The rise of the zero-turn riding mower in recent years has stolen some of the spotlight from the walk-behind mower market, leaving some in the industry wondering what contractors will be purchasing when it’s time to put the old equipment out to pasture.
Will established contractors upgrade directly from the belt-driven walk-behind to the rider, skipping the hydro step altogether? Will entry level contractors skip the walk-behind for the burgeoning, competitive zero-turn rider market?
Manufacturers don’t entirely agree on where the walk-behind market is going — some are optimistic that sales growth in the professional market will be steady, while others see a down trend that will correspond with greater rider sales.
“The zero-turn riding units should take over in a few years,” predicted Howard Price, president of Howard Price Turf Equipment, Chesterfield, Mo. “Every time a new riding unit comes out it takes a chunk out of the walk-behind market.”
John Lally, advertising manager with American Honda Power Equipment Co., Duluth, Ga., has a more optimistic view, saying that the commercial walk-behind mower market is continuing to “grow at a rate proportionate to the growth of the commercial land-scaping industry.”
Whatever the long-term prospects of the walk-behind market, manufacturers continue to upgrade their lines and contractors value the units as versatile and effective.
NO HYDROPHOBIA. When it comes to having a preference for the base design of the walk-behind mower, there seems to be two types of contractors — those with a fleet that is entirely comprised of hydrostatic drive mowers and those who are moving their mower mix in that direction.
“I think everyone would agree that the hydrostatic walk-behind mower market is growing and will continue to grow,” asserted John Chick, product manager for Snapper Power Equipment, McDonough, Ga. “We see a lot on interest in hydrostatic walk-behinds now — many dealers have become convinced that the end user is better off using a hydro.
“They are even saying that they are getting more successful in selling entry level contractors on hydros,” added Chick, “as well as contractors that are interested in replacing their gear-drive machines. So much has been said about hydros that it has become almost a cliche — the productivity that comes with using a mid-size walk-behind with hydrostatic drive is so much better. They are less fatiguing and more productive units for operators to use.”
As its name implies, the hydrostatic walk-behind machine uses a hydraulic system to drive the wheels. Hydrostatic mowing machines in their truest form have a separate hydraulic pump controlling each of the drive wheels individually for instantaneous steering and drive control.
The result, compared to gear-driven systems, is a machine that provides quicker, truer response to steering commands and more predictable performance. In exchange, the cost is higher, usually between $700 and $1,000 per commercial grade unit, depending on the brand name and the types of units that are being compared.
“We are slowly changing the fleet over to hydros,” said William Jones, field maintenance manager with Ground Control Landscaping, Orlando, Fla. “It’s just a much better machine, and there is ultimately less money spent on maintenance. They move faster, and they are more reliable than gear-drive units our operators have used.”
Jones said that Ground Control has experimented with a variety of machines on large estates and kept them for about three weeks to test the ability of the hydro drive. “With the belt drives, we were getting into a lot of belt slippage on large inclines, especially where it was wet,” he explained. “The hydros were just better.”
“We are looking for the ability to work in wet conditions,” noted Tom Morin, president of Morin’s Landscape, Hollis, N.H. Morin crew members were having problems with belt slippage on damp turf. “We are experimenting with hydrostatic mowers for the first time, and if we get the productivity gains we expect we will incorporate them more into our mower mix.”
Most contractors also noted that equipment downtime is reduced with hydrostatic units. This advantage is somewhat tempered because the hydro parts that do falter can be much more expensive than the belts and spindles on a gear machine, but contractors add that the productivity gains have far outweighed any maintenance costs.
“We measure our productivity very closely at Ground Control,” said Jones. “The downtime on the hydro walk-behind units we operate averaged three to four times a year per unit vs. 10 to 15 times on the belt driven units we used.”
“For three years we have had a walk-behind line of all-hydro units,” said Bill Trimmer, president of Professional Grounds Inc., Lorton, Va. “They may be $800 or more to purchase than a gear-drive machine, but you get more productivity and the employees like them much better. And, we’ve had no problems with the maintenance. Also, the crew members don’t complain about the drive belts slipping like they will with gear machines.”
KEEPING TRACK. One of the inherent quirks of the hydro walk-behind is its tendency to lose balanced tracking when one of the hydraulic pumps gets hotter than the other. This is common when the mower is constantly being turned the same direction.
Essentially, the hydrostatic mowers are powered by a hydraulic motor and a pump, which pumps fluid into the wheel driver and makes it go.
