Jim's Mowing - Oxenford '32 Scag V Ride II Initial Testing'

I recently picked up a new 32 Scag V Ride II. It's an awesome piece of machinery and is super fun to use. After a few weeks using it one of the most important things is working out your technique when coming into corners (snipping) and turning to minimise damaging the grass (more so in the wet). It works similar to a bob cat so if you actuate the controls in the opposite direction it will do 360's.

Using the Catch Pro also requires a slightly different approach, which as you can see in the video I was a bit of a noob on my first day testing it out in the field. I found over the few weeks my technique was much better and my efficiency continued to improve. As an example the first lawn I did in this video normally takes around an hour and a half to push mow (catching), including snipping & blowing. By the second visit I had it all done in 50 minutes. It was also super thick on this visit and I managed to mulch the lot, with a great finish. I had upgraded to a set of gator blades. Still plenty of lift to fill the Catch Pro, but also create a finer mulch.

The best thing about this machine is it's size, it will get you places that bigger decks wont. It will allow you to enter 900mm wide gates. Which is great for medium size residential blocks, corners and front yards. Of course you could do acreage, but i think in my experience 500sqm to an acre would be it's sweet spot. If you were doing bigger properties a 48 or a 52 inch (which I hope to get down the track) would be a more efficient option. For me this machine was a flexible entry point to help me be more efficient with my current residential's and also to get me into acreage work.

I considered whether I should get a 32 or a 36 but I'm relieved I bought the 32 as it gets me through the gates that a 36 wouldn't. For an extra four inches it just didn't seem worthwhile, again a second larger machine will be an option down the track.

Special mention to @CatchProAustralia , Ryan @AshmoreMowers and Ben and BJ from Lawn Care Skull Sessions.

Hopefully this VLOG is helpful in learning my personal insights into commencing a Jim's Mowing or an independent mowing business. Please use your own discretion when viewing my videos and research what's best for your personal business scenarios. I'm learning along the way and these perspectives are consistently evolving as I find out more. My hope is by documenting this process that it will help you to make better decisions from the outset and save you some costly mistakes along the way.

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[Eurekalawnspecialist]

Hey mate, its Justin. I had a chat with you at the dump, time for an update video on the scag 😉

[nathanferguson]

hey mate was watching all your videos, as I am seriously considering joining jims and buying a franchise, was keen to get in contact with you to have a chat about your experience and get some advice.

[dootguy]

16k worth the investment would you say ? been a few months now

[aaronneilen]

Hows it on hills with the fuel tank on side?

[Jackson_rw]

Hey mate I’ve got 30k so spend on starting a business from scratch. I’ve been in the industry for over a decade but have decided to start a business and want to get all the tools straight up before I start building clients. I thought if I got this stand on I could maximise the amount of lawns I can do to quickly pay off the loan as I will pay per job. I currently work fulltime as a head gardener so I will have time in the Arvos/ weekend to build the business, then slowly drop to part time with my current job. Do you think this is a good strategy ? Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks mate!