off alamia.com at a MUCH better price than the nearest dealer (30 miles away). I really liked the 6.5 horse 2 cycle engines power and the fact that it won't need an oil change. they will be great on hills, and gotta love the 1 gallon tank to boot and this guy is lightweight. I would of settled on honda but the dealer was basicly treating me like I didn't exist or that since I'm a small time LCO i was wasting his time( go figure) I tried the snappers but I wanted a 2 cycle engine and the local dealer basicly said they no longer make them, and I really didn't like the way it handled. Besides, I will be the only guy around here with commercial lawnboy mowers. So, my two old 21" prolines will be sold off for whatever I can get for them, gotta scrub looking to offer me $300 for one of them, and My Husquvarna 21" will be put to the status of yard clean up mower. My new lawnboys will be used only on quality yards. Nothing like a funky green MOWER to do yards with.

[LAWNPROzII]

Here all you see is Snapper or Toro. We run 48's and they are definitly workhorses and do a great job. Don't know about the 21's but have had no complaints yet about Snapper brand.

[anythinglawns]

I have a snapper 48" wb. belt drive. As someone mentioned before it is a great down and dirty mower. I have run the daylights out of it and it is still going strong. Only problem is that brake bands tend to break. I complained to Snapper about it and had a box of 6 new bands on my porch three days later.

[sdwally]

From a mechanic stand point, Snapper mowers are easier and cheaper to work on. Yes, the drive ring, belt, and gears tend to wear out faster on the drive system, but are fairly easy to replace yourself and not all that expensive when compared to other major brands. Honda parts expensive! Wear out a deck on a toro, replace the mower(deck replacement, cost will almost be the price of a new mower). Wear out a steel deck on a Snapper replace the deck and other worn componets; you'll basically have a new machine for half the cost of a new unit.
Just my thoughts.