"Derrick" wrote in message
om...
My name is Derrick, and I am thinking of starting up a yard care
service in the Minneapolis, MN suburbs. I need advice on purchasing a
mower for average sized suburban yards. I assume I need a ride-on
mower if I expect to mow a large volume of lawns, but I don't know
what I should get. Is a tractor better then a rear-engine mower???
Also, Toro has zero turn radius mowers. Please help me.

Derrick,

Since you are going to be using it for commercial purposes, you really need
a commercial grade lawn mower. Look around at professional lawn maintainers
and you'll see most of them use very high-end commercial products. Toro,
Snapper, and John Deere residential products are designed to be used for
about 16-20 mowings per year. You might be doing that many in 2 days.

PS. What brands/models would you recommend for a weed whacker, &
blower.

I've used several different gas trimmers. Presently I have an Echo 2400cc
model which I've used for the past 8 years on my 1/2 acre lawn. It still
runs just as good today as the day I bought it and it does an excellent job.
In my area most of the commercial lawn people use Echo trimmers. What you
want to look for is a model that handles larger sized line. Mine takes .095
which is a good size. I load it once with line and it lasts almost all
season. I also have an Echo blower which I like, but if you are going to
use one commercially, you'll want a backpack model.