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What size walk behind for residential?

12K views 43 replies 22 participants last post by  goodgreen 
#1 ·
Hi,
I'm looking to buy a used walk behind and am wondering whether I should go with a 36 or a 48. I currently have a 21. Not all of my clients have gates but some do. In my neighborhood it is 50/50 gates and not gates. Which would be the better choice? Thanks
 
#5 ·
I just checked and actually most lawns in my area don't have gates, but some do, in which case I would use the 21. And another question. For me, having a small business, would a hydro drive mower really benefit me?
48 and yes, a hydro is worth every penny.
 
#6 ·
I just checked and actually most lawns in my area don't have gates, but some do, in which case I would use the 21. And another question. For me, having a small business, would a hydro drive mower really benefit me?
If you mow any hills or banks a hydro is the only way to go. Also, on a hydro to go in reverse you just squeeze the levers and bingo, your backing up, no messing around with a shift lever.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I switched to a 36 inch viking /30 inch toro combo this year for almost all of my residentials1/4 acre and under. I do the other 9 with a v ride. I am saving time and money with this setup as opposed to using the 48 inch er on fronts last yr and the 30 on backs now I only use 1 mower per lawn and no wasted time taking extra mowers off the trailer for each lawn. Some lawns the 36 is overkill so I use the 30. For me a high end 36 inch walk behind like a viking or turf tracer is the way to go for the solo guy mowing numerous small lawns. Wish I would've thought of this setup yrs ago instead of buying a bigger mower that consumes so much fuel and higher maintenance costs to mow small neighborhood lots. A 48 to me is too large for residential because you can't get through gates and have to use a separate mower for the back. Plus they usually have a larger engine which will consume more fuel. As I said I still use the v ride on 9 open lots. The only thing good about me realizing this combo so late in the game is that most of my colleagues and competition have no idea and I see them riding around with huge riders and walk behinds that they still owe money just to mow neighborhood lots.
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#8 ·
I switched to a 36 inch viking /30 inch toro combo this year for almost all of my residentials1/4 acre and under. I do the other 9 with a v ride. I am saving time and money with this setup as opposed to using the 48 inch er on fronts last yr and the 30 on backs now I only use 1 mower per lawn and no wasted time taking extra mowers off the trailer for each lawn. Some lawns the 36 is overkill so I use the 30. For me a high end 36 inch walk behind like a viking or turf tracer is the way to go for the solo guy mowing numerous small lawns. Wish I would've thought of this setup yrs ago instead of buying a bigger mower that consumes so much fuel and higher maintenance costs to mow small neighborhood lots. A 48 to me is too large for residential because you can't get through gates and have to use a separate mower for the back. Plus they usually have a larger engine which will consume more fuel. As I said I still use the v ride on 9 open lots. The only thing good about me realizing this combo so late in the game is that most of my colleagues and competition have no idea and I see them riding around with huge riders and walk behinds that they still owe money just to mow neighborhood lots.
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Interesting. I spend so little in fuel each week for my equipment. It comes out to 5% or less of my total revenue. I use a big heavy hydro scag for almost all my lawns. Most lawns I do are 1/4 acre or bigger. I would rather have a big fast mower that lets me get ten more lawns done each week than save $20 each week on fuel.

I am tempted to get a 36 inch though. Sounds like it's working out well for a lot of folks.
 
#9 ·
36/48"

I use a 52" on some of my big yards if its dry.
 
#10 ·
Interesting. I spend so little in fuel each week for my equipment. It comes out to 5% or less of my total revenue. I use a big heavy hydro scag for almost all my lawns. Most lawns I do are 1/4 acre or bigger. I would rather have a big fast mower that lets me get ten more lawns done each week than save $20 each week on fuel.

I am tempted to get a 36 inch though. Sounds like it's working out well for a lot of folks.
Way more than ten, but I agree with you....
 
