ISSUE FOCUS-MOWERS: A Cut Above

When Rick Leal broadened his construction business to include landscape maintenance seven years ago, he was given sound business advice concerning the type of mowers he should use – walk-behind or riding. “The folks we brought in to run the maintenance division had experience and felt riding mowers should be part of most crews,” says Leal, vice president of Vila & Son Landscaping in Miami, Fla. “Even at smaller sites, they said a rider is the best option in most cases.”

With both commercial and residential jobs and an average job size of 5 acres, Vila’s crews have their work cut out for them. But today’s riding mowers enable them to complete the tasks at hand in less than two-thirds the time it would take with a walk-behind, meaning they can complete more jobs in a day. Like Vila, many contractors are experiencing increased profits by using riding mowers, and recent innovations are making these machines even more efficient.

DOWN WITH DOWNTIME. Drive time and other downtime takes away from profit, so when Leal’s crews are on the job, he promotes the fastest way to properly maintain lawns and move on. “Here in Florida, we have a lot of turf to mow. In our case, the riding mower is better,” Leal says. Almost all of his crews have at least one riding mower on each of their trucks. “Less time to cut means more productivity,” he says.

Even in the San Diego area, where large sections of turf are rare, Tom Heaviland keeps two riding mowers in his fleet. Heaviland, owner of Heaviland Enterprises in Vista, Calif., says some of the company’s jobs consist of more than an acre of turf each and riding mowers are most efficient for those types of landscapes.

Heaviland has never measured the productivity of a riding mower vs. a walk-behind mower, but says the riding mowers have larger decks than the walk-behinds, which means they can cover more surface area and get the job done quicker. Plus, riders cut down on operator fatigue, he adds, saying, “If we can ride on an area of turf vs. walk, we’ll do it.”

And, according to Lawn & Landscape research, other contractors feel the same way. Approximately 70 percent of contractors said they offer mowing services. And while 32.1 percent plan to purchase riding mowers this year, only 28.2 percent plan to purchase walk-behind mowers.

The main reason contractors prefer riding mowers is because they can cover more ground in a shorter amount of time than walk-behinds, according to Sean Dwyer, associate product manager, Husqvarna Turf Care Co., Charlotte, N.C. Walk behind mowers average 6.5 miles per hour, while zero-turn riding mowers typically average between 9 and 10 miles per hour, he points out.
 
However, there is such a thing as a mower that moves too fast, Dwyer says. They result in a sub-par job which often needs to be re-cut, making the job last longer than it needs to be. “There has to be a balance between quality and ground speed,” Dwyer says. “Don’t get lured into mind-blistering speed. When speeds hit 15 miles per hour, the mower is past the point of productivity.”
 
What contributes to this increased speed is more power. Some newer models of mowers are equipped with up to 33 horsepower vs. just 14 horsepower, which was the standard 20 years ago.
 
Despite rising speed and power, some factors can influence cut and cause downtime. Damp grass, for instance, can often result in downtime because it’s difficult to mow properly. But some newer riding mowers can make it possible for early morning mowing in dew-covered grass or turf wet from irrigation. The feature making this possible is the deep tunnel deck.
 
“The deck has a very deep tunnel that can allow better processing of grass in wet conditions,” Dwyer explains, adding that the deck can be tailored to an area’s specific needs by adding or removing baffles. “This is also ideal for areas of thick grass or heavy-duty jobs.”
 
New innovations that disperse grass clippings better are also saving contractors time, Dwyer says. For instance, an operator has to go over an area more times to cut sufficiently if the clippings haven’t been dispersed evenly, especially in thick turf.

COMFORT AND SIMPLICITY. Landscape contractors also turn to riding mowers because they are easier on operators’ bodies and contractors know that excessive fatigue means less will be accomplished in a day. “These cutters are on the machines eight hours per day,” says Cathy Scott, sales manager, Rich Manufacturing, Thorntown, Ind. “They want to be more comfortable.”
  
Ruthanne Stucky, vice president of sales and marketing, The Grasshopper Co., Moundridge, Kan., says comfort is a necessity if a business is to succeed. “A zero-turn rider has all of the maneuverability and trimming capability of a walk-behind mower without the fatigue,” she says. “It provides a competitive edge over those who are still using walk-behinds because the operator can work longer stretches without needing a break and be fresh enough to take on more jobs in the same amount of time.”
 
Because of an operator’s need for comfort, improved ergonomics are becoming an increasingly common feature on riding mowers. For instance, vibration control and more user-friendly steering levers enable operators to work longer and experience less fatigue, Dwyer says. “When hands go onto levers, sometimes there are cocked wrists,” he explains. “That can play into fatigue over the course of a day. Ergonomic controls fix that.”
 
Not just for the road anymore, cruise control is another newer feature on riding mowers that helps with productivity because it’s convenient, says Jeffrey Ratliff, product marketing specialist at Massey Ferguson, Duluth, Ga. Hydrostatic transmission also helps overworked operators because instead of having to shift gears, they only have to push a foot pedal to switch from forward to reverse, he says.
 
The focus on ergonomics is only a recent development, Ratliff points out. “I don’t think 10 years ago people put much thought into where they placed controls,” he says, pointing out that mower manufacturers are now more conscious of where controls go, and some even color-code the controls to simplify operation.
 
Simplicity in controls also means there are fewer instructions to read and landscape contractors don’t have to worry about whether their diverse workforce is able to read the instructions before operating equipment, Scott says.

SHOP AROUND. When shopping for riding mowers, contractors should first figure out the tasks they will be used for, Ratliff says. For example, contractors should think about whether they will be juggling multiple tasks that would warrant an attachment-capable model.
 
Next, pay attention to how the product has been made and compare apples to apples, Scott says. For instance, be aware that there are two types of zero-turn riding mower decks – front-mounted and mid-mounted, Stucky says. “The front-mount machines have a three- or four-wheel power unit design with the cutting deck mounted forward of both the engine and operator’s seat position,” she explains. “The unit usually has single or dual tail wheels located in the rear. Mid-mount units, on the other hand, have a four-wheel design with the cutting deck mounted under the operator’s seating position and in front of the engine.”
 
The quality of a mower’s more expensive components, including hydraulic pumps and the spindles that run the blades, should also be considered during the buying process, says Matt Land, national sales manager, Dixie Chopper, Coatesville, Ind. A mower should also be easy to maintain and have replaceable parts that are easy to find, Land says. “If you buy cheap you’re going to get cheap,” he warns.
 
Be aware of what the warranty covers, Ratliff adds, pointing out that one of the most important considerations is the quality of the dealer and whether the dealer will be able to prorvide the parts or support needed down the road.
 
Dwyer agrees. “Realistically, there are very good products in the zero-turn commercial industry,” he says. “But at end of day, for the landscaper, a network is important. You’re only as good as the backup you’ve got.”