walk behind vs rider (ZTR or other)

[lastdetail14]

Can I get some opinions on which is better and for what. I see a lot of walk behinds on this site. In my area, I see all riders and push mowers. I have two ZTR's. I have 6 commercial accounts, one of them is about an acre. The rest are smaller, Cracker Barrel, Red Lobster, Tractor Supply, and Starbucks. All pretty flat with a lot of curbs and smaller areas. Thanks for your help.

[kaferhaus]

Never walk when you can ride. It's faster and you're not near as tired at the end of the day. Most of the guys with walk behinds have them because theyr'e much less expesive than the riders. Nothing wrong with that.

[addictedtolandscaping]

Each definitely have their place. The riders as mentioned, production production production. However the dual hydro walk behinds will be able to get places that a ztr not only can;t get to, but should not even be tried on.

[punt66]

ztr is the only way to go in my book. I dont accept properties that a ztr cant maintain. So my route is full of good safe properties. I have 2 walkbehinds but they never make it on the trailer. Backup only.

[HulkXD]

I went with the ZTR. Now the next question is, do you want a midmount deck or a front mount deck? Midmounts are faster, and front mounts are bigger but ride much better (not to mention more expensive).

[addictedtolandscaping]

That is more a personal preference than anything else. If it is the ride that you are struggling with, Ferris has 4 wheel independent suspension. As for production, obviously as you know, the mid mounts are the way to go, as well as for room on your trailer(s). As for manufacturer, that is a simple one, dealer support. I m headed strongly back to maintenance this year, and actually have decide to go with Ferris because of the dealer support and the factory is here in NY about an hour and a half from me. The dealer I have dealt with in the past handle Toro, Exmark, Scag and now Walker, but service sucks. I have had times when my machine was down over a week because of the way they handle it, and lets face it, that is no where near acceptable, especially in this economy. The dealer I am with now has guaranteed me a demo if mine goes down, regardless. It may not be the same as I am bringing in as far as model and size i.e. I have 3100 series, may end up with a 2000 series while mine is being fixed, but I won't lose a whole days pay. You can;t beat that, customer service start to finish, that is a huge issue now. Good luck, let us know how you do.

[LLandscaping]

We have a variety of mowers to service different types of properties. We have 3 Scag Turf Tiger, 1 Walker bagging mowers, and 2 Toro 48" T-2 hydro walkbehinds. We use the Turf Tigers on larger properties, the Walker on small properties needing to be bagged and run the walkbehinds on properties with hills or where a ztr would do turf damage.

[turfbuilder]

#1 ZTR'S
#2 Stander ZTR's
#3 walk behinds

[JKOOPERS]

Originally Posted by kaferhaus

Never walk when you can ride. It's faster and you're not near as tired at the end of the day. Most of the guys with walk behinds have them because theyr'e much less expesive than the riders. Nothing wrong with that.

thats not always true about a WB being cheaper. The only way i will ever get a ZTR is if I pick up some accounts to run it 5 or more hours at a time. With a WB you can cut everything a ZTR can plus you can cut stuff the ZTR can't.

[fiveoboy01]

Both have their pluses and minuses. I use both. Of course in most instances, the Z will be faster. Some customers do not want to see a Z on their yard due to the weight.

A WB will cut steep terrain that I wouldn't think about putting a Z on.