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Thread: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

  1. #16
    Member Of Forum cylo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Quote Originally Posted by Mick View Post
    Theres a new thread on LS discussing stand ons, may be worth checking out.

    The smallest stand on I could see is about 32", http://www.wrightmfg.com/products/stander/

    That Ferris looks pretty sweet I reckon, and fun!

    You'd probably want some curved ramps or at least ramps with a bend in them. Standers seem to have a short wheel base so you dont want the angle from tray to ramp to severe or you could get hung up.

    The walk behinds, if you get a full hydro unit is pretty much the same as a ztr. You steer with levers, not necessarily man handling the thing. But yeah, a rider of some type would be preferred Im sure.

    Of course, all of this depends one whats actually available here in Aust. I doubt everything will be!
    Yea the smallest I can find is 32" also, which would be the best option for me. The ferris may be too big but I will have to start measuring some gates next week & narrow spots, start getting an idea of what width will be the limit.

  2. #17
    Member Of Forum cylo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Great dane make a 34" stand behind http://www.greatdanemowers.com/produ...fer_popUp.html

    Scag has a 36" so theres a possibilty, along with Toro with the 36", but as NLALM suggests its restrictive through gates. (im yet to measure up my jobs)

    Gravely have a 34" but its a fixed deck.

    John deere smallest is 48" as far as I can see.

    So possibly great dane or wright stander. would be more still looking.

  3. #18
    Member Of Forum cylo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Found a dealer for Wright Stander nearby to me. Doesnt have any in stock at the moment but will hopefully be getting in within a couple of weeks, so ill look forward to going taking one out for a demo.

    So far have learned that the 32" doesnt have a quick height adjustment, the height is adjusted through adding spacers into the front wheels from what I could understand. Whereas the 36" has a quick height change, similar to a ZTR or other stand behinds would have im assuming.

  4. #19
    Senior Member NLALM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    That great dane looks cool good name to you could tell everyone you were surfing all day. The walker is probably one of the best mulch mowers around but yes you still get the lawns you have to pick, up nearly all these small mowers are mulch or side discharge.

  5. #20
    Senior Member fairdinkum's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    With the amount of work I have been turning away of late I am revisiting the idea of getting a walker mb 23hp efi model with a 36 inch deck + the mulch kit. Been toying with the idea for a long time now but, among other things, I also worry about the finish and how customers will take the fact that I won't be using a catcher. To be able to handle the extra work load in peak times I definitely need a ride on but we're coming into the arse end of the season now. So on the one hand I would have a pretty big investment just sitting around for 3 or 4 months. But on the other hand I'd have that time to get used to the machine and adapt my setup to accommodate it. I've seen a bloke using a stander around this way. Seems to do a pretty good job on the smaller lawns. But I think, as long as it fits through the gates, the out front deck of the walker would get into the tight spots a bit better and would leave a better finish from what I have heard. And from what I've been told you can run up to a 60 inch deck on the 23hp model.

    Jason Forrest
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  6. #21
    Member Of Forum cylo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Quote Originally Posted by NLALM View Post
    That great dane looks cool good name to you could tell everyone you were surfing all day. The walker is probably one of the best mulch mowers around but yes you still get the lawns you have to pick, up nearly all these small mowers are mulch or side discharge.
    haha if only it were true, the surfing part.

    Yea using a catcher seems a little impractical when the machines getting to these sizes. Fine if you are cutting wide open areas, but in those areas I would use a normal ZTR anyhow. The tight spaces are going to be an issue with a catcher hanging off the side, would need to give it a good trial to get a better idea. If mulching was accepted by clients then this would be the way to go for sure.

    Im currently using the 21" SP with high lift blades suited to catching damp grass. So when I use the mulch plug I guess im not getting the best mulch, Im betting the mulch quality would be a lot better with these stand behinds so the customers may not think twice. Have to wait and see.

  7. #22
    Member Of Forum cylo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Quote Originally Posted by fairdinkum View Post
    With the amount of work I have been turning away of late I am revisiting the idea of getting a walker mb 23hp efi model with a 36 inch deck + the mulch kit. Been toying with the idea for a long time now but, among other things, I also worry about the finish and how customers will take the fact that I won't be using a catcher. To be able to handle the extra work load in peak times I definitely need a ride on but we're coming into the arse end of the season now. So on the one hand I would have a pretty big investment just sitting around for 3 or 4 months. But on the other hand I'd have that time to get used to the machine and adapt my setup to accommodate it. I've seen a bloke using a stander around this way. Seems to do a pretty good job on the smaller lawns. But I think, as long as it fits through the gates, the out front deck of the walker would get into the tight spots a bit better and would leave a better finish from what I have heard. And from what I've been told you can run up to a 60 inch deck on the 23hp model.
    Yea true what you say about coming into the off-season, however I bought my last zero turn in the off-season in order to adjust to it and be all set and ready for the busy times. Fat load of good that worked out for me, wont go into that. But I find it would be the better time to get a new thing like this, towards the end of winter coming into spring, with this you can adapt to a new machine while the grass is just starting to grow. Rather than starting something new in the peak season when you dont have time to iron out any problems.

    The walker might be a little on the long side for what I was thinking. wonder how it would compare to getting around obstacles, with a short wheel base you can get into a narrow section and turn around within that section. a walker you wuld need to reverse your way out. might be worth a demo, im trying to find some videos on youtube.

