Crew Set-Ups

[freshprince94]

I am not running crews now but thought this would make an efficient set-up if I had lots of money to spend. Those of you that run multiple crews feel free to chime in.

Crew 1
This would be your "Gated Yards Crew". You have 3 guys. On the trailer, you have: 32" Wright Stander, 36" Wright Stander, 42" Wright Stander. This would cover each size gate so you have the biggest deck that you can squeeze through. This crew could also do the cookie cutter yards. For handhelds, 2 trimmers, 2 edgers, 2 blowers. One guy mows, the other guy edges, the other guy trims. Whoever finishes first grabs the blower.
Crew 2
This would be the "Small to Midsize Yard" You have 3 guys. For mowers, you have: 21" eXmark Metro, 46" eXmark Lazer Z HP, 52" eXmark Lazer Z HP. The 46 is for the smaller yards where the 52 is overkill, the 52 is for the mid size yards. Most yards fall into this category unless you do a lot of large sites. Same set-up for trimming, edging, and blowing as described above.
Crew 3
This would be the "Large and Estate Size Yards Crew". You have four guys. You have: eXmark Lazer Z 60", eXmark Lazer Z 66", and eXmark Lazer Z 72". This crew could also do the commercial properties. Same trimming set-up as before, except you have 2 guys trimming.

What do you guys think?

[ponyboy]

i think you have alot of time to waste, we run 4 crews they all have a 61,52 and a 48 for the gates all hydro and floating decks. with the price of fuel each crew doea an aera in the county weather big or small they can do it. we do not take on lawn that a 48 can not fit into, but if you had a lot of money to spend sure that would be fine

[TwistedSister]

Crew 1: get rid of 36in stander. Make 42in stander a 48. Get rid of the edgers, make them use the trimmers, give them one handheld blower and on backpack. Make it a 2 man crew.

Crew 2: get rid of the 21. Dont give them z's, give them a 52in stander and a 36in stander/WB so they can get those larger lawns that still have gates. Also make it a 2 man crew and get rid of the edgers (depending on how well they can edge w/ the trimmers.

Crew 3:get rid of the 66in Z. Give them thew 21 for ditches, etc. Make it a 3 or 4 man crew depending on the size of the properties. Give them 3 trimmers and 2 edgers.

Its just my opinion, I dont have any crews at all I just think that your setup has too many pieces of equipment in it and the crews will waste too much time shuffling the mowers around. Just my $0.02

[Mowerboy04]

if i were to run crews this is how i would do it with about 250 accounts

1st crew doing residential and commerical lawns up to 1.5 acers

3 man crew
Chevy 1500 7.5 boss plow
7x14 trailer with trimmer and blower racks
52"toro z400
36in exmark hydro
toro 21in
2 redmax trimmers
1 redmax edger
3 redmax 7001 blowers

crew 2 doing midsize to large props and commerical props
3man crew
chevy 2500 9ft boss v-blade
8x18 enclosed trailer
(2) toro z500 60in deck
(1) exmark 48in hydro
2 redmax trimmers
2 redmax edgers
3 redmax 7001 blowers

crew 3 landscape crew with a box van

hedge trimmers
bededger
aerator
sprinkler parts
shovels rakes ect
also used for holiday lighting in the winter

so yea thats how i would do it.... i say give it 5 years i'll be there

ps. i know my spelling is bad don't bother telling me... and yes i know how to use spell check but i'm tired and lazzy after mowing all day

[wheels910]

i smell the start of a new video game. LawnCare Tycoon.

Assign your crews equipment and manage their properties. Try to turn a profit after second year of business after starting from the ground up.

Man, it must have rained today to be talking about what crews we'd hire and what our dream setups are.

[hockeypro1411]

Originally Posted by wheels910

i smell the start of a new video game. LawnCare Tycoon.

Assign your crews equipment and manage their properties. Try to turn a profit after second year of business after starting from the ground up.

Man, it must have rained today to be talking about what crews we'd hire and what our dream setups are.

i would honestly consider buying that game

[ALC-GregH]

hey, we might learned something fromz it.

[MileHigh]

Originally Posted by TwistedSister

Crew 1: get rid of 36in stander. Make 42in stander a 48. Get rid of the edgers, make them use the trimmers, give them one handheld blower and on backpack. Make it a 2 man crew.

Crew 2: get rid of the 21. Dont give them z's, give them a 52in stander and a 36in stander/WB so they can get those larger lawns that still have gates. Also make it a 2 man crew and get rid of the edgers (depending on how well they can edge w/ the trimmers.

Crew 3:get rid of the 66in Z. Give them thew 21 for ditches, etc. Make it a 3 or 4 man crew depending on the size of the properties. Give them 3 trimmers and 2 edgers.

Its just my opinion, I dont have any crews at all I just think that your setup has too many pieces of equipment in it and the crews will waste too much time shuffling the mowers around. Just my $0.02

Every lawn truck should have a couple of edgers on it. IMO the edge is the second most important thing about cutting a lawn, right behind the quality of cut.

But yea the 21"on the second crew doesn't make any since. It should be on the first crew if any.

[MowHouston]

I -would- buy LCO Tycoon.

Anything over 2 men on residential lawns is a waste of time. I'm too lazy to get into equipment, but I've seen 3+ man crews working residential and its stupid. Always someone standing around at the end. Waste of your money.

With me its:

Worker 1 starts trimming
Worker 2 starts mowing
While worker 2 is mowing, worker 1 finishes trimming and starts edging
Worker 2 finishes mowing and starts blowing
We usually get done at the same time very little down time.

If we've got weeding to do, its easy, when you get finished with your job, get on another.

I guess if ALL of your lawns were full service, weeding, mowing, bush trimming, a 3 man crew would make some sense.

[White Gardens]

Originally Posted by BGLC

I -would- buy LCO Tycoon.

Anything over 2 men on residential lawns is a waste of time. I'm too lazy to get into equipment, but I've seen 3+ man crews working residential and its stupid. Always someone standing around at the end. Waste of your money.

With me its:

Worker 1 starts trimming
Worker 2 starts mowing
While worker 2 is mowing, worker 1 finishes trimming and starts edging
Worker 2 finishes mowing and starts blowing
We usually get done at the same time very little down time.

If we've got weeding to do, its easy, when you get finished with your job, get on another.

I guess if ALL of your lawns were full service, weeding, mowing, bush trimming, a 3 man crew would make some sense.

Ya, three man crews are a waste. Over a week we seen how 1 man operated, 2 men, then three. We saved 45% of time with two men over one, and we only gained another 10% with the third man.

If we need a bigger crew at a site, I just coridinate both crews being at the same place at the same time. Usually first thing in the morning. When the job is done, they split.