Scag V-Ride. Anyone?

[DaveCN5]

Anyone had experiences? Our walk behind is beginning to show it's age and we are beginning to look for something new. I figure this may be a good option for us because it's the size of a walk behind, but can perform more like a ZTR without having to use a sulky. Just curious on thoughts, experiences on any stand-on mower, but more specifically the Scag since that is what the boss is partial to.

[AL Inc]

Have not seen the new V Ride yet, but I am very leary about buying the first edition of any machine. I love my Scag walk-behinds, I've been using them since 1997, but I remember all of the problems with the Turf Runners, they were Scags answer to the Walker. Hopefully not the case with the V Ride.
On the subject of standers, I love my Wright 52" I'm on my third one, they have been great to me, also get great service from my dealer. Definitely keep us posted on what you get.

[jt5019]

I have been looking into this mower myself, so far it has gotten very positive feedback the only exception is its not cheap. From what ive heard the dealers are having a very hard time keeping them in stock, they are selling like hotcakes (have yet to see one on anybody's trailer around here) People that have demoed the wright stander,Toro Grandstand and Scag V-ride all say the scag is right up there with the Wright stander. I hope i can demo the scag soon but this will be my first stander so i dont have much to go on.

[Ron's Asphalt]

Just my opinion, but I have two Wright standers. Last year I bought an Exmark (Toro) 60" new Z, and it will mow 2x as fast, with better a better cut. I now only use the stander for the areas that I don't want to take the 60". If you have tight areas that a zero cant get into, or a lot of hills, I can see the standers. But if you have the room to move, make sure you demo a sit down unit also.

I had no plans to purchase a new unit last year, as I only do a limited amount of mowing (3 days, 1 guy). But after demoing the new unit, and measuring the increase in production, the reduced labor cost matched the monthly payment. Seemed like a no brainer to me.

The new Toros, Scags, etc. are supposed to give a better / faster cut than the Wrights. The Wrights are the most compact units, but also have the slowest / worst cut. The Toro's have a fold up riding platform that saves a lot of trailer space, and also allow the operator to walk behind the unit if the need arises. It also makes the unit very capible of climbing curbs in reverse.

Their is a lot to consider when looking at these units. They are the same width as sit down units, and are usually only about a 1' shorter. If you really need a compact unit, then go for it. If not, you will be far ahead buying a sit down unit. IMO.:wink

[DaveCN5]

Ron,
I agree with everything you mentioned. This would not be in use to replace a ZTR. My mowing truck is an '09 F-350 CC Diesel with a 20' gooseneck trailer. It carries two 61" Turf Tigers and the 52" walk behind, as well as 4 blowers, 3 trimmers, an edger and a fully stocked tool box. We do 95% commercial lots and would be using it on the islands and areas where the ZTR's can't get and as a back up unit in case 1 of the ZTR's breaks down and I can't fix it out in the field.

The owner of the company is VERY brand loyal. Ford trucks, Bobcat skid steers, Komatsu full size machines, Scag mowers, and Stihl power equipment.

[Ron's Asphalt]

Never had a Scag. The Toro's may be worth a real look. The deck is supposed to be the same as the zero's. The fold up drivers platform exposes almost half the rear wheel, making them excellent climbers in reverse. The scags also have a folding platform, but it is minimal in comparison. I guess I would say just go for it. Dealer support is probably going to be good. Scag is a great name. You won't really know until you try. Pick the phrase that works for you and but one. Worst case is it only performs as well as the walk behind did, not better.

[GMC Driver]

We currently run two Great Dane standers - the cut quality isn't what an Exmark would be, but they handle tall thick grass well.

I like the Grandstands - but my experiences with Toro overall haven't been great. The Scag looks like a solid choice - what powertrain option are you leaning towards?

Now if you could get one with a diesel....

[DaveCN5]

We would be going with the 26 HP engine with the 48" deck. I did see that the Toro/Exmark have what appears to be a better platform, as well as a better head shield than the Scag. I'm going to try and talk the boss into demoing both within the next few weeks. So we'll see what happens.

