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What Deere machine would that/those be?
Need to buy two commercial mowers for a 40 acre campus
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I agree with you on Deere not allowing diagnostic software to owners...that's inexcusable.
As for Ford, no, they aren't cheaper. That and "fleet sales" is a tired old argument that's been disproved many times. Base prices have fluctuated between the big three for many years; some years its Ford, some years its Chevy, and some years its Dodge/RAM. Ford's product is no cheaper or less quality than the other domestics. The bottom line is that they are ALL junk, and some designs over the years have been good, others have been total crap. For example, GM's IFS on their GMT800 line of HD's in the early to mid 2000's did in fact ride and steer better than a solid front axle Ford or RAM, but the tie rods did break, especially with plowing, and the CV axles also broke from plowing, and the torsion bars needed to be turned up to properly carry a plow. The solid axle trucks rode rougher, but they didn't break, and they had more ground clearance. Fast forward to today, and I think the Ford aluminum body is a total win if you live in the rust belt. The RAM HD's look nice inside and out but they need a better diesel transmission and an updated gas engine. The current Chevy HD in lower trims is perhaps the ugliest truck since the 2008-2010 Ford XL Super Duty trucks, but they have the IFS front end really beefed up and figured out now, and the inside is nicer too. I really liked the 6.0L gas engine for its simplicity and reliability. Duramax has basically always been good.
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I like Deere equipment, but I am no fan of the company itself. Not by a long shot. That said, JD does now allow the sharing of info needed for independent repair shops and farmers themselves to repair their own equipment and have access to the diagnostics and tools needed.
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/TW5B6IRF5BJ43LIKPJ2MXRFEJA.jpg)
www.reuters.com
Deere & Co. will allow farmers to repair their own equipment
The American Farm Bureau Federation and machinery manufacturer Deere & Co signed a memorandum of understanding on Sunday that ensures farmers have the right to repair their own farm equipment or go to an independent technician.
www.reuters.com
john deere 810a zero turn
john deere 855 tractor
and a skid steer, dont remember the model number.
admittedly, they are all older machines and perhaps newer ones are better
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Whatever you want to think. I've worked on a lot of them. They're built cheaper. From the gauges, to the electronics to the body and internal engine components, they are cheap.
Deere doesn't just not allow diagnostic software, they are hard to get service manuals out of. Just go try and find a repair manual for anything made in the last fifteen years and see how that goes. You might find a used one someone is pawning off. Go try and buy a new one from the dealer, which is the only place you will be able to get one. Get your pocket book out too. You can't even find free downloads of a service manual for the old 318 lawn tractors very easily. I managed to get a copy from a guy who digitized one, but better not let Mother Deere know that.
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Yeah, those are all old machines. The 800 series were plagued with problems until the last year or so of their run, but the damage was done so they brought out the 900 series to avoid the association. The old 855's are great little tractors. They are simply Yanmars built to JD's design specs. New JD Z's have very few grease points (5) and all are right there in the open. The CUT's are good in that regard too.
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Nothing hard about an 855 tractor. Worked on a bunch of those.
the tractor wasnt too hard as is with most larger machines(easier to get to things) just alot of grease points easy to forget about especially for a bunch of teenagers to remember. ive greased it personally maybe 3 times and until the 3rd time i missed a zerk or three. its a good tractor with some quirks.
my main gripe was with the zero turn. servicing it took 2-3 times as long as other mowers in our shop because nearly everything was really difficult to get to on it.
the skid steer i havnt done alot of work on nothing major but according to my teacher its a nightmare when its time for a full service.
my shop sold the z last summer, and we are selling the 855 and the skid steer prob this summer.
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So your exposure is 3 whole pieces of equipment that you did some service work on. Probably not a deep enough experience to form an opinion one way or the other on a particular brand. More like you have looked over, in depth, a few pieces of green equipment.
Go rebuild major components on at least 20 or so different pieces of green equipment. (Different as in different models, not different types.) Maybe put a couple hundred hours in the seat of a couple pieces of green equipment, then come tell us what you think.
So many people base opinions off of such a small amount of knowledge and exposure that it baffles me they have an opinion at all.
