two_bit_score
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2008
- Messages
- 10,983
- Tractor
- John Deere 110 TLB, Diamond C 19LPX GN trailer
Well, in this case you're the customer so if you're happy everyone is happy!
TBS
$160-$200 per month for professional lawn care?
- Thread starter BrokeFarmerJohn
- Start date
- Views: 9393
Well, in this case you're the customer so if you're happy everyone is happy!
TBS
CajunRider
Platinum Member
So do I. Plus with my bush hog I can mow my neighbor's yard for him every now and then so he can get to his big pond to hunt and fish. He gave me some of his loots so it's a win win for us.
Last edited:
Coyote machine
Super Member
- Joined
- May 4, 2009
- Messages
- 7,641
- Location
- Southern VT
- Tractor
- 22 SANY SY 50U, '10 Kioti DK 40se/hst KL-401 FEL, loaded tires, KB-2485 bhoe, Tuffline TB160 BB, Woods QA forks, MIE Hydraulic bhoe thumb & ripper tooth, Igland 4001 winch, & GR-20 Log Grapple. Woods BBX72" Brush Mower. Diamondplate aluminum canopy
Wow. I've been mowing my current property for the last 31 years this weekend!
I started out with a small JD pull start rider which came with the place. It would barely make it up the hill by my pond without trying to help with one foot pushing on the ground alongside the mower to help move it forward. Fun times. I traded up to what I thought was an electric start larger ride JD mower; it turned out one had to lift the rear cowl and use a pull cord for that one too. I was disappointed I had not inspected it more throughly before I bought it from the little old lady who was selling it after her husband had died and she needed to move. Maybe he croaked because of the efforts to start the dang thing!
Then I found out about the Dr. Mower/brush mower, and bought one that had a 46-48"polypropylene deck with belt that wrapped around about 16 pulleys! I smoked a number of deck belts in short order and they traded it for me up to the ATM 2 which offered a 15HP Kawasaki engine and a metal lawn deck with three blades and a few less pulleys. That mower has 375 hours as of yesterday, and I use it both as a lawn cutter and as Brush/Field mower with its other deck. That allows for large diameter hexagonal trimmer cords attached to a large disk under the deck. It will knock down some substantial tall grass/weeds, etc. When needing to cut brush/saplings I change over to the heavy duty metal blade and go at it.
I don't like the always on locking differential because it makes it hard to turn and maneuver, whereas the earlier version of the mower had a separate lever to engage the lock, as needed.
It serves it purposes fairly well, but IMHO, no single machine can be a one size fits all applications and be good at all of the needed tasks.
Next I bought a Scag Wildcat 60" deck with 3 bagger system with 200 original hours from a landscape guy down the road from me. It's been a great machine, but like all mowers has some issues. It is useless on some hilly terrain and anywhere near wet grass. I've lost it a number of times on steep banks when just the right set of circumstances hit the wall and off it goes like a bird dog on a duck in the water! Seriously, I've headed down a few hills almost instantly when it decides it wants to put me into a tree. It will literally turn on a dime, and does so with absolutely no warning. I've been lucky, most times I've had my seatbelt on, and I ALWAYS ride with the roll bar fully upright. But when it breaks traction, even going up a slope the deck wheels will allow it to slide and turn in any direction it chooses and away I go on the roller coaster ride of my life. The number of times it's done this routine I've been lucky and walked away, and retrieved it with my Kioti tractor and a nylon strap.
Currently it's sitting waiting on a decision as to whether to keep it or sell it to someone with flatter land or a big crash helmet and maybe a airbag upgrade?!
Oh, yeah, I forgot somewhere along the line I bought a 3 gang mower to tow behind my Suzuki King-Quad 450, but it was a little too much for the size of the quad and didn't do well on turns. Often the outer gang would flip over and I'd have to dismount the quad to right it. 5 MPH is the technical top speed according to the manufacturer/sell who I bought it from. THat unit is sitting in my Shelter-Logic building, but may get revived shortly since I just bought a Kioti Mechron diesel UTV that should be able to pull the 3 gang no sweat! Hopefully, because that would add a tool back to my arsenal to cut down time spent mowing.
A couple of years ago I bought a Husky 322T AWD ride mower, with a steering wheel and front 3 blade deck. It will go about anywhere, isn't particularly speedy like the Scag, but doesn't require serious life insurance upgrades to operate it either. Its essentially a mulching mower and does an excellent job of cutting most all grass, even tall wet stuff, but does not give the same expert looking result the Scag does. But it costs way less to purchase and doesn't require numerous trips to the dump pile to empty the bags- like the Scag did; a real PITA IMHO.
