mowandgo

I Bought a weibang pro roller 56 in August 2017 it did the beginning of last summer ok. I notice when new it was great at wet collection but it's not so good recently and I clean the collector bag from time to time. At the end middle of last summer I took it to local dealer for service to keep with up warranty conditions and they had it for three weeks in June. In September the drive belts were messing about. All though they did not look worn they kept slipping the drive felt lazy under load it would stop. So I orderd new belts this did not help a thing. There is also a roll pin on the drive sprocket for the roller this snapped a few times to. Easy fix if you have a roll pin to hand but a pain in the bum. The bearings in roller had worn out by this time so I took it back to dealer. They did under warranty however I only picked it up last Week The 15th of February. I used it today and it was messing around on with the drive slipping. I know it has a larger split roller, longer warranty, gets more work done & maybe slightly better finish than Honda roller but after having a bad experience I would rather a Honda or Honda style Machine because they are simple and less is best & while webianngs on the ramps Honda is running lawns. Wonder if you guys have had any bad experiences with bang bangs ?

Hi I have had the stihl HSA 86 for about 14 months. Usability is great cuts as thick as petrol does a lovely clean cut on most types of hedges easy to use battery lasts long when machine new I prefer than petrol well for the first 12 months anyway. My major dislike is after a short time its on its way out. The advantage a petrol has Is durability. All petrol hedge cutters I have used have a gasket for the gear box so dirt does not enter the can & gearbox. However stihl have not botherd with this one so it wears out far quicker making petrol a better choice. In use it wears the battery down quicker overheats and discharges batteries very quickly. I do not want to buy another one for this reason. Do you boys have any advice or experience with this machine? Maybe I could change the parts but think they would be too expensive. I like the look of echo as they have a 2 year comercial warranty however only make one battery hedge cutter. Maybe back to petrol lol.

I have owned both. If your just moving tools a van is probaly better. If your dealing with cuttings and bulky materials fencing or lose soil etc. You simply cant beat a pick up. Tool security I made a 2 meter wide box that you can hide a strimmer and long reach hedge cutter in mowers ride on back I only like Transit single cab size. A hilux type is way to small for me. Trailers are a pain in the arse for me cause i have a lincence that only allows 750kg single wheel trailer and there hard to park. Advantages of pick up. Cuttings do not stink in open air Skys the limit Easy to clean lose soil off. Load lose material with machine bucket. no container rain just natural rain lol. nice working height. very robust you can hit a gate post unlike a box van theres no crease down steel panel. ladders & long posts esier to load I have one roof bar on cab then bar on top of dropside body. no side door 3 dropsides so access all round body remains tidy as you get to sort through tools every morning and evening as I secure tools in lock up at night. easier to wash and polish than van as only have wings, doors bonnet to worry about. Also no large roof to wash which I struggled with on van My one turns in to flat bed as you can take dropside posts and dropsids off. I move a large shed like this. Sign writing completed by cargo on display ( mowrs look good on back) cab warms up & cools down quicker no rattly bulk head my old van grass cuttings cam past bulk head and messed up cab. Only as high as low roof model helps on low barriers and trees bashing roof a problem with old high top van. And still more space on pick up. Dissadvantages Tools have to be regularly moved on and off out of site of theifs. shopping gets wet as dog eats it if placed in cab lol sing writing not as bold. As you can see I love my dropside pick up it really works for me. I am. not sure its for every one but after years of van ownership and now owning a pick up for over a year I just love it never would consider a van again unless i was a different trade like a plumber or carapenter. All time i am working outside a pick up does it dor me. Yes tools you have to keep a sharp eye on but never had any trouble however you cant be too careful.

I think the Weibang looks really good its nice to see a competertor in the roller mower market. I currently run a kubota 21" Roller its a good machine however the roller / gearbox system is a weakness. I can apriciate they wear out but to charge around a 3rd of the price of a new mower is unfair. I have been through some roller bearings too. I am typing this on a xaomi ( Chinese smart phone) and its brilliant. The carburettor on my German Stihl tools says Zama made in China. As long as the parts are cheap and readily available i think they will be great. I am looking at buying the Weibang dedicated mulcher the kawasaki motor is ment to be good and has a large tank so you just keep walking from dusk till dawn.

its holding throttle open and pulling many times. I also left compresion tester for 10 minutes to see if it would hold presure and it did. I also use the compresion tester on a bunch of engines allways seems acruate. Is this engine end of the road or could I get piston & rings at senciable cost & run again?