I worked on like one or two Subaru’s. I’m sure I drove them, but have no particular memory of them. Someone asked me just yesterday what I thought of them. I said, “They seem well built. I see them for sale with tons of miles on them still running. I might have worked on a couple. I really can’t give you an opinion one way or the other.”
i agree with you on some levels, and even though ive used and/or serviced several green machines outside my shop(not as much time i put on the ones in shop though) too i wouldn't say ive spent 200 hours in green seats, maybe 80 collective tops easily. but what ive seen thats consistent so far is non-service friendliness on most the machines. just saying. especially on mowers and compact tractors
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As for the OP and using his own workers. I see nothing wrong with this at all. It sounds to me as though he ALREADY has the workers on staff...so that pretty much eliminates any of the labor and associated costs...they're already there! When you crunch the numbers hiring the work out comes out to be much more expensive! I suspect even if he had to hire new help the numbers are still in his favor. Now while many of you run a successful business of Lawncare, most of you do not run a company that hires outside vendors/labor so you likely have no idea what actual costs are for the company. Heck, most of you have no clue what your hourly cost is now, so how could you ever pretend to know his? I do understand you must make the argument that you're the better alternative than a company doing it themselves, but realistically, you have zero factual evidence to back that claim up, you simply want the business.
The OP seems pretty astute to me and I have no doubt the numbers work out in his favor. He knows what his costs are, none of you has a clue what they may be. As a large employer, his costs generally will be much less than a small LCO. I use outside vendors for some things and others I do in-house. It depends on what it is. Then it must be researched and one must know the metrics before deciding the proper direction.
The OP seems pretty astute to me and I have no doubt the numbers work out in his favor. He knows what his costs are, none of you has a clue what they may be. As a large employer, his costs generally will be much less than a small LCO. I use outside vendors for some things and others I do in-house. It depends on what it is. Then it must be researched and one must know the metrics before deciding the proper direction.
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If you say so. I’m not a green fan, but I haven’t found that to be true.
I imagine you for the most part worked on the mid size to larger tractors? have you had any experience with deere mowers?
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I can't speak for Baker, but I have a LOT of experience with their mowers, GT's and HDGT's, as well as several of their CUT's I have owned over the last 20+ years. I can't see how servicing can get any easier on a machine than all of them I have owned.
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Yes 🙄
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Aside from a stubborn pto clutch bolt, it took me a half hour to swap old motor to new motor on a deere z trak. I can lube it in a couple minutes. The hydro filter, drain, and fill access are super quick and easy. Deck adjustment super easy, caster adjustment super easy. I guess im used to the standers where its a nightmare to get in and around drive belts and hydro filters. Deere mowers are by no means hard to work on. No clue about the big farm tractors as i dont do maintenance on those. My CUT is another level as its bigger and suckier to get into some spots. For greasing.
Thanks for your input. I mentioned a few times earlier in the thread, too, that the bottom line isn't the primary motivation. The fact that we're coming out ahead vs. outsourcing is of course a nice benefit, but my primary motivation for moving in-house is consistency and improved quality of grounds maintenance. We do have several hundred employees so shifting a couple around or adding a couple isn't making any significant difference. But signing a six figure contract with a new and unfamiliar vendor is a much larger gamble. I had no intention of ruffling feathers with my post on this forum. Was really just looking for input on mowers LOL.
More fun this morning...picked up the Turf Tiger with a new hydraulic reservoir. Drove an hour back from the dealer to our shop. Start the mower to unload it and clunk - driveshaft fell out.
Appears as though there was never a bolt installed to secure it.
Appears as though there was never a bolt installed to secure it.
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Ok at this point it's almost getting comedic. Are you pulling our leg?
How many hours on this TT and who in the heck is the dealer because if they didn't do this they need to be all over scag about it.
At some point scag gets credit for this. What say you "scag doesn't make the component" folks now?
How many hours on this TT and who in the heck is the dealer because if they didn't do this they need to be all over scag about it.
At some point scag gets credit for this. What say you "scag doesn't make the component" folks now?
Wish I was kidding. It has 1.1 hours. About 40 minutes of that is actual mowing, the rest is transporting it back and forth to the dealer 50 miles away.
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