Power equipment is the backbone of a successful lawn care and landscaping business. When you offer lawn mowing services, the lawnmower you use can make or break your company. It needs to provide quality lawn cutting and run reliably throughout the growing season. You’ll need to be able to transport it from site to site and it should be comfortable for you and your employees to use.
Whether you’re starting up a new lawn care business, expanding your commercial fleet, or replacing old mowers, it’s crucial that you find the right mower for your landscape business. There are a lot of mowers to choose from, though. Which brand would be best? Should you get a zero-turn or stand-on mower? How many different mowers do you need? We can help answer these questions.
Which Types of Mowers?
You’ll likely want at least two types of mowers for your commercial lawn care company. Walk-behind mowers are perfect for smaller yards and tight spaces. Get a self-propelled walk-behind to make the work go faster and be easier on operators.
For riding mowers, stand-on mowers are popular because they have a more compact footprint and are often easier to fit on an equipment trailer than a riding zero-turn mower with the same cutting deck size. Stand-on mowers can also handle hills better than riding mowers. The riding zero-turns can have faster cutting speeds, though, and may be more comfortable to operate for long work days.
Ultimately, the choice comes down to your preferences and what you want for your business. You could get a mix of walk-behinds with different cutting widths, stand-on mowers, and riding zero-turns. Or you could just get a couple of smaller walk-behinds and a few zero-turns.
What Brands?
Several brands are considered top-quality for commercial lawn mowing. These include recognizable, popular brands like Scag, Cub Cadet, Toro, Husqvarna, and Honda. Here at Richardson Saw, we trust and recommend Scag, Toro, eXmark, and Honda mowers for commercial lawn care. These brands have a long history of providing top-quality equipment and offer a range of models and features to match all your commercial lawn-cutting needs.
The best brands are ones with dealers in your local area. That way, you’ll be able to get the mower locally and find expert support for maintenance. Dealers have certified technicians to provide expert support and often keep spare parts for the equipment they sell. That’s how it is at Richardson Saw. We always service what we sell. And if we don’t have the parts you need for performing routine maintenance in stock, you can talk with us about a timetable for ordering them.
What About Transport and Storage?
One of the things commercial lawncare companies need to think about that’s rarely an issue for homeowners is how to transport the mower. When choosing a lawnmower, how it fits on your equipment trailer matters a great deal.
When choosing mowers, make sure you consider the footprint of the mower. Larger cutting decks make for faster mowing on large properties but take up more room on the trailer. If you need to take multiple mowers to work on several properties at once, stand-on mowers with a smaller footprint or commercial-size walk-behinds might be best. If you’re working on one large property at a time, one or two larger mowers would work just fine.
How Often Will You Replace It?
Many commercial lawn care companies replace their equipment at the end of each season, selling the old equipment and purchasing new. With supply chain disruptions still a very real problem since the 2020 pandemic, some companies are finding that they need to hold on to their equipment another year or put off selling the old equipment until they are sure they can get new.
This is one reason to opt for a reliable lawnmower that can continue cutting and running well for many seasons. Even if you can sell your old equipment and replace it, starting with a reliable brand means they’ll keep their resale value better. And if you need to hang onto it for another few months or even a full season, a mower like one from Scag or Toro is highly likely to keep working reliably, particularly if you keep up with regular maintenance.
Are You Ready for Maintenance?
Even if you plan to replace lawnmowers at the end of each season, it’s still important to keep up with regular maintenance tasks. That will help keep your mowers working like they should all season and hold onto their resale value.
Making time for changing the oil (for mowers with 4-cycle engines) helps ensure the engine keeps running smoothly. You can check the oil filter at the same time and replace it as needed. Also, remember to check the air filter regularly to make sure you’re getting good airflow in the engine. Keeping up with regular deck cleaning and blade sharpening will ensure a good clean cut for your customers who are expecting a neat, well-manicured lawn.
Here to Help
Picking out the right mower for your unique needs is an important step when you’re starting a new lawn care business, replacing old mowers, or adding to an existing fleet. There are a lot of options on the market, but you can narrow those down by thinking about what type of properties you work on, what types of mowers you need, and how you’ll transport them from place to place. You can also visit your local lawn equipment dealer for more help finding a great commercial mower.
Richardson Saw is a family-owned lawn equipment dealership with a long history of working with commercial clients. We carry mowers from trusted commercial brands including Scag, eXmark, Toro, and Honda. We’d be happy to have you stop by and check out the different mowers in person. Come visit us today in Richardson, Texas, or contact us if you have any questions.
