How many of you are asked to push mow very well manicured sodded lawns? This is my second year in business, but the first in this city and I have been told that I will have to push mow lots of yards here. I spent 5 grand on a used zero, I sure don't want to do a ton of push mowing. I know sometimes it can't be avoided, but I don't even have a commercial pusher. Do I need one? I have a good residential. 6.5 hp briggs but front wheel self propulsion. Any feedback from veterans of the business is appreciated.

Thanks,

David B.

No need to push mow. In my experience, ztr's with their turning capabilities can tear up a yard if you are not careful. Walk behinds are better machines when dealing with these yards as well as hilly and small yards. I would have to turn down the account it requires you to purchase more equipment. A residential mower should be fine as long as it is only a yard or two residential types. Good luck.

If you decide to push mow your customers yard? Make sure you charge them for your time. I wouldn't use a trim mower (21 or 22") unless you have to bag some leaves or cant get into the back yard. If you have a walkbehing that should do fine. Explain to the customer that if they insist you to push mow the price will be that much more than if you used your rider. Just figure out how long it will take you to push compared to riding. I use a formula of what I am worth a hour, times how many times I will be on there property a year, and divide that by 12. Hope that helps you out a little? Stefan

Hello I have been in the game 10 years. My opinion, you should have 1 commercial self propelled mower.
I suggest Toro proline. I have alot of big lawns very few push lots. I have been able to keep my push mower 10 years (Toro). Over the years I have tried toros home owner version and it was good for about 2 years. So I went back to the commercial and plan on keeping this one 10 years to. The cost was $1,100 The other two reisdentias I purchased were $500 and $450 both needed replaced after2 years.

I have been doing this for a while now. I have learned that a small walk behind is priceless when it comes to residential lawns. I have an Encore Hydro pro 36 and it probably gets as much use a year as my 61" ZTR. You can pick one of these up used relatively cheap, and most of the time they don't need a whole lot to be a very reliable asset.

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David Nelson
Ozarks Lawn Serv.& Landscaping