having no backup mower

[lawnchopper]

my co only keeps just enough equipment to do the work for the week. That is 2 mower going 5 full days a week balls to the walls and no back up mower at the shop. My boss banks on the fact that in a event of a break down the dealer will bend over backwards and get ours up and going or have a demo to use. So far we've been lucky cause the dealers have been good but i wouldnt count on it every time. The owner belives that a mower that has value sitting at the shop not producing is depreciating asset I see his point but I dont know of any company that doesnt have a back up of some kind.
My guess is that you guys problably have backups???

[K.Carothers]

I have a small operation compared to most on this site and I do have a back up. I bought it used(48"hydro) and take it out at least once a week to keep it moving. Its like anything else in this business, time is money and I don't make any money on down time-learned the hard way with belts for the mowers.

[K c m]

If you keep up with it you don't really need a backup.

[rodfather]

Well I can tell you after 11 years of this full time, it's REAL nice to have backup equipment. Tell ya why...

One, as owner of the business, I can sleep a helluva lot better at night.
Two, I can't "catch up" lost mowing revenue in January.
And three, I can't rely on my dealer dropping everything everytime I have a breakdown so I'm up and running. That isn't the real world. You have a window of opportunity each week to make your numbers and once that is gone, oh well...

I will agree you can have too much equipment. The trick though is knowing what the right amount is for your operation...only you can answer that.

[LawnScapers of Dayton]

I have a 36" Toro that I only use about 10-15% of the time. I consider that my backup ....if that were to breakdown...I have to go to the 21".....

Luckly....I have never had a failure that completely stopped me. I threw a drive tire on my 61" Stander this season...... That only cost me about 2 hours.

Derek

[Albemarle Lawn]

Double, redundant backup is a must.

We have backup trucks, trailer, mowers, trimmers, women, blowers, did I just say women blowers?

[MTR]

Originally Posted by lawnchopper

my co only keeps just enough equipment to do the work for the week. That is 2 mower going 5 full days a week balls to the walls and no back up mower at the shop. My boss banks on the fact that in a event of a break down the dealer will bend over backwards and get ours up and going or have a demo to use. So far we've been lucky cause the dealers have been good but i wouldnt count on it every time. The owner belives that a mower that has value sitting at the shop not producing is depreciating asset I see his point but I dont know of any company that doesnt have a back up of some kind.
My guess is that you guys problably have backups???

You must have at least 2 mowers, like 52-36, 60-48 per one crew, every set-up must have 2 relative mowers. You will be toasted if your 52"Z or 52" WB went down like belts snapped or something...the 36 or 48 can finish the job. In Florida, during season like March till October, most of dealers are "flooded" with repairs, and the warranty list takes priority, most of time it takes like a week or two, or 3 weeks like this year 4 Hurricane hit Florida, everyone has problems, even just as small as belt swap. What you gonna do during those weeks if you don't have a backup? probably out of biz if 40 of your accounts call and question? Renting equipment? Dealer don't have enough loaners for all of customers...tell me.

[LwnmwrMan22]

Originally Posted by Albemarle Lawn

Double, redundant backup is a must.

We have backup trucks, trailer, mowers, trimmers, women, blowers, did I just say women blowers?

I agree. I'm my own show, but have a 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 diesel as my backup to a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel.

I've got a 24' V-Nose enclosed trailer, backed up by 26' flatbed trailer.

I've got a Kubota ZD-28 60" deck backed up by a Ferris IS4000 60" deck.

I've got a PermaGreen Ultra backed up by a 200 gallon Lesco tank sprayer.

As you can guess, my profit margins probably as good as some people, but I've never got a time where I'm down, I have no down time due to equipment failure.

[Jason Rose]

I'm just solo, but I have back-ups too. Matter of fact, the only peice of equipment I don't have a back-up for is ME!
The best idea iv'e found for back-up equipment is one that is the same model you are currently using. That way you can rob parts from one to the other if need be. I have 2 50" commercial Dixons, both previously had catcher/blower on them but i converted my older machine into a mulcher. Still the same machine but now if my one with the catcher goes down I have to either remove the mulch kit and re-install the catcher on the other one (horrible job being a fully baffled bolted on deal) or I can rob parts and get going again till later in the day when I can order or pick-up parts. My 21" is back-up for my 33" but there is no way that either the 33" or 21" could back-up my ztrs. Not enough hours in the day to walk all my lawns. I think everyone should have some kind of back-up, it's just hard to see a 6 or 8 thousand dollar ztr sitting in the shop collecting dust waiting for an emergency...

[Metro Lawn]

Originally Posted by K c m

If you keep up with it you don't really need a backup.

I can see that no thought was put into this comment. The best maintenance program in the world can't stop every problem. There are many factors that don't have anything to do with basic maintenance. Electronics go bad without warning, normal wear items, and the never ending list of things that are caused by outside forces. Take a look at your local dealer. Over 50% of the machines there for repair are close to new. If you don't have a back up, you are a fool.