Do more with less with lawn mower attachments

A riding lawn mower is one of those essential pieces of equipment that has a critical job to do for many months, but then gets put away when the grass stops growing. At the same time, even more of your precious capital budget is tied up in additional seasonal equipment that sees little utilization during the majority of the year.

There is a way to get a better return on your equipment investment while also enhancing crew productivity.

Grasshopper offers a selection of implements specifically designed to help public works and parks departments, schools and other government agencies utilize their Grasshoppers mowers year-round.

Five reasons mower implements make sense:

1. Higher equipment utilization. Much like a skid-steer loader can do more than just load dirt, some riding mowers are capable of doing more than just mowing grass. By swapping out the mower deck for any number of implements, these mowers help purchasing agents stretch their capital budgets by getting year-round productivity out of their seasonal mowing equipment.
2. Reduced ownership cost. Purchasing an implement for a mower costs less than purchasing a stand-alone machine with its own engine. Compatibility is an important consideration. An implement will typically outlive the mower it is being attached to. You don’t want to have to buy new implements every time you need to buy a new mower. In the case of Grasshopper implements, the vast majority of implements purchased in the past 25 years will mount to any new Grasshopper mower (check with an authorized Grasshopper dealer to ensure proper fitment).
3. Reduced operating cost. By replacing stand-alone machines with mower implements, the number of fleet assets with engines and drivetrains is reduced. While most attachments will require some form of preventive maintenance from time to time, it won’t be anywhere near the level of maintaining a stand-alone machine. Additionally, performing certain tasks with a mower-mounted implement will cost less per hour than utilizing an implement attached to a larger machine like a skid steer or compact tractor that is more expensive, more maintenance-intensive and less fuel-efficient.
4. Better productivity. A mower-mounted implement will perform certain tasks more productively. A lot of specialized groundskeeping equipment requires the operator to walk behind the equipment. A mower-mounted implement provides an advantage with respect to speed and production capacity. Then, when compared to an implement attached to a larger machine like a skid steer or tractor, a zero-turn mower has a significant efficiency advantage due to its lighter weight, smaller footprint and enhanced maneuverability.
5. Employee satisfaction. As touched on above, a riding mower provides a productivity advantage over operating a walk-behind machine. Employees typically appreciate that, too. Additionally, from a training standpoint, employees have already become proficient in the operation of the mower from using it to cut grass. Transitioning to other types of work typically requires a much shorter learning curve than when adding an entirely new piece of machinery to the fleet.

What else can a mower do?

Snow removal. After taking a few simple steps to prepare your mower for winter weather, several implements can help transform that mower into a highly productive snow removal machine. An agile zero-turn mower paired with a DriftBuster™ Snowthrower, CleanSweep™ Rotary Broom, Little Bully™ Dozer Blade, or V-Plow is a highly efficient solution for clearing sidewalks, driveways, small parking lots, etc.

Debris cleanup. A fast and maneuverable zero-turn mower paired with a CleanSweep Rotary Broom can productively sweep sidewalks, driveways, parking lots and other high-traffic areas. It can also help spruce up lawn areas that have become covered with mud, gravel and other debris over the winter months.

Leaf cleanup. In the fall months, a powerful turbine blower attachment can help move large volumes of leaves and other debris for more efficient removal from lawns, parking lots and streets.

Another option for leaf and debris cleanup is a PowerVac™ Collection System. This attachment features a deck-driven vacuum that makes a clean sweep through virtually any lawn debris, including wet leaves, sticks, litter, and tall, wet grass. Speaking of grass, a PowerVac Collection System can also come in handy at certain times of year when bagging grass clippings in certain high-profile locations is desired.

Weed spraying. A Shielded Sprayer can greatly improve productivity by covering large areas faster and with more precise application. It’s a useful implement all year long, especially in the early spring months before the regular mowing regimen sets in.

Turfgrass health. For municipalities, schools and other agencies that prioritize the beautification of certain public outdoor spaces, attachments like AERA-vator™ Coreless Aerators and Tine-Rake™ Dethatchers can help crews improve the health of turfgrass areas. Paired with a fast and productive zero-turn mower, large areas like sports fields can even be serviced efficiently.

Edging. Speaking of beautification, an Edge-EZE™ edger attachment can help create clean edges along sidewalks, roadways and other paved areas. Edging time can be reduced by up to 75% as compared to using a conventional handheld stick edger or walk-behind edger.

Light landscaping. A Little Bully Dozer Blade can enable a zero-turn mower to perform grading and other light landscaping projects. When working on sensitive landscape areas, a lighter and more compact zero-turn provides a distinct advantage over a larger, heavier machine like a skid steer or compact tractor.

Grasshopper implements allow your crews to do more with less, all year long. Switching from mower deck to implement can generally be completed in minutes without tools, thanks to Grasshopper’s unique QuikConverter™ Implement System.

Some attachments are only available for Grasshopper FrontMount™ mowers. That’s important to keep in mind as you’re contemplating which implements you’re looking to use, as well as which style of mower you’re looking to utilize in your core mowing operation. FrontMount, MidMount™ and Stand-On mowers each have their advantages. It’s important to keep that bigger groundskeeping picture in mind when deciding which style is best for your individual fleet–and which implements will help make the most of your precious equipment budget.