Had this machine since November 2014 so its 22 months old. I love the high power, light weight & useability but its a bitch to start & will not hold revs. Compresion test said 60 psi. I took the barrel & piston off and its clean with no obvios wear. I run good green stihl oil through it. I just expect it to last longer the unit is still in very good condition. It has been used almost every working day but its only 22 months old. Any one else had poor show from new Stihls?

The Kubota Roller I use for premium mowing on lawns close to the house. Far out paddock areas & rough rutty paddocks where roller can not do it & etesia does it well but is just a little slow as 460mm blade feels small. I am so pleased with the mulching abilty of the etesia I wonder if the Stiga 53 was as good & faster as 70mm wider. I have used the Honda versa mow it was good in bone dry late summer grass however the etesia made it look terrible & the heavy twin blade system sapped power. The over alternative is a ride on but there expensive, pain to load, thirsty & maintenance hungry. I also considerd toro turfmaster but heard there only good in bone dry too. Damp & duey etesia still cuts the mustard but in wet you can forget mulching the grass becomes to heavy & does not flow round the mulching system plus sticks like glue to everything.

I have two mowers this year Etesia pro 46 & Kubota 21 Roller. Both are great. The Etesia mulching realy impressed me so good at mulching and everthing else. I have some big lawns that are too rutty for roller & to big for the 460mm cutting width of Etesia. I was considering a fast 4 wheel mower to clear thtough ground where finish is not esential. Also I hate stopping to empty grass box every couple of minutes & just want to keep going. I realy want the big 53 Etesia mulcher but its to expensive for my mowing budget this year. I was looking at either a Stiga pro multiclip 53 or Husqvarna Biocut 53. The viking I have heard sucks. I thought I would post on here to here word on the street.

Iam looking to replace my Honda 537 its very tired & as a domestic Honda machine performance is way off what it was out the factory. Its not a bad mower been very reliable I think the (versa mow) twin blade mulch lets it down it saps to much power & terrible in the wet. Mulching is poor too. Its very good on all terian & collection is good in the dry & leaves a nice finish. I think the gcv 190 is just a bored out 160 & its a bit rough use alot of fuel too. I would not have another as its not lasted & its not consitant enough in all conditions. Iam going to get a etesia pro 46 soon great on small lawns great pick up in wet & dry & durable. I also used a viking 248 not realy upto the hours i use it for its to be expected at £250 new. I was pleasntly supriesd how much quicker a smaller mower is on a smaller lawn. I need a larger 21 inch say for bigger ground. Iam a bit confused about the market. The best one is the honda hrh 536 very expensive however.

Just after a mower that can cover ground fast & process material fast, long thick grass & gives a nice reasonable finnish on large low grass areas. I dont want a ride on as i think there alot of messing around for my jobs. 2 acres is biggest I do. The Turf or Time master looks impressive. I have never found mulch/collect/side discharge mowers to be consistant more a poor jack of all lawns. But 30 inch deck walk behind with simple economical 180cc engine sounds good. I would like to here of peoples exeperince with them and find out if there up to the job.

I could not afford a tipper unfortantatly I wish I had a tipper. I am guessing it was only loaded around 500kg so twin wheel axel is probaly not needed. Regards crew cab I think there good if you need to run 4-6 boys around most of time its just me. I personaly think crew cabs are big clumsy things with small load beds this model if transit is a MWB so its great for turning in tight spots & remains a large load area. Also crew cabs are a broken window away from your tools might as well be in the open air. It was me & my mate who loaded the truck we teamed up that day to clear bank of brambles, budlier's hollies, ash trees ect. My first large scale clearing job with dropside & I could not be more happy ( unless a tipper ). I also think the brambles, prycanthia & dead srubs would hard to put through a chipper. I just took this load to compost site emptied by hand there was alot of vegatation there : )

For this reason a pick up is far better for me. Using a van I would have to chop it up small & place in builders bags I would have taken ages & ages. I guess tools are better locked in a van every other reason a pick ups better. Easier to load, turn on drives, cab is completly seald from cargo, materials you just chuck on. No doors to get blowen around in wind. Better for country lane driving my old van eiuld get scatched to bits from over hanging hedges. Roofs lower, ladders much easier to load. Lots more space the skies the limit, well power cables & bridges i guess is limit lol. No container rain either. I would only use a van if I was taken tools to & from site & no materials. Fencing or tree cuttings & vegatation pick up all the way.

