Sleeve Hitch Mount Aerator

[prime65]

Hi all, I posted in the "attachment" forum and them decided this post may be better suited in the "Lawn and Garden" forum. Anyhow, My name is Shane I own a small lawn care company in Ia called Absolute Aerating. Basically, we provide lawn aeration. I am also a metal fabricator. After getting into the lawn aeration business i quickly discovered the shortcomings of standard lawn aeration equipment (walk behinds and tow behinds). I set out to design my own aerator. Long story short...five years later after much testing and refining here's my finished product (see pics below).

Some of the key features include a pivot point allowing you to turn while aerating. Float pins that ensure constant ground contact even over contoured terrain. The aerator fits any sleeve hitch and utilizes a linear actuator to provide the lift and lower. For more detailed pics and video of the aerator in action please visit AbsoluteAerating.com

If you have the time and or interest, i'm seeking your opinion / critique regarding the aerator...good or bad. Feel free to comment on any aspect including what you would feel is a fair price point. If you have a question please ask. I will answer. Please keep in mind that this is a commercial grade aerator designed to aerate all day everyday. I will be marketing these aerators soon and your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Shane
Absolute Aerating
Ankeny Ia

 

[mbrun]

I like the concept of your aerator. It looks really heavy duty, and I agree that it appears commercial quality. However at the price point it is being offerred it really is only within the reach of commercial firms who can achieve an ROI. That said, I would think that 36" too may be perceived as a bit small. I would think it should be sized as least as wide as the various GTs that would be used to pull it. Mine for example is just over 42".

I would be willing to rent this unit if it were available at the local rental shop, perhaps for $60 dollars a day. They already offer walkbehind aerators but that is not appropriate for acre plus yards. Although this would likely be rented less because it requires special equipment already to use.

A 42-48" unit in the $600-800 range is about the limit I think for the upper middle class home owner, if they were your audience. $400-500 for middle class homeowner, as long as the quality remains twice the competition.

I think there is room for a higher quality product than the agrifab, and brinly versions. But when the price is 5-6 times the competition few will be sold to the same audience.

Remember people make the decision to rent when they just cannot justify the investment. For the typical homeowner this would be difficult. For the commercial guy, not so much, but there are fewer commercial companies than gt equipped home owners I would guess.

In the end, I would love to own a 42-48" version of your product.

Good luck.

 

[prime65]

Thank you for taking the time to review my post / product. This product is more so aimed at commercial users than residential...we are however in the process of developing a heavy duty residential model. It will be far higher quality than an Agri Fab or Brinly and we are aiming for the $650 price range.

We design these aerators at 36 inches wide for a couple of reasons...your smaller garden tractors are right at about 36 inches. Also, for commercial users, the ability to pass thru gates (fenced in yards are common) is key. To upsize the aerator would not be difficult and it is something we will keep in mind.

Thanks again for your time and comments / thoughts.

Shane

 

[pashworth]

My concern is your statement that this is designed and priced for a commercail contractor. The commercial landscaping crews in my area use 30-45hp CUT's with 3 PH and a 6'-0" wide Woods PL72 Aerators.
PL72 Landscape Equipment
I think the width of your design is a drawback. Not being able to 'push' the equipement hard (as it is attached to a GT) is a no go for me also.
I own 5 ac of grassed property that I need to aerater badly and am looking at the commercial type 3ph aerators.

 

[prime65]

Thanks for your input. The aerator is built and designed to be used commercially. It is designed for use on residential sized lots / lawns more so than very large expanses where a larger 3 pt equipped tractor would make more sense. It is designed to be used on a GT and it can be pushed...we have an aerator and GT in house that has over 800 lawns on it. Some of those lawns were small 1/4 acre sized lots...many were 1 acre lots. The aerator is built to a 36 inch width mainly to pass thru gates and still be small enough to manuever on in town residential sized lots.

 

[prime65]

Thought I'd share a pic of an aerator set up we recently sold to Titan Machinery (Cub Cadet dealer) in Minot ND. They took the aerator to the KX Sports Show in Minot where it was put on display.