“The manufacturers’ tolerances for pumps and motors are not exact, and pumps wear at different rates,” said Chick. “Either un-balanced wear or uneven heating of the pumps often will cause the mower to want to go to one side or the other.”
To get the tracking back in line, the operator has to “feather” the machine, requiring additional hand and wrist exertion to balance out the tracking.
Some manufacturers, however, have developed a device that “resets” the tracking and keeps the machine centered without unnecessary exertion. Chick said it’s an im-portant consideration when upgrading to hydro machines.
IN THE FIELD. Walk-behind mowers are providing some contractors with a number of advantages.
Trimmer said that his crews generally carry two walk-behind mowers and a riding unit, along with the miscellaneous portable power equipment. The company’s range of equipment includes walk-behinds with deck sizes ranging from 36- to 54-inch cutting widths.
| Get A Grip |
Manufacturers of walk-behind equipment have been exploring, or have already implemented, design elements to try to make their machines more comfortable to operate. Some design elements are contained within the unit, such as the floating deck on Howard Price Turf Equipment’s hydro walk-behind mower. Along with advantages in quality of cut, President Howard Price said the moving deck absorbs some of the bumps and dips that would normally travel from the deck through the machine and into the arms of the operator. Most design changes, however, revolve around the “cockpit” area of the machine. Don Pinto, manager of product planning with Gravely International, Winston-Salem, N.C., said the company has been working on providing the most comfortable grips possible. “We’ve looked at incorporating the steering mechanism, the spread of the handles, the brake levers and the feel of the grips themselves into a unit to make it as easy as possible to use,” said Pinto. Toro’s Landscape Contractor Group has added a T-Bar steering system to its walk-behind units, while Snapper Power Equipment has had some success with the loop steering system it introduced six years ago. “The system allows the operator to pull on the loop and steer the machine, rather than squeezing on the pistol grip type handles,” said Sales Manager John Chick. “The way the operator is using his wrists to steer creates less fatigue — you can use your shoulders and arms to steer, rather than having to squeeze handles constantly.” These systems sound great, but getting contractors and technicians to change has been a tremendous challenge, noted Chick. “The funny thing we’ve found about paradigms,” he said, “is that they are difficult to change. We found that the entry-level people who have never used the pistol grip type mower just love our system. But when we show it to a guy that has been using a pistol grip for a long time, it’s a tough sale. They have gotten so accustomed to running pistol grip mowers that it throws them off to use something else. It’s a process of education.” |
“Walk-behinds do well for us because they work well on hills,” noted Trimmer. “In our area, all of the level land has been developed — new construction is taking place on hilly, sloped areas that are difficult to mow, and walk-behind mowers have become the units of choice.
“Our commercial clientele includes a number of multifamily communities that have landscapes with a variety of obstacles,” he continued. “Our walk-behinds are ideal for that situation. From our perspective, they just tend to do more work in a greater variety of areas.” In many cases, Trimmer added, the multifamily property clients require that walk-behind mowers are the only equipment to be used on their properties.
Finally, Trimmer said he believes that walk-behinds are better for wet turf surfaces because they are less likely to leave unsightly tire tracks in the turf.
Randy Ferarri, vice president of operations with Minor’s Landscape Services, Ft. Worth, Texas, admitted that the company has replaced many of its walk-behind mowers with riding units, and will continue to do so whenever possible. However, many homeowner’s associations look upon riding equipment unfavorably. “They see operators zipping around on riding mowers and they think, ‘That’s too fast,’” said Ferarri. “In those cases, we’ll use the walk-behinds exclusively.” Minor’s crews use the walk-behind mowers universally for tight areas near fences and gates and around trees as well.
Crews working for Schumacher Landscaping, South Natick, Mass., use a variety of walk-behind equipment to handle the unique variety of properties they maintain around Boston.
“The hydro walk-behinds we use are ideal for weaving around trees,” said David Schumacher, maintenance manager. “The 36-inch deck mowers seem to be ideal for the tightest areas we cover. They’re smaller and more maneuverable, and the crew members feel more comfortable operating with those rather than the larger walk-behinds.”
In addition, the walk-behind mowers perform better on hilly properties, Schumacher added. "Operators feel helpless in a seat on some of the slopes we have to deal with in the field — the slopes can make the riding mowers feel very unsteady.”
The author is Managing Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine.
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