#11 · (Edited)
I'm also referring to the extra maintenance time and costs of a larger mower. Will you make that up with price increases on your tiny lawn? Would you rather scrape the deck of a 36 inch walk behind or a 48 inch wb or even rider that you have t o have a special jack for? Would you rather sharpen two blades or 3? Would you rather pay to replace a 23 hp engine or a 15? As I said above this is not speculation on my part but is based on experience using a larger mower on smaller lawns and the maintenance and repair costs invlolved and my current setup of a 36 and a 30. Or if you don't like the 30 on the insanely small lawns keep using the 21. I do this full time and it is the sole income for a famiky of 4. So obviously i want the best setup that is the most efficient and cost effective. All I know is that I'm getting done faster now using a 36 inch mower for the whole property of gated lawns than my last setup of using a 48 v ride on the front, which is a super fast mower, and a 30 in the back gated area. For most of these small lots the amount you can charge and still remain competitive does not make sense financially or time wise to use a 48 or above on them. This is for the solo operator I am talking about who does almost all quarter of an acre or smaller lots with numerous gates. This wouldn't apply to the large company with huge acreage to mow and varied sized properties.
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#12 ·
my primary mower is a toro 36" walk behind. for the yards i am doing right now i cant think of anything better. i mostly cut 1/8 to 1/4 acre lots and a lot of them have a gate so a wider mower would not speed things up because i would have to use the 21" on the back yard (most of the backyards are bigger of course than the fronts). if the yards were not gated i would most likely still keep the 36 because of the uneven yards a wider mower wold scalp to easy. also i have a helper run the mower while i trim and we are normally done within a couple minutes of each other so a faster mower wouldnt make much difference if you still have to trim/edge/blow. i have gotten quite a few new customers from other LCOs scalping and rutting it up with huge 60" Zturns and standers. so overall the 36 would be my first choice for the lawns i cut. make sure you measure you gates though, a 36" cut mower is really 36.5" to 37" wide so be careful about that.
 
#14 ·
I am not a Exmark expert but my guess would be 15-20 year old machine. Maybe someone else could chime in about the age, but I bet I am not far off. Honestly looks like it is worn out. Alot more goes into a mower than the engine. Way overpriced unless he is charging extra for the racing slicks. Pretty sure you can get the new snapper or scag walkbehinds for 5k with a warranty. No way I would pay 2k.

Can anyone also chime in to what happens to all these belt covers on walkbehinds? Do people get desperate in winter and scrap them in or what?? Looks so tacky to me. See them for sale all the time missing them and people running around without them.
 
#20 ·
#21 ·
Hard to say without seeing in person but looks better than the other. Just that belt cover is beat down. Nothing a 5 dollar can of paint won't fix if it checks out.

I agree with scag2015 about the swzu, very nice machine and I think that accelerator bagger would set you back $500 alone. Wonder if the velke in the pic comes with it also? If it checked out I would tell him $2200-$2300 range cash, bet he would take it on the spot. Or $2500 if he throws in the velke. He won't let the cash walk away. 1 owner makes you feel good also.
 
#22 ·
Hard to say without seeing in person but looks better than the other. Just that belt cover is beat down. Nothing a 5 dollar can of paint won't fix if it checks out.

I agree with scag2015 about the swzu, very nice machine and I think that accelerator bagger would set you back $500 alone. Wonder if the velke in the pic comes with it also? If it checked out I would tell him $2200-$2300 range cash, bet he would take it on the spot. Or $2500 if he throws in the velke. He won't let the cash walk away. 1 owner makes you feel good also.
Wouldn't 52 be a bit big for my applications? And on another cl post I found a guy who said he also had a 36 ferris hydro. would that be worth checking out? Are those good machines?
 
#23 ·
Id go with the 36 viking which is what I have and love. But they're pricing it way too high. I wouldn't give more than 1500 bc the engine looks so old.
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#24 ·
IMO if gates aren't a limiting factor between a 36 and 48, I would go 48.
However if you can get thru a ton more gates with the 36 then go 36.

I run a 36 now, and wish at times I had a 48. I must stress at times...the 36 is still a nice size.
 
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