Yes Toro has done it again, they have produced a stand on mower. We all new it was coming, just did not know when. Toro decided to have a contest to decide the name of there new stand on mower. Toro received thousands of creative entries from hundreds of individuals from their contest. The winner was a professional contractor from Pennsylvania “D. Gilbert” and the winning name was GrandStand Mr. Gilbert will be awarded one of the first GrandStand to roll off the production line.
We all know the quality of the new stand on will be great because of the Toro’s Name. The GrandStand will also have the same costumer service, warranty, technical and product support as all other Toro equipment.

The first thing I see that is different is the operator’s platform. The operator won’t be standing on a vibrating chunk of metal. Instead, Toro’s engineers integrated the operator platform into the overall design, with a suspension that reduces vibration and provides a smooth, comfortable ride. All the controls are very easy to reach so there is know straining or stretching and adjusting the height-of-cut on the new Toro stand-on is done right from the operator position — a hassle-free feature that every operator will appreciate.
Toro has spent a lot of time getting the weight distribution correct. The GrandStand has great hillside suitability because of it’s compact size and a nice, wide drive tire stance.

As I said early this mower has a compact design giving it the ability to turn easily, maneuver in and out of tight places and since you are standing on the mower you can see to steer clear of obstacles much more easily. If you need a little more exercise, then just flip the operators platform up and the machine becomes a walk behind mower “pretty neat”.
As we all know, some property owners are afraid that a large heavy looking mower could damage their lawns. With this mowers compact design this should eliminate a lot of those problems. Don’t forget that the compact design and flip up operators platform means ether a smaller trailer or a lot more room on your big trailer.


Being this mower has the Toro name on it “which means exceptional quality” I believe that it’s going to be a Grand Slam for the GrandStand .
I will write more as I receive more info on the GrandStand.
Thanks!

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Stand-On Mowers is exactly what it says, you stand on the mower. The engine situated on top of the mowing deck and you stand on a platform directly behind the engine. These mowers are supposed to be more comfortable than walk behinds and even said to be more comfortable than riders, I really don’t know about that yet. I do know they are very stable on hill sides and slopes due to there low center of gravity. Since you can move around on these mowers you can maneuver under limbs and other obstructions more easily than other mowers. The stand-on mowers are great for tight places since they are shorter than other mowers.

These mowers are very unique so I think think they deserve a short history lesson:

IT ALL STARTED WITH SULKIES

Bill Wright and Jim Velke introduced their first sulky in 1989, and named it “Velke” after Jim. Both men had been mechanics and innovators. Wright started out in the lawn maintenance business in Gaithersburg, Md., in 1981. Two years later, he designed and built a grass catcher for walk-behind mowers, which he called the Grass Gobbler. Velke joined his firm a couple years later and, today, the two men hold some 24 patents together.

The first Velke was a one-wheel model that the company still offers under their patented design. Wright introduced a two-wheel sulky in 1996. for commercial operators.
The Grass Gobbler is still manufactured for 20 different makes of commercial mowers, and an extension for leaf pickup, called the Leaf Gobbler, is available as well.

Wright sold his lawn maintenance operation in 1993 to concentrate on developing the Wright Stander mower, a further evolution in the quest to make mowing less fatiguing
A good market for sulkies still exists. Deere’s Dan Schmidt says the walk-behind market still takes some 40,000 units every year. Many of those are candidates for sulkies. Some are switching to stand-on mowers. “Stand-on mowers won’t be right for every property or every commercial firm,” says Schmidt. “There will still be plenty of market needs for walk-behind mowers. But, for the operator wanting to upgrade his efficiency and productivity, stand-on mowers offer some great opportunities.”

Stand-On Mowers have a definite future in the commercial mower market and will be around for along time. These mowers take up the least amount of space on your trailer than any other type of mower, They are also very easy to load and unload even in close quarters. There price range on these mower seems to be about the same as the mid mount mowers. I really believe you will start seeing a lot more of this type of mower.