Lawn Mower Recommendations - For teenager just starting...

[TrepMan]

Hey Guys - Noah is ready, we think, to start mowing part of the lawn this year. Anyone who has been through this have any suggestions on the right mower? Have to be self propelled, yard/landscaping doesn't lend itself to a rider, fairly level sections and need a rear bagger. We have a Toro Recycler front drive self propelled sitting in the garage, just wonder if anyone had a better recommendation they had used that would be easy for him to control (rear vs. front drive?), safe, easy for him to connect/unconnect the bag... and so on... Yes I'll be with him for all of this, so he won't be doing it alone.



Thanks - Trep

 

[Rich Stern]

Hi Trep. I got Zachary started last summer. We have a Honda rear propelled. He did fine with it. I actually think front drive is a bit easier to master. With rear drive, you have to learn to let go of the drive bar when you turn. With front drive, since you are lifting the drive wheels, you can just hold on the same way all the time.



Front or rear drive, I think Noah will be ok. It just takes one or two sessions to get comfortable. Just remind him to respect the power that a small engine can generate.



As I was watching Zachary cut the grass for the first time last year, I thought to myself: "Why didn't I have six more, just like him?"

 

[Bill McElroy]

I have a 5 hp Craftsman, FWD, Rear Bagger...10yrs old...still starts on the 1-2nd pull and it's been bullet proof. Last year I found a guy who will mow and trim for $20/wk....bills me monthly. That was to good of a deal to pass up!!

 

[Jody Woodruff]

I've had my Honda for 15 years and it's still going strong so I would highly recommend a Honda mower. They're pricey but last a LONG time.

 

[Avery Gilliland2]

Mowers with a blade clutch are nice and safe. When you let off the handle to empty the bag the blade stops but the engine continues to run. You do not have to restart the engine every time you dump grass and no risk of injury. Honda and Toro make models with a blade clutch, probably other brands do also. Honda and Kawasaki engines are hard to beat for for dependability and longevity. Gilly

 

[TrepMan]

Rich - Yeah, on the "Why didn't I have six more, just like him?", its not to late!! LOL



Mac - Thats a sweet deal on $20/month, don't tell noah how cheap he is, or i'll have to negotiate harder with him on what his allowance goes up!!! LOL



Gilly - Don't know which way would be better, agree the blade clutch as a security, but i'll want him to turn it off either way for a while just in case.



I'm thinking right now (yes its mid-70's here and the grass is growing!) I get the current Toro tuned up by a local guy (Ron, drop me an email!) and let him try while the grass isn't too long yet, so he gets the hang of it.



Keep the idea's coming guys!



Trep.

 

[Tim King]

Trep- Sounds to me like you already have what you need for a good start. Except maybe a lawn chair and a cooler of choice beverages!!:lol: Start it up, give him a lesson and sit back and relax (as much as possible).



Rich- Think about what it costs to feed the one, let alone six more!!:lol:



Tim

 

[C C]

Trep,



Toro, Personal Pace Walk Behind Mower is the way to go, it only goes if you go and at your pace. We have one at our home in NH which I started my son out on when he was 12 using at our home in MA. It still runs like it was new. We have another one we bought last year down here in NC for the ditch in the front of the house house and still love both of them.



Cass

 

[Bill McElroy]

Trep.......I pay $20 per mowing......and he mows 3-4 times a month (i.e. $60-80/MONTH)



Still...at $20/week..it's a good deal....gives me another day to fish or golf!! LOL

 

[Marty Klein]

Hand operated clippers buddy, hand operated clippers. teaches them sticktoitiveness and keeps them gainfully occupied.

 

[TrepMan]

Marty - I was in India last year, and one of the fancy houses I was at for dinner had a garden/grass on the 3rd story roof, came by for a beer one night and his gardener was using hand clippers to "trim" the lawn!!! LOL



Cass - Thanks, i'll take a look at those at Home Depot, and check them out.

 

[Tim Koepp]

Not a suggestion Trep, but a semi-warning: What goes around comes around, so get something you will eventually be happy to use.



Case in point: 1966 model Lawn Boy Self propelled 2 cycle. I was in your son's shoes!

My father used it for years

I used it again at my first small home;

sat for 25 more years;

My son used it for three years when he finally bought a house;

he "upgraded";

now it sits in my barn for the trimming around the pond edge.

Still runs, self propelled function eats parts once a year.



Moral: get something you will use in 25 years, or

that Noah will want to "borrow" at that time.

 

[fatrap]

My first mowers were holstien calves on chains I'd move around the yard. I have a five gallon empty tar bucket and a shovel for the "Clippings"

Menards has a cheap self propelled bagger that's pretty kid proof and easy to start.



fatrap

 

[TrepMan]

Fatrap - wish I had a Menards around here, have been in a few, but nothing down here like that in Atlanta. We have Home Depot/Lowes/Walmart/Northern Tool and Supply...



Trep

 

[Tim King]

Northern tool and supply? Aren't you in Georgia?!?!?:wacko:

 

[fatrap]

Too Bad Michael. I got my Yard Master for under $200 w/ a 5hp Briggs with easy start. kid could start it on the first or second pull. It's light enough too.

fatrap

 

[Dan Nevill]

Get a goat and let the boy have the summer off.

 

[Texas Transplant]

The Toro is a good mower. If you want to get a new one, get the Toro self propelled with the large rear tires. Much easier to manuver. I just bought a Honda commercial, and it's unbelieveable - but much more than what you want or need.



My suggestion, use what you got. You don't want to pay bucks for a new one, and find that he doesn't take to it.



BIG SUGGESTION FOR YOU - please pay close attention.



If he doesn't take to it, let it go. Mowing of the lawn when I was a young un', was a real point of contention between me and my father. I swore that I'd never let a mower get between me and my son. Wasn't his deal, so I bet he didn't help mow more than 7-10 times his whole life. It's a HUGE mistake, trying to force a kid to do something like this, if it's not in their 'wheelhouse'.



Best of luck.



Tex

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I'm laughing so hard I can hardly type....every year during the MVM get together there is usually a "catch phrase" that sticks with us the the whole week. Last year it had to do with Menards:lol::lol::lol::lol:



Mac is gonna crack up when he reads this!!



Now back to your regularly scheduled programming............

 

[Tim Koepp]

Your a heck of a dad TT, Sage Advice.

 

[Steve Hutson]

We have been using Toro's (walk behind, self propelled) for years with great service. My son has been mowing our yards since he was 12, 18 now. He also mowed his grandfather's yard. Basically mowed two yards per week during the season.



As a side note, I guess I had better get re-familierized with the Toro. Zane leaves for the Coast Guard on 7/14/09. I'm dreading it for more reasons than the yard mowing. I'm really going to miss him.



Steve

 

[Greg Meyer]

Steve,



Tell your son we wish him well and will hold him in our hearts and prayers. You should be very proud that he has volunteered to serve and protect his country. Thanks for raising a great young man.

 

[Texas Transplant]

Amen to that!



Tex

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Trep, the one you have in the garage sounds ok to me! Especially if you are going to be watching him very closely.. If you don't watch him closely and he gets hurt, he knows he has liberty to call Uncle Billy to get it all straightened out!:angry::blink:

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Man I'd love to be able to get down your way so I could go fishing with you and the boys.

Please Noah, just be careful with one of those power mowers, ok?



Uncle Billy

 

[TrepMan]

You betcha Uncle Billy, i'll be there in a lawn chair and a cold beer while he sweats!!!LOL