georgiatwo
New member
Hi, we work on a lot of foreclosures (maintenance and lawn care) and are in the market for a new piece of equipment. We are looking for a solution for that will best service our needs.
Mainly interested in a piece of equipment that is strong, dependable and can handle running for several hours and on tall grass up to 5-6 days per week. We stay busy but some weeks are busier than others.
Currently we run a 52 Grasshopper 220 Zero turn (20 HP Kohler) and a 48 Snapper Pro Belt Drive walk behind (15 HP Kohler) and we have too much down time with maintenance.
We are in a semi rural area so the lawns we service range from subdivision lots to 1-2 acres lots. We have smaller mowers that can accommodate for any tight spaces.
We are thinking that we are using the wrong equipment....have ran tractors years ago on farm but not on this type of work. Alot of the yards we are getting have been let go for quite some time and can be as high as 6 feet. Even with the zero turn going slow, it gets bogged down. Have had some properties that are full of undergrowth that have to be reclaimed and have rented a Billy Goat brush cutter fairly cheap then finish it with mowers. (quite a workout) I am wondering if I should look into a tractor...and buy attachments...belly mower, bush hog, etc. Or if the best option is to buy a mixture of tractor and something else that will take care of it all. The yards that are killing us are the first time cuts because they are so overgrown, thick and tall averaging 36"-42" in height. Once we get those out of the way, we cut them biweekly and its no problem.
I have broken it down into the "types" of lawns we are cutting during each grass season (April 1st - October 31st)
70% Lawns mowed biweekly recuts- height from 2" up to 15"
15% Lawns mowed- 16" - 36"
15% Initial Lawn cut over 36" up to 72" w/thick weeds & up to 2-3" saplings.
With that said, we are cutting about 10 properties per day. Would a tractor be feasible turning on/off, loading/unloading that many times per day?
We appreciate any insight and suggestions as to which mower or tractor they would recommend? maybe even a combination of two? Thank you very much, Phil & Sherry in GA
Mainly interested in a piece of equipment that is strong, dependable and can handle running for several hours and on tall grass up to 5-6 days per week. We stay busy but some weeks are busier than others.
Currently we run a 52 Grasshopper 220 Zero turn (20 HP Kohler) and a 48 Snapper Pro Belt Drive walk behind (15 HP Kohler) and we have too much down time with maintenance.
We are in a semi rural area so the lawns we service range from subdivision lots to 1-2 acres lots. We have smaller mowers that can accommodate for any tight spaces.
We are thinking that we are using the wrong equipment....have ran tractors years ago on farm but not on this type of work. Alot of the yards we are getting have been let go for quite some time and can be as high as 6 feet. Even with the zero turn going slow, it gets bogged down. Have had some properties that are full of undergrowth that have to be reclaimed and have rented a Billy Goat brush cutter fairly cheap then finish it with mowers. (quite a workout) I am wondering if I should look into a tractor...and buy attachments...belly mower, bush hog, etc. Or if the best option is to buy a mixture of tractor and something else that will take care of it all. The yards that are killing us are the first time cuts because they are so overgrown, thick and tall averaging 36"-42" in height. Once we get those out of the way, we cut them biweekly and its no problem.
I have broken it down into the "types" of lawns we are cutting during each grass season (April 1st - October 31st)
70% Lawns mowed biweekly recuts- height from 2" up to 15"
15% Lawns mowed- 16" - 36"
15% Initial Lawn cut over 36" up to 72" w/thick weeds & up to 2-3" saplings.
With that said, we are cutting about 10 properties per day. Would a tractor be feasible turning on/off, loading/unloading that many times per day?
We appreciate any insight and suggestions as to which mower or tractor they would recommend? maybe even a combination of two? Thank you very much, Phil & Sherry in GA