Last resort is the Woods 72" Brush Bull brush mower that goes on my Kioti tractor. It will get the job done on my fields, once a season, though I'd like to go to twice a year, but never seem to get around to it, mostly because I leave my hoe on the Kioti and rarely change it out since I flipped it when trying to place it on a dolly I was reworking to make more stable when I lost control of the whole thing and it came crashing down on the barn floor - all 1000+ pounds of it! OUCH!
Now I just shy away from doing anything but leaving it attached....
I have a couple of weed eaters, including a self-propelled Dr. Mower/trimmer, a bunch of chainsaws, articulating hedge trimmer attachment(s), etc. for keeping the jungle at bay. Its WORK, no matter what and as I age I get less interested in beating myself into the ground trying to keep everything looking good. But I don't see any real good alternatives. I have a love/hate relationship with the job(s) needing to be done. I don't want to pay someone else to do what i'm capable of doing myself, but I don't necessarily want to spend all my 'free time' chained to equipment use/maintenance either. Can't win the battle I guess?!:confused3::shocked:
So that's mostly my lawn story. I did when I had property in CT hire various lawn services to cut my by comparison postage stamp grass plot; but I had neither the time nor desire to push a mower around the yard, and often wasn't in residence during cutting season, early and late in the year.
Thanks for listening- hope some of it is useful to someone looking to decide which way to go. You pay or you do... no easy answers. Either one pays out or burns the sweat equity candle.
Good luck.:thumbsup:
I started out with a small JD pull start rider which came with the place. It would barely make it up the hill by my pond without trying to help with one foot pushing on the ground alongside the mower to help move it forward. Fun times. I traded up to what I thought was an electric start larger ride JD mower; it turned out one had to lift the rear cowl and use a pull cord for that one too. I was disappointed I had not inspected it more throughly before I bought it from the little old lady who was selling it after her husband had died and she needed to move. Maybe he croaked because of the efforts to start the dang thing!
Then I found out about the Dr. Mower/brush mower, and bought one that had a 46-48"polypropylene deck with belt that wrapped around about 16 pulleys! I smoked a number of deck belts in short order and they traded it for me up to the ATM 2 which offered a 15HP Kawasaki engine and a metal lawn deck with three blades and a few less pulleys. That mower has 375 hours as of yesterday, and I use it both as a lawn cutter and as Brush/Field mower with its other deck. That allows for large diameter hexagonal trimmer cords attached to a large disk under the deck. It will knock down some substantial tall grass/weeds, etc. When needing to cut brush/saplings I change over to the heavy duty metal blade and go at it.
I don't like the always on locking differential because it makes it hard to turn and maneuver, whereas the earlier version of the mower had a separate lever to engage the lock, as needed.
It serves it purposes fairly well, but IMHO, no single machine can be a one size fits all applications and be good at all of the needed tasks.
Next I bought a Scag Wildcat 60" deck with 3 bagger system with 200 original hours from a landscape guy down the road from me. It's been a great machine, but like all mowers has some issues. It is useless on some hilly terrain and anywhere near wet grass. I've lost it a number of times on steep banks when just the right set of circumstances hit the wall and off it goes like a bird dog on a duck in the water! Seriously, I've headed down a few hills almost instantly when it decides it wants to put me into a tree. It will literally turn on a dime, and does so with absolutely no warning. I've been lucky, most times I've had my seatbelt on, and I ALWAYS ride with the roll bar fully upright. But when it breaks traction, even going up a slope the deck wheels will allow it to slide and turn in any direction it chooses and away I go on the roller coaster ride of my life. The number of times it's done this routine I've been lucky and walked away, and retrieved it with my Kioti tractor and a nylon strap.
Currently it's sitting waiting on a decision as to whether to keep it or sell it to someone with flatter land or a big crash helmet and maybe a airbag upgrade?!
Oh, yeah, I forgot somewhere along the line I bought a 3 gang mower to tow behind my Suzuki King-Quad 450, but it was a little too much for the size of the quad and didn't do well on turns. Often the outer gang would flip over and I'd have to dismount the quad to right it. 5 MPH is the technical top speed according to the manufacturer/sell who I bought it from. THat unit is sitting in my Shelter-Logic building, but may get revived shortly since I just bought a Kioti Mechron diesel UTV that should be able to pull the 3 gang no sweat! Hopefully, because that would add a tool back to my arsenal to cut down time spent mowing.
A couple of years ago I bought a Husky 322T AWD ride mower, with a steering wheel and front 3 blade deck. It will go about anywhere, isn't particularly speedy like the Scag, but doesn't require serious life insurance upgrades to operate it either. Its essentially a mulching mower and does an excellent job of cutting most all grass, even tall wet stuff, but does not give the same expert looking result the Scag does. But it costs way less to purchase and doesn't require numerous trips to the dump pile to empty the bags- like the Scag did; a real PITA IMHO.
