Starter equip.

[oasis lawn care]

I'm going to start a lawn care bus. on the side next year and I'm looking at getting a zero turn, do you think I should get a commercial or residencial one. I'm thinking I'll only have 7-15 accounts.
Any other suggestions on equip. for new business is appreciated

[Sasquatch52]

Personally, I would recommend that you buy a commercial walk behind first. Like a 48" walk behind would be great for you first year.

[MBDiagMan]

A walk behind rather than a Z is great advice. If you are high on cash, however, I would NOT buy a residential Z for your purpose. There are a number of well built commercial, small Z's made by many makers and priced in the $5,000 area. I don't know of any residential unit that would hold up well for such use.

I don't know of any residential units with individual pumps and wheel motors which is a MUST for commercial use. You just don't want to do commercial with integrated drives. Trust me on this.

Good luck,
Doc

[KMyers]

A walk behind rather than a Z is great advice. If you are high on cash, however, I would NOT buy a residential Z for your purpose. There are a number of well built commercial, small Z's made by many makers and priced in the $5,000 area. I don't know of any residential unit that would hold up well for such use.

I don't know of any residential units with individual pumps and wheel motors which is a MUST for commercial use. You just don't want to do commercial with integrated drives. Trust me on this.

Good luck,
Doc

Snappers have indivdual pumps and wheels motors(eaton pumps) on there residential mowers. They are called a Snapper scrambler they have a 33'' 38'' and i think a 44'' but i not sure

[MBDiagMan]

Are these Snapper models rated for commercial use?

Have a great day,
Doc

[jgc8fan]

No the scrambler is not rated for commercial... This is in another thread... I have the Snapper Fastcut which is the step up from the scrambler, but still residential. They do have dual hydros, but I still wouldn't recommend one for commercial use. I wish I'd spent my $4200 on a dual hydro WB.

Oasis,

If you have the kind of $$$ to consider a residential ZTR then you might do better with a dual hydro wb. It will outlast and outperform ANY residential ZTR, and you could get a commercial ZTR later on if you ever need it. Get a sulky for your WB and you will enjoy it more than a boring old ZTR anyway. I use our belt drive 36" Exmark wb with 2 wheel (Pro-One) sulky twice as much as the ZTR just because I get bored sitting.

Also in other thread... A Lesco 36" dual hyro wb w/15HP Kawasaki runs $3399 ($3699 for a 48"), and a sulky another $200-$300 (or maybe less on ebay). The price is comparable to most residential ZTRs, and you will have something that will last a lot longer. Even if you just "have" to sit you could even get a sit down sulky.

Trust me... I'm in the situation right now... Tried to go cheap on a residential ZTR, and might wind up replacing the engine soon because of it. they just aren't the same. Not to mention I went through 3 belts the first year at about $50 each plus the wait because they seem to be special orders, so we lost a week's use of the mower each time a belt broke (I know... Carry spares, but it was our first year, and money was tight)... Good thing my model crosses over with Ferris parts... I got a Ferris deck belt (cost twice as much), and it's lasted.

[Lawnguy6340]

Get a commercial 21" for residential or a bigger walk-behind for commercial accounts.

[ahlgrenlandscaping]

I would recommend getting:

6x12 Trailer
48" Belt Drive WB
21" WB
String Trimmer
Back Pack Blower

For a mow and blow operation that is all you need until the money starts coming in.

You could get by with less but i wouldn't recommend it. I still don't have a ZTR and i'm doing 40 accounts a week. I started out with a 48" belt drive walk then bought the velke for it and now i have a 52" hydro walk as well for the 2 acre plus lots.