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Commercial stand-on mower: Toro vs Scag

14K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  CenlaLowell  
#1 ·
Does anybody here have any experience with Scag and Toro commercial stand-on mowers? Specifically the Scag V-Ride II vs Toro Grandstand. I'm assuming most members here are DIY/homeowner (since the forum says its a community for the DIY enthusiast), but I figured I'd ask anyways. Who knows, maybe we have some commercial operators lurking here :D There aren't any good commercial lawn equipment forums that get much traffic out there.

This is for commercial use (mowing company). I've had both brands and think both of good quality. Never had either of their stand-ons though. Dealer doesn't stock the Grandstand but can order if I want to buy.
 
#2 ·
alpine0000 said:
Does anybody here have any experience with Scag and Toro commercial stand-on mowers? Specifically the Scag V-Ride II vs Toro Grandstand. I'm assuming most members here are DIY/homeowner (since the forum says its a community for the DIY enthusiast), but I figured I'd ask anyways. Who knows, maybe we have some commercial operators lurking here :D There aren't any good commercial lawn equipment forums that get much traffic out there.

This is for commercial use (mowing company). I've had both brands and think both of good quality. Never had either of their stand-ons though. Dealer doesn't stock the Grandstand but can order if I want to buy.
Have you visited https://www.lawnsite.com/? It's geared towards lawn care companies and gets a lot of traffic in my opinion.

I've never tried the Toro but Scag V-Ride is a good machine. The Scag Velocity Deck is considered one of if not the best decks out there. Only one that consistently gets praised as much is the John Deere 7-Iron deck. I have a Gravely Pro-Stance and don't really have any complaints about it.
 
#5 ·
alpine0000 said:
I checked that site out the other night, but couldn't find much on this topic. I'll check them out again :)
https://www.lawnsite.com/threads/scag-v-ride-or-toro-grandstand.458023/

Fairly recent link comparing the 2. I think the biggest thing would be dealer support. I assume since those are your 2 options, maybe Toro and Scag are your closest dealers? But find a dealer who is good to work with. Your mower is your money maker so if it goes down you will need to get it fixed asap or find a dealer who will maybe give you a loaner while your's is being worked on.
 
#6 ·
NewLawnJon said:
Brian's Lawncare has done YouTube videos on each of these if you want a good in depth review of each.
Thanks. I watched both already. Also saw B&B's review on his scag v-ride. Both of them prefer scag.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum (toro fans instead of scag fans), I watched Lanier's Lawn Care and LCR's reviews raving for the Toro. And Dirt Monkey says he prefers the Toro over Scag too.

Mostly just personal opinions of brand fans, and not a lot of direct unbiased constructive information on "why".

Tough choice. :cry:
 
#7 ·
ksturfguy said:
https://www.lawnsite.com/threads/scag-v-ride-or-toro-grandstand.458023/

Fairly recent link comparing the 2. I think the biggest thing would be dealer support. I assume since those are your 2 options, maybe Toro and Scag are your closest dealers? But find a dealer who is good to work with. Your mower is your money maker so if it goes down you will need to get it fixed asap or find a dealer who will maybe give you a loaner while your's is being worked on.
Thanks! I did see that topic posted when searching the other night. It's one of the very few I could find directly talking about the two mowers. But after reading the thread, there actually is very little info shared/discussed on comparing them :cry: Mostly people saying to choose depending on dealer support, and talking about EFI engines, and then saying "I'd choose X brand", with no information on "why" or discussing features/build between the two.

My two closest Toro dealers are also Scag dealers. They sell both. So dealers don't come into play in my decision-making fortunately. I get to just focus on the brand/product instead of dealer support. :p
 
#8 ·
Got ya. Yeah it's kind of like Chevy vs Ford. What color you like more Red vs Orange lol. Be nice if you can get a demo of each and compare yourself. I demoed like 5 or 6 mowers a few years ago before I bought my Gravely.

My guess is the majority of lawn care professionals would prefer the Scag but best way to know what you prefer is get your hands on a demo. By the way I don't know if you've ever used a stand-on before but I love it.
 
#14 ·
ksturfguy said:
Got ya. Yeah it's kind of like Chevy vs Ford. What color you like more Red vs Orange lol. Be nice if you can get a demo of each and compare yourself. I demoed like 5 or 6 mowers a few years ago before I bought my Gravely.

My guess is the majority of lawn care professionals would prefer the Scag but best way to know what you prefer is get your hands on a demo. By the way I don't know if you've ever used a stand-on before but I love it.
What size Pro stance are you running?
Are you using it just for your home or business?

The reason I'm asking is that there's very few post about stander's in general. I recently did a post about the Bradley Stander's that I'm interested in. Hopefully more people will chime in so that we can all learn more about the Stander's in general.
 
#15 ·
Miggity said:
Not anymore, their affiliation has ended. I saw this confirmation by Ed Wright in one of the Wright videos, I'd link it but I have no idea which one it was. That was a pretty deep youtube rabbithole.
Well that's sad, that must have been recent. When I was shopping in 2015 I tested them all and bought a toro titan. Not a bad machine but stander woulda been better on the bumps.
 
#16 ·
CenlaLowell said:
ksturfguy said:
Got ya. Yeah it's kind of like Chevy vs Ford. What color you like more Red vs Orange lol. Be nice if you can get a demo of each and compare yourself. I demoed like 5 or 6 mowers a few years ago before I bought my Gravely.

My guess is the majority of lawn care professionals would prefer the Scag but best way to know what you prefer is get your hands on a demo. By the way I don't know if you've ever used a stand-on before but I love it.
What size Pro stance are you running?
Are you using it just for your home or business?

The reason I'm asking is that there's very few post about stander's in general. I recently did a post about the Bradley Stander's that I'm interested in. Hopefully more people will chime in so that we can all learn more about the Stander's in general.
52 inch and just for home use. Originally bought it with the idea of starting a part time lawn care business but my wife ended up getting pregnant and all that free time before or after work vanished lol.
 
#17 ·
I have an older 52" Toro grandstand and have no complaints. In this area I see lots of grandstands and a lot of them are older like the one I have, lots of new ones also. I also have an old Wright stander and it's great also, just can't adjust the HOC as easily. I have never really liked scag much, and don't really know why!
Scott
 
#18 ·
It's good to see more people with these mowers. I was trying to choose between a zero turn Gravely and a stand on mower for next season. The more information we have on this items the better for sure. Most homeowner's don't have these machines purely because of the barrier to entry(cost). Needless to say I'm pointing to the stander for next season.
 
#19 ·
I own a 36" v ride 1. Perfect for getting through backyard gates. Plenty of power with the 19hp Kawi and the 36" cut. However it has the Advantage deck and it must be keep clean to prevent stripping. I also primarily cut Bermuda. Different grasses respond differently to each machine. Try to demo both units from your dealer.
 
#20 ·
Toro/ExMark
Wright
Ferris
John Deere

These are the Alpha mowers. Then you have Scag, Husq, Gravely and all those brands. These, along with the ExMark, are probably the best suited for the DIYer.

Then you have stuff like Bradley, Hustler, etc. These are the decent machines in better price points. They don't cut like the top tier though.
 
#22 ·
ksturfguy said:
@CenlaLowell an old thread but I see you have a Bradley stand-on now. How you like it so far?

EDIT: Never mind I just saw your post from a couple days ago in another thread. Looks like it's going good for you.
Yeah everything is great with the mower. I haven't tried changing the blades again last time I could not break the bolts.