When Size Matters: Wide-area Mowing

There are two basic ways of using equipment to improve cutting speed – increasing the actual speed of equipment or increasing the size of the mower. Increasing a lawn mower’s speed is not particularly feasible because cut quality suffers at high rates of speed. Instead, contractors are finding that increasing the cutting deck’s size allows them to increase the amount of grass cut per hour without sacrificing quality and also enables them to pursue new clients that weren’t available to them before.

Over the years, standard commercial mowers have reached widths of up to 72 inches, allowing the operator to cut a large piece of property in a reasonable amount of time. Meanwhile, wide-area mowers, some of which are equipped with up to 11 feet of cutting territory – almost double the widest traditional deck – can tremendously increasing mowing efficiency and drive revenue growth.

"Wide-deck mowers allow you to save money on equipment purchases and labor while still providing your customers with quality service," said Ken Raney, advertising manager, Excel Industries, Hesston, Kan.

While the term "wide-deck" is used here, in fact, most of these mowers do not have one large wide deck. Instead, most have two small "wings" that protrude from the mower’s sides. These wings provide contractors with the ability to cut vast amounts of grass in a shorter time.

"By putting wings on a mower, a landscape contractor can get the same width of cut as with two 72-inch mowers, yet he or she won’t have to pay for a second mower and a second person to operate it," Raney said. "You can get twice as much cutting width for about half the increase in price."

Despite the machine’s advantages, the decision to buy a wide-area mower is laden with considerations.

MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING. The first of those considerations is price. Wide-area mowers generally cost $30,000 or more. Contractors must be sure they have enough property to cut that is accessible with a wide-area mower to justify the purchase. A wide-area mower sitting in the shop because your customers’ properties are too small does not make a good investment.

"There is no rule of thumb as to what size property you can cut with wide-area mowers," Raney said. "You just have to eyeball it and say, ‘I am not going to bring that $30,000 piece of equipment in here for two minutes.’ But for a football field, or a group of them, it makes perfect sense. You want to knock those out as quickly as possible."

The contractor needs to look at this purchase as a commitment, said Peter Whurr, vice president of product management, Textron Golf & Turf, Racine, Wis. "The contractor needs to ask him or herself, ‘What large areas do I need to cut on a regular basis?’ If there are a lot of wide-open spaces – especially flat, wide open areas in his or her service area – then he or she is a good candidate for a wide-area mower."

Whurr said contractors should not be put off by the large initial investment. "Look at productivity and serviceability before price," he said. "Figuring out cost per acre to cut is usually a straightforward calculation. If you look at cost per acre, you will realize that the wide-width rotary mower, while costing more initially, will provide a better return over the life of the product.

"Once you have a wide mower, you can expand your markets," Whurr continued. "You can pitch more business, such as military bases or airstrips – sites with great expanses of land. With a wide-width mower, those properties will become lucrative."

For Scott Westhoven, president of Scott Westhoven Services, Village Mills, Texas, wide-area mowing is not just for large properties. "We will do a property as small as 80 by 120 feet with a 12-foot mower," he said. "Using bigger equipment is more cost effective for us, and we don’t have to worry about hiring people."

Westhoven and his partner each have a 12-foot mower that they can take onto any property they can access. "If we can access the property and be efficient, we will take the job," he said. "If not, we will pass."

ON EVEN TERRAIN. In addition to price and property size, area topography is a concern. A property with a lot of hills and valleys can pose problems for a wide deck because uneven terrain is prone to scalping. "One of the biggest problems with wide-area mowing is that people will have some severe undulations in the topography and they will try to cut it anyway," said Whurr. "Then they end up with a scalped lawn."

A good rule of thumb is that with decks larger than 72-inches, you must make sure the area you’re mowing is relatively flat, Whurr added. "If the topography is too hilly, you might be better served using a 60- or 48-inch deck in those areas," he said.

