Many people get into the lawn mowing business without having all of the proper equipment. This leads to not being able to complete the mowing jobs efficiently enough to make a profit and will ultimately lead to failure. New Commercial equipment is best because it usually comes with a three year warranty but the down side is you pay top dollar. Used commercial equipment is second best because it is built to last and it holds its value very well. Homeowner equipment is not well suited to your mowing business. These mowers are only made to be used for about 1 hour once per week. They will fail on you. The only cheap equipment I buy are push mowers. I have found that, when used commercially, a $120 push mower will last as long as a $650 push mower. About 2 years.
Here is the Basic Equipment Needed to Start your Lawn Mowing Business.
1. A good reliable pickup truck
Stock your truck with these supplies:
2 Gas cans.
Spare set/sets sharp blades.
Tire repair plug kit.
Small air pump. (with cigarette lighter adapter)
Full set of tools. (Home Depot sells a good set of Husky tools in a case for about $120)
Spool of Trimmer line. (Get the good stuff. Cheap line breaks.)
Envelope for gas receipts and expenses.
Ledger to record expenses. (Most of your expenses are tax deductible.)
2. Landscape trailer
You will need a trailer that is at least 8' long. An 8' trailer can hold all of the equipment on this list. A 12' trailer trailer would be better though because it does allow for adding more equipment as you expand. You will need a two trimmer rack and a blower rack for the trailer. In my area I can find used trailers for about $600and new for anywhere up to $1600 for a 12' trailer.
Also you can check Ebay for used trailer listings.
3. String Trimmers
I would recommend getting two string trimmers right in the beginning. Make sure to get a good commercial variety. Echo makes a good string trimmer for the money. Shindawa, Redmax and Stihl are also good. As long as you use the trimmers properly you will not need to replace the heads for the life of the trimmer. I had some employees a few years ago who would drag the trimmer heads against the curbs and sidewalks while they were trimming. They were going through trimmer heads like crazy. It took replacing about six heads before I realized what was going on. All I had to say to them was don't drag the heads on the concrete and that was the end of it. Simple solution you would think.
4. Push Mowers
You are going to need a push mower to get the small lawns and fenced in areas. Like I said before,I use cheap push mowers. $120 max. If you plan on only using a push mower for really big areas then I would suggest you get yourself a self-propelled push mower. Bagging, mulching or disgharging is up to you or your customer. I don't do any bagging anymore. If my customer wants their grass bagged then I get a new customer.
5. Blowers
A good commercial blower is one of the most important pieces of equipment to have.You could mow the grass perfectly but if you can't get all the grass off the sidewalks or the driveway your whole job will look bad. Small blowers just don't cut it. I use Redmax backpack blowers but any commercial blower will due. Redmax, stihl, Echo. Handheld blowers are great if you have alot of small jobs to go to per day because they save energy. It's hard to put on and take off a backpack blower 10 times per day.
When I first started my business I took a job mowing a field that turned out to be about 20 acres. I estimated it by eye to be about 5 acres. I didn-t even know how big an acre was. The only mower I had was an Exmark Metro without a velke to stand on. I started the job at 11am. I finished the job at 9pm. That was 10 straight hours of walking. I took only 1 ten minute break during my 10 hour walk because I just wanted to get it finished.
What I learned was "Don't get a big job unless you have a big mower." And "If you do get a big job, get a big mower."
6. Zero Turn Riding Mower
If you are going to be mowing properties that are over 5 acres then you are going to need a riding mower. My commercial mower of choice is Exmark. There is so much money to be made with a Exmark Lazer Z 60". Large area mowing is where I make the majority of my money because I have learned to use the Exmarks very efficiently and I teach my employees to be very efficient with their work time.
If you are looking for a new or used Exmark mower then you may want to check out this site. Exmark-Mowers-Marketplace
Find New and Used Mowers
Landscape Trailers