Heres the pic

Myne was second hand so maybe it had a hard life. I remember chainging the belt. I am not sure if I did it right but I remember having to take engine out. There was lots of plastic guards in the way around chute area that wanted removing. Also I rember having to take weight of engine while holding the plastic guards & metal bracket all in line this took ages to locate you needed to be an octupuss. Iam sure a pro machinary mechanic could do alot beter than me very difficult for an experinced D.I.Y. like myself. In machinary i find simplicity the key to sucsess I guess the Americans or Germans dissagreed. I deffently found changing the gearbox on a Kubota/Honda easier just not cheaper in parts.

I had a John deere for a while. It was the 21 inch roller R534KB somthing like that. It had the kawasiki engine I forgot to mention this one. I cant think of one good point. It was long & heavy. Throttle cable kept faling outa of location? Vario drive was awful full power it was to fast & low power you had to push it. Blade was very heavy motor was no more powerfull than hayter 56. I did not keep it long as I hit a scalfold clamp on customers lawn this bent the crank shaft & game over. I cant be sure as could not conduct a fair test but I would guess hayter or honda would survive such a event. I would not be looking for another Johny Queer!

I have used a pre 2000 hayter 56, a Honda HRH 536 QXE Honda 476 & Kubota 21 inch ( kazz ). My faviort mower was the Hayter big full width chute, amazing quality of cut, big ribbed alloy roller with low ground presure, well balanced agile & easy to turn, fairly fast great in wet. Pretty realible three main issues was cast alloy deck cracking, output shaft breaks & briggs engine would use lots of fuel & oil after two or three seasons the chassis had alot more life left. Unfortunatly the newr ones are turds & older ones are all very tired. Honda 536 it was ok but for the money pretty poor. GXV160 engine was lovely & stong deck & reasonable quality cut. other than that it was not great. In the wet it would struggle with collection & had a 4 inch tiny little roller so would mess most lawns. Very long heavy hard to turn around only suited to big lawns & not that fast. Gearbox a pain in the bum to engauge it would roughly clunck foward & eventally go click, click, click and if you were going up a steep hill it would diss engauge you would jab your gut on handle bars as you was still walking. I was pleased to sell it. I bought a honda 476 new. It was ok in wet, fast for a 19" light easy to turn agile, powerfull for size smooth belt drive. Quality of cut was not a hayter but better than average mower. The bad bits was drive was built in a toy factory it would break pins, blow bearings rattle bits lose & constantly end up in shop under warranty. I worked it as hard as a hayter but it was not man enough ashame or i would have still run it now. My current stripy Kubota. Simalar to 536 lovely engine still to dam heavy. Grass box much better than honda it picks up better in wet. Has a torque converter on gearbox which is much smoother I do like it. Nice big bumper on front its orange & black so looks better than honda. All metal constrution built very well. Not as agile or well balance as a Hayter quality of cut not quite as good as hayter but nearly there. Also I think its a few hundred £ cheaper than honda deffently kubota is the better mower. There you have it my report on roller mowers I have owned

I am using & Stihl HS56 its only 4.5kg 24" cutting bar. I do all hedges with it from lelandi, box, privet, Beech, Hawthorne, Sycamore, Willow, Holly, laurel & Yew Allsorts. Nicely balanced lots of power & cuts light & thick inch plus. Only complant is fuel tank is a pain in the arse to fill as its at the front behind bar. Hadle is in way & spills everywhere beter for balancing I guess.

Please excuse me I have a picture but cant work out how to upload. Not great with smart phones & laptops.

Just changed from using a box vans for 7 years to a dropside transit. Allways was curios as what it would be like. Much better for handiling cuttings & materials. The first problam I have Is where to lock all the tools. I am not so worried about mowers, wheelbarrows ladders more so about chainsaws, hedge cutters & strimmers. Two choices basicly either buy a van vault type locker or make your own bespoke locker or maybe get it fabricated by pro. Heres a picture of tools i would not leave home without. It might be more suited in arb trucks thread but as am mainly landscaping its in here : )

I think you can lease one for around £250 a month 3 years which is not too bad as its in manufactures warranty. With EGR, DPF and Electronic injectors theres a hole load of never endind expence under the modern bonnet. All though the minus with leasing is you have to give it back in factory cosmetic condition but towing dont matter a boy with a clip board cant check clutch wear lol. Also around £10k after 3 years seems a bit steep as you can buy one for £15k & keep it for ever this is all inclusive of vat. Personaly I think second evern beging a gamble is better. I just like the thought of having somthing thats not worth stupid money that your driving in & out of hedges, fields, dirt, tracks narrow drives. Using the cab all day to takes its wear & tear. Its nice using a vehicle you own and if you want to you can bash a gate post and show off that dent you earnt it : )