GMC, I know what you mean about the diesel! One of our competitors (who we lost 25% of our accounts to last year since they're "Red Bandits" and then we gained the accounts back this year for better quality and service :D) is running a propane rider. Kind of want to stop and ask them about it, but something tells me that they don't want to see/talk to me. :haha

[Mark Oomkes]

We currently run two Great Dane standers - the cut quality isn't what an Exmark would be, but they handle tall thick grass well.

I like the Grandstands - but my experiences with Toro overall haven't been great. The Scag looks like a solid choice - what powertrain option are you leaning towards?

Now if you could get one with a diesel....

Toro was very nice when I demo'ed it last year.

Was waiting for a 60" deck and it to be Exmark red. Halfway there now.

Never ran any other standers, but I really liked it. Could actually do more mowing on certain hills than with a WB\sulky because I was standing over the drive wheels.

[Ron's Asphalt]

Standers do climb hills very well. They can run sideways on hills fairly well. Point one down hill, and it goes very, very well. Just don't expect to be able to stop!

[Landgreen]

Standers do climb hills very well. They can run sideways on hills fairly well. Point one down hill, and it goes very, very well. Just don't expect to be able to stop!

Exactly. Poor braking down hills. Other than that I liked the manueverability. Other thing I noticed was how it handled the ditches without scalping as much as our z's.

[DaveCN5]

Well, it turns out the boss just went on a shopping spree yesterday. He had me go pick up TWO new machines this morning.

a 52" Scag Hydro walk behind with mulching plate and a 61" Scag Turf Tiger.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg245/DaveCN5/Mobile%20Uploads/04152010.jpg

In pic from left to right on trailer. Scag 48" Hydro Walk Behind (old), 52" walk behind (new), 61" Turf Tiger (new), 61" Turf Tiger (old).

[snowplowjay]

Nice pic Dave!!!!!!!!

We never see 5th wheel landscape trailers out here that looks sweet!!! LOOOONG to manuever im sure!!!

[DaveCN5]

Nice pic Dave!!!!!!!!

We never see 5th wheel landscape trailers out here that looks sweet!!! LOOOONG to manuever im sure!!!

Thanks. It can be a pain to maneuver around sometimes. Especially since we do a LOT of commercial stuff. Making those turns around islands in crowded parking lots can get pretty interesting pretty fast.

I really like how we have this mowing trailer set up though. A lot of time, effort, and planning went into this trailer. If you look closely, you can see 2 blower back packs mounted underneath the neck and then 1 on each side of the neck. We also added a shelving unit on the deck in front of the neck that holds all of our gas cans, air tank, etc and still allows us to park a walk behind under neath it. On top of the shelf we have our water jug facing the P/U so people can get a drink while standing under the neck. We also have a full size truck toolbox mounted to the deck running from front to rear on along the driver's side that has everything we need including hose fittings, spare blades, tools, spare tips for the blowers, pre-mix oil, etc. Then we have the trusty weed whacker and hard edger rack on the back corner. We added wheel chocks to the deck so the machines don't roll around.

The only thing that could make this trailer better is if it had a side access ramp on the passenger side so I could pull a walk behind off without having to pull off both ZTR's first.

And I don't care what any one says about the '08-'10 Fords and the 6.4L diesel. That truck is awesome. It pulls ANYTHING I put on the back of that truck with ease and still has a very considerable amount of "get up and go". In the last month, Tuesday has been the only day where I haven't been pulling a trailer and right now I am averaging 11.4 MPG for combined driving. Only bad thing was that it came with those crappy low profile mirrors that SUCKED for towing trailers with. I had to buy and put the towing mirrors on myself, but that only took 20 minutes and 4 bolts. :D

[Mark Oomkes]

Nice pic Dave!!!!!!!!

We never see 5th wheel landscape trailers out here that looks sweet!!! LOOOONG to manuever im sure!!!

That's a short one. :wink

[chtucker]

That's a short one. :wink

And its a "Gooseneck" for you city boys:D

[Mark Oomkes]

And its a "Gooseneck" for you city boys:D

What's a country boy call it?

[DaveCN5]

What's a country boy call it?

Jay was calling it a 5th wheel. Slightly different.

[snowplowjay]

And its a "Gooseneck" for you city boys:D

Darn New Englander turned CO resident!!!!!!! :)