However, since most mowers have wings that can be raised or lowered independently of each other, mowing hills that are part of a larger, more flat piece of property is not a problem. "Just raise and lower the wings accordingly," Whurr said. "This works for going in between trees and in smaller areas, as well, so you have some flexibility there."

MAINTENANCE MATTERS. Wide-area mowers tend to be horsepower hogs. Because of their size and the number of blades turning, they need a great deal of power to operate properly. Mower manufacturers have discovered that the best way to maintain the necessary power efficiently is to use diesel engines.

"Diesel engines provide a lot of torque," said Gregg Breningmeyer, marketing manager, John Deere Commercial Mowing, Research Triangle Park, N. C. "And they are generally longer lasting, as well, so diesels are naturally suited to these products.

"Contractors typically put 500 to 1,000 hours a year on these mowers and they want them to last," Breningmeyer continued. "With proper maintenance, you can get 3,000 to 5,000 hours of operation out of a good diesel engine."

But owning a wide-area mower with a diesel engine means there is another engine in the shop to maintain. For larger companies with a group of mechanics who are versed in many different engines, maintaining a diesel engine might not be difficult. However, smaller companies might find adding another engine type a challenge.

Undeniably, maintenance is critical to productivity. If a string trimmer is down, chances are a small landscape maintenance company has a backup. Take down a $40,000 wide-deck mower for a week and see how productive you are. "Any benefit you get from having the wide deck is lost if the machine is down half the time," Breningmeyer recognized.

Diesels don’t need additional maintenance, but they do need maintenance. "They need clean oil and clean filters regularly," Beningmeyer said. "They also need grease occasionally and to be checked daily for wear and tear."

Also, with the increased cutting area comes the need for additional blades. "There are more blades to sharpen on these mowers, but no more blades than if you had several smaller decks," Raney said. "The only difference is that all these blades are on one unit."

Whurr added that in addition to maintenance, wide-area mowers need more care in operation. "These units are much larger, so operators are more likely to hit something while cutting," he observed. "Shock absorption is crucial. The tractor and wings need to be stronger and shock absorbers must be able to handle the additional stress put on the units."

USING WIDE-AREA MOWERS. Because wide-area mowers are larger, contractors tend to want to use the equipment for more than its list of proper uses. "Because of its size, there are some individuals who will try and use it to trim 2-foot tall grass," Breningmeyer said. "These mowers are not intended for that, nor will they do a good job on that kind of load."

Balancing the efficiencies of width with property needs is essential, said Patsy Penner, marketing coordinator, Grasshopper, Moundridge, Kan. "Our largest deck is 72 inches, and it allows contractors to cut a wide variety of properties, yet still collect trimmings. And if there are trees or other obstacles, this unit is better equipped to work around those."

Because contractors use wide-area mowers on big properties, they are "in the saddle" for long periods of time. "You need the operators to be as comfortable as possible, especially if he or she is in the saddle for eight hours a day," Breningmeyer said.

Breningmeyer observed that the labor shortage makes operator satisfaction even more critical. "With the current labor shortage, employers must do what they can to make the quality of work experience good," he said. "Part of that is making sure the employees are satisfied with the equipment."

With wide-area mowers, Westhoven said his two-man crew can mow a 5-acre site in an hour and smaller homes in 15 to 20 minutes.

Transporting the equipment is also a concern. However, since the side decks flip up, most units can be easily trailered for transport. In addition, some mowers can be driven short distances to a second site.

"We were able to get our first unit on a trailer we already had, but when we added the second mower in 1999 we had to buy a 25-foot trailer because I knew sometimes we would want both mowers at one job site," said Jim Humphries, president, Southern Lawns, Greensboro, N. C.

The trailer’s additional length adds another variable – drivers must be able to maneuver this length in traffic.

In the long run, wide-area mowers offer contractors who can use them a good business investment.

"Once you get the mower, you can go out and get more jobs," Raney pointed out. "There is more money in larger commercial jobs than in residential jobs. And wide-area mowers can help you acquire more of that commercial revenue."