Jim Clark
05-08-2002, 01:27 PM
Thanks for all the useful info I've been getting by lurking around in here recently.
You guys are in a tough business. As I sit at my computer working on spreadsheets and business plans and watch the guys cutting my 2 acres every week, I do not envy them. It looks like hard work and not fun. I used to cut my property, originally with a Wheel Horse 14 hp tractor (took WAY too long) and then a used 1978 National Triplex 84" reel mower. The reel mower was fun the first few times and it cut my mowing time in half but it to became "old" (BTW, it gives a fantastic cut that no rotary could match). The guys who cut my lawn use walk-behinds with the stand-up single wheel riders. Their arms, legs, and backs must be strong as Hell doing this many hours a day.
I admit to being "cheap" in that I hired the guys who would cut it for the least amount of money. They have about 4 lawns in the immediate vicinity so they park the truck and do all 4 without having to load and drive, they give us a good deal. They don't do double cuts or anything like it in this severe growth season, they even missed my back yard last week because I was at a meeting and they came early (dog containment fence was locked). They'll come today and blades will be at normal height which means they'll cut more than half the length off of 8" (you get what you pay for).
Going to move soon to a property with a little under 1 acre, maybe 3/4 acre cut. I'm thinking of getting a residential grade ZTR that can take a plow and tow-behinds and going back to doing it myself. Figure a 42" ZTR would make quick work of an acre. Any thoughts on which one?
Anyway, I know how hard you guys work and how cheap and unreasonable us home owners can be. Just wanted to say thanks. Come to think of it, that ZTR would be fun the first few times (like the National was) but it will probably get "old" soon enough that I should just hire one of you guys to do it. If I could just find somebody to do it cheap enough......LOL.
Jim
You guys are in a tough business. As I sit at my computer working on spreadsheets and business plans and watch the guys cutting my 2 acres every week, I do not envy them. It looks like hard work and not fun. I used to cut my property, originally with a Wheel Horse 14 hp tractor (took WAY too long) and then a used 1978 National Triplex 84" reel mower. The reel mower was fun the first few times and it cut my mowing time in half but it to became "old" (BTW, it gives a fantastic cut that no rotary could match). The guys who cut my lawn use walk-behinds with the stand-up single wheel riders. Their arms, legs, and backs must be strong as Hell doing this many hours a day.
I admit to being "cheap" in that I hired the guys who would cut it for the least amount of money. They have about 4 lawns in the immediate vicinity so they park the truck and do all 4 without having to load and drive, they give us a good deal. They don't do double cuts or anything like it in this severe growth season, they even missed my back yard last week because I was at a meeting and they came early (dog containment fence was locked). They'll come today and blades will be at normal height which means they'll cut more than half the length off of 8" (you get what you pay for).
Going to move soon to a property with a little under 1 acre, maybe 3/4 acre cut. I'm thinking of getting a residential grade ZTR that can take a plow and tow-behinds and going back to doing it myself. Figure a 42" ZTR would make quick work of an acre. Any thoughts on which one?
Anyway, I know how hard you guys work and how cheap and unreasonable us home owners can be. Just wanted to say thanks. Come to think of it, that ZTR would be fun the first few times (like the National was) but it will probably get "old" soon enough that I should just hire one of you guys to do it. If I could just find somebody to do it cheap enough......LOL.
Jim