Scag V Ride VS. Toro Grandstand - The Rundown

[cpllawncare]

Originally Posted by sjessen

My first reaction used to be to pull back on the controls. Only thing that accomplished was bigger skid marks. What seems to work better is to try to turn out of the slide. With experience one can tell when it is about to get away from you.

Yep, glad bermuda is self healing LOL I thought it might roll over though when I turned it sideways to get it out of the slide.

[sjessen]

Originally Posted by GroundWorkx

I saw your post and discovered 1 weight on the front of our 61. I removed and the front end will come up off the ground a little now. We'll see how much difference it makes. It probably won't be as drastic as you removing the weights off your 48.

Adding weight to the rear may be the next step.

Sounds like you are on the right track. The scag may be designed for heavier operators. As an experiment try putting the weight you removed on the platform and see how it does.

You can learn to finesse the "wheelie" with some practice.

[jbell36]

yeah you simply cant use the GS with the platform up...i found this out the hard way...when i first got it i was still getting used to what it could do, one yard was really wet and down hill and i was getting cocky with how much it could actually do because i was so impressed with the hills it could climb sideways, and it started to slide towards a car so i jumped off and it slid twice as fast, and right into the car...luckily it somehow just hit the tire and bounced off, really hard i might add...luckily there was no damage, but i quickly learned the traction in walk behind mode is non existent

[sjessen]

Originally Posted by cpllawncare

Yep, glad bermuda is self healing LOL I thought it might roll over though when I turned it sideways to get it out of the slide.

Had a really scary moment when demoing the Vantage last spring. I lost control of it and it slid into the woods(muddy as well). Was trying to walk it out but the wheels were spinning so I hopped on the platform and the front end came up and flipped over backward. Not a 180 but just past 90 degrees. Was able to push it back and got it out. fuel was coming out of the air cleaner. Not pretty.

[Darryl G]

The problem with all of these zero turn machines is that when going down a hill most of the weight is on the front wheels and your control is in the rear wheels...just not enough weight on them. When traversing slopes I sometimes have to make my turns in the opposite direction I normally would, so that I'm turning uphill instead of downhill. Then I back up and turn a little to get to my next row.

[GroundWorkx]

Originally Posted by darryl gesner

The problem with all of these zero turn machines is that when going down a hill most of the weight is on the front wheels and your control is in the rear wheels...just not enough weight on them. When traversing slopes I sometimes have to make my turns in the opposite direction I normally would, so that I'm turning uphill instead of downhill. Then I back up and turn a little to get to my next row.

Have any of you used or even seen these Ted Brakes? Pretty interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k_Yd...e_gdata_player

[sjessen]

Originally Posted by GroundWorkx

Have any of you used or even seen these Ted Brakes? Pretty interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k_Yd...e_gdata_player

Don't think they have those for standers. If they did, I'd jump on it in a heartbeat.

[GroundWorkx]

Originally Posted by darryl gesner

Welcome to Lawnsite GroundWorkx. Yours has to be the best first post I've seen on this site.

I've been considering getting a stander to replace my aging Exmark Turf Tracer HP with Bullrider sulky that cuts much like you describe your GS as cutting.

So what kind of grasses are you cutting down there?

It's kind of all over the place down here. A decent amount of Kentucky bluegrass and fescue, some Bermuda. A lot of places are mixed. And of course there are a bunch of yards we do that have mostly weeds.

[weaver]

Originally Posted by sjessen

Had a really scary moment when demoing the Vantage last spring. I lost control of it and it slid into the woods(muddy as well). Was trying to walk it out but the wheels were spinning so I hopped on the platform and the front end came up and flipped over backward. Not a 180 but just past 90 degrees. Was able to push it back and got it out. fuel was coming out of the air cleaner. Not pretty.

That would have to be the craziest demo story i ever heard....
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[GroundWorkx]

Originally Posted by jbell36

no the GS walk position is simply worthless, it throws the weight distribution way off and loses all traction...BUT, they are great on hills in the stand position...i also like the stand on position/platform better than any stander out there...the biggest downfall i have heard about the v ride is hillside stability, but apparently there is something you can do about it...

great review, although even as you stated it's not apples to apples...i love our grandstands, the cut is awesome in any grass, tall short, dry wet, etc...one thing that you might have experienced is toro's discharge thing they have on their decks...it's worthless as well, you should make sure it's wide open or even take it off, it has the "A" "B" "C" settings...the more i compare the better i like our grandstands, and we even have the first year gs's with the most problems...i agree tho, they should make them go faster...we tweaked ours so they do go faster, but still, the competition is getting faster and faster...

You know, we've been pretty pleased with ours too, and it is a first year. We wish ours had more horsepower, but in the dry months it's just fine. So your GS's cut well in wet grass? We can sharpen the blades and clean out the deck and it will clump and get gunked up on the 1st yard the next day if it is wet and thick. But I've found that to be the case with all the toros I've owned as far as I can remember.

I've operated a lot of different brands of mowers, and had found toro to be the best thus far. But the scag deck was pretty shocking to me. All I can say is that almost every yard we have to double cut with the grandstand, we can single cut with the scag, at a higher speed (especially on the big yards). I wasn't expecting it to save us as much time as it does.

We do feel like both mowers are valuable to us, and really enjoy the combination of the two so far. We aren't really looking to get rid of the GS, just to be able to use it where it shines.