Honda's are great all the time there new & fresh unfortanatly there parts are realy expensive so once gearbox trouble starts you be as well through them in the bin. I am running a Viking 248MB. Not going to do any big lawns with it but for slining out in & out van, up steps on & off lawn arears its best mower i have had alot faster on smaller lawns than a 21inch. I did hit a bit of rebar poking out stop cock man hole under a hedge it bent the blade boss it hit realy hard & stopped engine dead. Restart its shaking around like a wacker plate. Visit to local dealer I gotta new boss after a difficutl time pulling old boss off it new one went on as good as new runs smooth again for£15. Realy impreesed with this cheap mower goes to show less is best somtimes. Regards hieght of cut I never cut lower than 30mm. Usaly I set to around 40mm to 50mm most regular lawns. I find its beter for the grass keeps it richer more green arera to catch some rays for photosynthesis, smothers weeds, retains water & roots gets longer. I just like it little longer.

My everday & only 4 wheel vehicle is a Peugeot Boxer van. It works realy hard for me every day I have had it two years itsa L3 H2 100bhp 6 speed. Goes well for a big boy and theres loads of space in the back great for tools not great for tree or hedge cuttings no van is. It has been in & out the garage alot mainly for classic wear & tear items like alternator, startor motor, split intercooler pipe. She had done 175,000 when i bought her 2 years ago now shes done 199,000. I like the big cab with lots of storage holes I like the turning circle & drive of the thing loads of power compared to my prevois vans unlike many of the other manufactures this one dont rust 33mph too which is great fora big boy. Things i dont like is no power at pull away speed theres lots at 2000rpm but output befor is zero. Revers gear at tick over is set around 15mph which its ridiculas big van i want to go back at around mph at full revs. Windows dont sit flush with door all way down this realy anoys me. 1 cup holde & cigarate lighter output is not live untill engines running which is a pain. Its going out the garage all the time now with millage looking at yearly take ins & out goings its costing a fortune in garage bills & lost earnings not being on road. I am considering using a lease van. Cost is not alot higher & i will be on road nearly all the time & now mechanic to wait on. I have keept my current van in good condition and its good for company image. The second hand market is over priced any newish van is + vat which on a £10,000 is a far higher amount than value of my current van.

In garage fees, parts & wear & tear thinngs like tyres it costs around £1500 a year. Its a givern any vehicle whats done over 5000miles will cost the same over 15000 miles a year. Yes im only another £1500 from a leas van. Its hard to work out depriciation as factor as if clutch, gearbox, engine goes bang its worth £500. Vehicles are expensive iam just trying to work out cheapest option with less stress. I also think loss of earnings & cause of garage time is a big factor. Hard to calculate also. I was thinking of an old 200tdi defender with galv chassis but the all leak oil over driveways & I only do 5% off road a year.

I am happy to lease if costs are knowen. The trouble is I do 15000 miles a year & do more than just drive to the office car park & back. I am constantly driving on & off peoples drive ways, yards, fields and streets. Iam allways opening & closing doors I live in and out my van. At the end of lease the vehicles gonna have seen some action. I guess this will increse the cost to an unrealistic level.

Iam falling outa love with my van. It has had a few ups & downs in the last few months. Its coverd alot of miles but things should not be this bad. I had a starter motor go to it to garage to be fixed it went again garage did it under warranty but not as quick as i like. The battery died but i tested and it read 12.2 volts strong i guessed and it turned over a freinds old nufield tractor. Cut along story short i just seem to 'F' round wasting time trying to fix when I realy should be working. Now its over fueling I put my foot down it smokes like a train running on coal very slugish too mpg readout says 22mpg it used to read around 33mpg which was impressive . I Guessd it was airflow meter and changed it but its still the same garage I use can only read basic fault codes I understand mechanics realy very well I don't understand computers or sensors or binary very well at all. I understand its overfueling but thats all. I could go on. The long and short of it is no van no work. I need to run a business and I find it quite stressful when you not have a van you have confidents in to get you to work. Its a 2007 Peugeot Boxer with 198000 on it. Been great upto now. I guess I have to change vehicles soon I thought about having two vehicles but Iam looking at around an extra £1000 a year for tax & ins. A leace van is around £3000 so I would rather leace than run two. However what puts me off leace is limited millage and every day working scars can develope in large hidden costs. The other thing iam unsure of is weather to get a van or pick up next. Vans are great for transporting just tools to & from site. Not so good for moving materials or vegatation cuttings which I do alot of slice & dice in builders bag takes forever. Maybe a trailer & van. Iam a landscaper & mainly do maintanence. I would be very intrested to hear peoples advice.