  8. #23
    Member Of Forum cylo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Had a look at a toro 36" grandstand this arvo. Looks like a good machine, the dealer wont allow me to take it out and try on a lawn, the best he would do is give me a ride in a few meters of space in his shop. The hydros seem quite responsive and appear to be easy to use, I think turning in a tight spot is going to be an issue with digging 1 tyre into the ground, they are 300+kg I think.

    Doubt I will be buying from that dealer, I need to be able to demo before purchase. Not sure if I wil be able to do that so its going to be a difficult thign to research. I called a scag dealer, they only want to let me use it in the car park without cutting grass, I explained the situation and he siad he will give scag a call to ask whether they will permit me to take it away for a trial on a couple resi lawns.

    Do you guys think its a reasonable thing to demo a machine like this on atleast 1 or 2 of your own lawns before commiting to a purchase? I get the dealers point of view, they say these machines arent popular in aus & they dont seem to have demo models or if it is a demo they dont want it cutting grass. But from my point of view, its a big investment which I need to be able to demo on cut quality/ride etc. I hear of guys taking ZTRs out for a week to demo in the US, not sure about here in aus. But I will never buy another mower of this price region without a good demo.

  9. #24

    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Quote Originally Posted by cylo View Post
    Had a look at a toro 36" grandstand this arvo. Looks like a good machine, the dealer wont allow me to take it out and try on a lawn, the best he would do is give me a ride in a few meters of space in his shop. The hydros seem quite responsive and appear to be easy to use, I think turning in a tight spot is going to be an issue with digging 1 tyre into the ground, they are 300+kg I think.

    Doubt I will be buying from that dealer, I need to be able to demo before purchase. Not sure if I wil be able to do that so its going to be a difficult thign to research. I called a scag dealer, they only want to let me use it in the car park without cutting grass, I explained the situation and he siad he will give scag a call to ask whether they will permit me to take it away for a trial on a couple resi lawns.

    Do you guys think its a reasonable thing to demo a machine like this on atleast 1 or 2 of your own lawns before commiting to a purchase? I get the dealers point of view, they say these machines arent popular in aus & they dont seem to have demo models or if it is a demo they dont want it cutting grass. But from my point of view, its a big investment which I need to be able to demo on cut quality/ride etc. I hear of guys taking ZTRs out for a week to demo in the US, not sure about here in aus. But I will never buy another mower of this price region without a good demo.
    Sure it is reasonable! With the mark up on those things they have plenty in it for them and should be able to have a demo machine avaialable - maybe not the whole range but 1 machine or so.
    Tell them they will not get popular if no-one knows what they are buying. Find the right dealer who will demo and most yopu most surely will build a reasonable relationship for servicing etc etc.

  10. #25
    Senior Member NLALM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Yeah when I bought the toro if I could of demoed it I wouldn't of dropped the 8k on it. At the time I looked at the hustler to but it was a wider cut the guy was begging me to take out on a few lawns. One thing about walker is the way they do things and will happily demo any machine. But I would want to have a good run on the stander before I purchased one. A lot of the yanks use them there is often talk on lawnsite about them

  11. #26
    Member Mick's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    After everything we've been through, no way would I again buy without a really good true demo on my lawns in different conditions.
    Probably not just one demo either, but several over a period of time! If Im going to potentially spend the money they want for these machines then they can damn well come up with a demo machine.
    If they dont want to demo, go elsewhere!

  12. #27
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Quote Originally Posted by NLALM View Post
    Yeah when I bought the toro if I could of demoed it I wouldn't of dropped the 8k on it. At the time I looked at the hustler to but it was a wider cut the guy was begging me to take out on a few lawns. One thing about walker is the way they do things and will happily demo any machine. But I would want to have a good run on the stander before I purchased one. A lot of the yanks use them there is often talk on lawnsite about them
    What machine did you get and what are the issues? If you dont mind me asking!

  13. #28
    Member Of Forum cylo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Quote Originally Posted by NLALM View Post
    A lot of the yanks use them there is often talk on lawnsite about them
    I'm following a thread atm on lawnsite on stand ons, some good info coming up on there.

  14. #29
    Member Of Forum cylo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    Thanks guys, glad to hear you agree. The dealers just want to turn over a sale by telling you a whole bunch of info, 9/10 the info they give you is salesman crap anyway which erks me, the most important thing to me is how it performs & they can tell you how good it is till theyre black in the face but doesnt mean anything to me. I need to test for myself. Even the info I may give or the info on all forums, while its beneficial & excellent, 1 machine that is perfect for 1 person can be the opposite for another, so demos should be more widely available with all equipment.

    Anyway my nearest scag dealer has agreed to call me back tomorro with an answer whether I can bring the V-Ride home for a demo or not. Will let you know how that goes.

  15. #30
    Member Of Forum cylo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Considering a stand behind or small ZTR for residential lawns

    So the local scag dealer got back to me. The most they will allow is for me to cut grass out the front of their shop! Better than nothing sure, but Its not going to be enough for me to make a decision on purchasing. Its absolute BS.

    I found the number for the importer, had a chat to him & he basically doesnt think I need to be testing it on any lawn other than the one out front of the shop. But he did say he would have a chat with the dealer again and get back to me. But geeze feel like im fighting such a battle just for a demo!

    The issue is now that there isnt that many dealers around, so far it looks like Ill have little to no hope demoing any machine. How do they sell these things? They carry on about how they just arent that popular in aus, well im starting to see why...

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