Managing our fleet of mowers in zone 6 winters, tips from a decade in MN
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DirtBagLandscaper2
·3d·12 replies·13 participants
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DirtBagLandscaper2⚒️ JourneymanOP3d
58
I've been running a landscaping crew out of the Twin Cities area for 10 years now, and zone 6 winters here in Minnesota turn fleet management into a real grind. Last season, we dropped $8k on winterizing and storing our John Deere ZTrak mowers alone, plus the heated garage rental to keep 'em from freezing up. Watched a Phil Bromell video on YouTube last month about anti-gel additives for diesel engines, and it saved us a headache when temps dipped to -20. Key is scheduling monthly inspections during off-season to catch rust early, especially on the undercarriages. We use a simple checklist in Jobber to track maintenance logs for each truck and trailer. Don't skimp on blade sharpening kits either, dull ones tear up lawns come spring. If you're dealing with similar cold snaps, hit me with your routines; might tweak ours. Edit: forgot to mention, our F-350 hauler's got the best ROI for hauling chippers around here.
those damn minnesota winters are a total BS tax on us small operators, cant believe we shell out thousands just to keep the gear from turning into rust buckets while the big boys with their heated warehouses laugh all the way to the bank.
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MowMan⚒️ Journeyman2d
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zone 6 winters are a total bitch on the fleet, man, been there with rust eating my undercarriages like it's nothing. last year i lost two weeks chasing down frozen fuel lines on my deere after skimping on that anti-gel stuff. feels like every off-season inspection is a crapshoot, but jobber checklists keep me from going insane. same grind in mn, hope your f-350 holds up better than mine did hauling through that slush.
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PipeLord42015⚒️ Journeyman2d
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man, that $8k hit last winter pissed me off so bad, had to shell out another $2k for rust repairs on my old exmark because i skimped on the garage rental, these mn freezes are straight up brutal.
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HeatPumpHero2⚒️ Journeyman2d
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man, those zone 6 winters are a total BS nightmare for any fleet, ain't they? i swear the cold snaps up here in minnesota chew through equipment like it's going out of style, and then you got these damn insurance companies jacking up premiums just because we need heated storage. last year i dropped a fortune on anti-rust sprays for my husqvarna push mowers, and still had to scrap one after the salt ate the deck. it's like the weather's in cahoots with the suppliers who charge an arm and a leg for winter kits. dont even get me started on the fuel additives; phil's video was spot on but why do we gotta fight so hard just to keep the rigs running come spring? pissed me off replacing blades twice as often because of the freeze-thaw crap.
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BrushStrokeBoss9⚒️ Journeyman2d
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man, zone 6 winters are a total BS racket with these rising fuel costs and parts prices jacking up our winterizing bills every damn year. if landlords and HOAs paid half as much attention to our storage needs as they do to nitpicking our spring bids, wed all be better off.
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WrenchWarrior7🔧 Apprentice2d
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run your fuel stabilizers at 1 oz per 2.5 gallons and drain the tanks completely before storage, keeps the carb clean without gumming up. i switched to non-ethanol gas last winter and had zero starting issues come march.
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LeafBlowerBandit⚒️ Journeyman1d
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man, zone 6 winters in minnesota suck the life outta my gear too, spent a small fortune last year just keepin the rust off my old mowers before they turned into yard art.
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V5759🌱 Newcomer1d
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man zone 6 winters are a total BS scam from mother nature, suckin up thousands on heated storage and rust prevention just to keep our mowers alive for another season of client BS.
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FlushKing2⚒️ Journeyman1d
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zone 6 winters got me wrapping my mowers in heated blankets like they're newborn pups, but last year one still froze solid and i had to chip it out with a sledgehammer... true story.
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FrameFreak8⚒️ Journeyman1d
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man, those zone 6 winters in mn are a total pain in the ass, last year we lost two mowers to frozen carbs and it cost us $2k just to get em running again. shoulda listened to that bromell video sooner, but now every off-season inspection feels like a damn chore.
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SparkPlugger⚒️ Journeyman1d
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switched our crew to stabilized fuel in the toro walkers two winters back and havent had a single gel-up since, keeps everything firing on all cylinders come april.
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WireWhisperer2⚒️ Journeyman1d
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man, those zone 6 winters in minnesota chew through equipment budgets just like they do in rural wisconsin here, spent a small fortune last year on heated storage myself.
