Best equipment to have for owning a landscaping business

[PatrickR720159]

We know that some businesses still like to play stupid when it comes to hiring.  But when it comes time to say "Enough is enough", I have seen where some people choose to start their own business.  In the landscaping industry, much of it requires a CDL or something.  As when it comes to mowing or vacuuming leafs, you need to have a truck with a trailer.  Now what I have seen on the market are riding mowers where you can steer and accelerate with two levers.  And some dealers might even sell you a cab to put onto your riding mower.  Leaf vacuums are really mounted on a trailer and have a chute that tosses the chopped up leafs into the truck.  And often the truck is really a tricked out city delivery truck where the back door is a roll up type with several of it's sashes missing in order to make room for the chute to belch the yard debris into the truck and they also dump when it comes time to empty the cargo area.  I think the best cab for a truck like that is the International Loadstar as it was one of the last remaining trucks on the road that had both wiper blades facing the middle of the windshield.  As they also came with a 4-speed or a 5-speed compound transmission.  

[Fall2025VA]

[Saturday 11/8/25]

Any landscapers out there?

Stop by to tell us about YOUR biz.

Patrick @PatrickR720159 & Papaw @papawofboo have posted some very helpful info.

[papawofboo]

Lot of money being made in landscaping. That truck cost a heap, those trailers aren't cheat, and them mowers are way up there in price. Then the smaller items, weed eaters, trimmers, blower start off at over a hundred. Saw a man fill his truck, mowers and gas cans, it was almost $200.

Where I live you drive down a street and most likely you will see 4 or 5 services.

Talking about the leaves, I had one tell me that he sucked them up and took them to the land field where he paid to have them unloaded. Now comes the kicker; after unloading and chopping them up the land field sells them back to the person to use as mulch.  

Long ways from walking down the street and knocking on doors saying "For $5 I'll mow your yard,"