Last resort is the Woods 72" Brush Bull brush mower that goes on my Kioti tractor. It will get the job done on my fields, once a season, though I'd like to go to twice a year, but never seem to get around to it, mostly because I leave my hoe on the Kioti and rarely change it out since I flipped it when trying to place it on a dolly I was reworking to make more stable when I lost control of the whole thing and it came crashing down on the barn floor - all 1000+ pounds of it! OUCH!
Now I just shy away from doing anything but leaving it attached....
I have a couple of weed eaters, including a self-propelled Dr. Mower/trimmer, a bunch of chainsaws, articulating hedge trimmer attachment(s), etc. for keeping the jungle at bay. Its WORK, no matter what and as I age I get less interested in beating myself into the ground trying to keep everything looking good. But I don't see any real good alternatives. I have a love/hate relationship with the job(s) needing to be done. I don't want to pay someone else to do what i'm capable of doing myself, but I don't necessarily want to spend all my 'free time' chained to equipment use/maintenance either. Can't win the battle I guess?!:confused3::shocked:
So that's mostly my lawn story. I did when I had property in CT hire various lawn services to cut my by comparison postage stamp grass plot; but I had neither the time nor desire to push a mower around the yard, and often wasn't in residence during cutting season, early and late in the year.
Thanks for listening- hope some of it is useful to someone looking to decide which way to go. You pay or you do... no easy answers. Either one pays out or burns the sweat equity candle.
Good luck.:thumbsup:
CajunRider
Platinum Member
It is fun reading your post Coyote Machine
We all have similar tortuous path to our set up. When I moved from the city out to where I am, I wrecked my ZTR trying to cut wire grass. Then I bought a JD MX 6ft cutter. That was taken from me by hurricane Rita. Then I bought a Value Leader Chinese made flail mower that rusted to nothing in just 5 years.
My current set up is a 6 ft brush mower by Everything Attachment and a Marugg scythe. The scythe requires the most sweat equity.
We all have similar tortuous path to our set up. When I moved from the city out to where I am, I wrecked my ZTR trying to cut wire grass. Then I bought a JD MX 6ft cutter. That was taken from me by hurricane Rita. Then I bought a Value Leader Chinese made flail mower that rusted to nothing in just 5 years.
My current set up is a 6 ft brush mower by Everything Attachment and a Marugg scythe. The scythe requires the most sweat equity.
Coyote machine
Super Member
- Joined
- May 4, 2009
- Messages
- 7,641
- Location
- Southern VT
- Tractor
- 22 SANY SY 50U, '10 Kioti DK 40se/hst KL-401 FEL, loaded tires, KB-2485 bhoe, Tuffline TB160 BB, Woods QA forks, MIE Hydraulic bhoe thumb & ripper tooth, Igland 4001 winch, & GR-20 Log Grapple. Woods BBX72" Brush Mower. Diamondplate aluminum canopy
It is fun reading your post Coyote Machine
Thanks, I try to make things entertaining as well as useful/factual whenever possible!:dance1:
PILOON
Super Star Member
OK, I never did mowing but did snow removal.
INMHO both are in the same basket.
You have a $35,000 truck and a $ 5-6ooo plow mounted and the guy thinks he will do you a favor if you plow his drive for $10-20.??
Like your 0 turn costs nothing?? mow my lawn for a cool $20.(tax free) but I'll sue U if you damage anything!
Hey, live and let live!
INMHO both are in the same basket.
You have a $35,000 truck and a $ 5-6ooo plow mounted and the guy thinks he will do you a favor if you plow his drive for $10-20.??
Like your 0 turn costs nothing?? mow my lawn for a cool $20.(tax free) but I'll sue U if you damage anything!
Hey, live and let live!
OP
BrokeFarmerJohn
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2016
- Messages
- 2,233
- Location
- Columbus Ohio
- Tractor
- 2017 Mahindra 5555, John Blue G-1000, Massey Ferguson 98, John Deere GP
That's not a industry I would ever want to get in, my fear would be clipping a car or something.
CajunRider
Platinum Member
Most of us understand the cost of doing business so hardly anyone is complaining about the prices. However, some of us cannot afford the service or enjoy doing it so we do it ourselves. For me it's a little bit of both. BTW, I don't live up north but when at my age, if I happen to have to move up there, snow removal will not be something I'll do so yeah, I'll hire it out for sure.
Zerk
Veteran Member
I moved out to the country, so I wouldn't have to worry about it. Cut it, when I feel like it. Going to take nap now. Maybe this weekend will, if not next week.
oosik
Epic Contributor
Zerk,
You are a man after my own heart. About 90-95% of my "lawn" is field grass that has been mowed like a lawn for the last 35 years. I know its time to mow when I see the deer starting to crop it down.
You are a man after my own heart. About 90-95% of my "lawn" is field grass that has been mowed like a lawn for the last 35 years. I know its time to mow when I see the deer starting to crop it down.