[Y Block]

I’ve been wondering about this for years: why are Lawn-Boy’s so elusive in the Pacific NW? It seems like most people on MTF (especially in the Midwest) don’t have much trouble finding Lawn-Boy’s. They almost seem like a dime a dozen sometimes! But here in Oregon, Lawn-Boy’s seem almost nonexistent. Now, to be clear, we have numerous “Lawn-Girl’s” :thSick: and a few M-series, but practically no staggered deck models. The few I’ve seen are usually steel deck and/or 4-cycle models. I’ve only seen three real Lawn-Boy’s in my life: a steel-decked Duraforce, an older 4-square rear bagger, and an M-series (my neighbor’s mower).

And yet, I’ve seen quite a few mowers that are supposedly uncommon: JX75’s or even 85’s, Toro Suzuki’s (almost always 4-cycle), WR Snappers, high-end Honda’s, etc. I wouldn’t say they’re common exactly but you can find this stuff without much trouble. I’ve even seen a Honda HR21 and a Kubota W5021. Of course, there’s TONS of cheap crap out there. But Lawn-Boy’s...forget about it. I’m not the first person from this part of the country to take notice.

You’d think the 2-cycle engines would be great for our hills and wet grass. And something light and simple is always best if it does the job well. Here are a couple of my guesses. Self-propelled is almost mandatory unless you have a small, flat yard. Maybe the LB’s drive systems aren’t adequate for our conditions? Of course, we have to bag often and BBC is considered a desirable feature. Maybe the side bagging is a turn-off? :dunno: I’m curious what you guys think. I’d really like to get my hands on one but it’s looking pretty hopeless.

 

[GTP]

Distribution centers I think and this is a "think" lawnboy was a centrally located in the country with major plants in Ohio lower Canada around the Central region and the neighboring regions have a plethora of Lawnboys over the years. Maybe western regions just didn't market advertise or distribute as easily/cost effectively as we could around this region? Most of this is speculation

 

[podor]

I grew up in St. Louis, which is Toro country. Most of the lawns are zoysia, which is quite hardy. Every spring you have to cut it as close to the ground as possible and suck up the thatch to be bagged. You need to have a heavy and powerful self propelled mower,plus the BBC is nice so when you have to empty the bag every 10 feet you can leave the engine run. A light lawn boy would not be right for the job. In fact, I have only seen one Lawnboy on that side of the state. No John Deere mowers either. I think that is because there isn't a lot of farming, so the brand isn't as big and fewer dealers. There are very few flippers and good used mowers are cheep and plentiful.

In the KC area, most people are using Hondas in my neighborhood. There are a good mix of mowers over all. There are some Lowboys, but not a ton. Nothing older than the '80s. Honda and Toro are the top 2 that I am seeing. Lots of competition in the flipping market, and used mowers bring a pretty high price.

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[gman2304]

The OR and CA tree huggers maybe? Just sayin...!

 

[BDM53]

Your not alone, its the same in the South. I can find Snappers and Toros all day long, new and old. The few Lawn Boys I have acquired I worked hard to find and they needed a lot of work to bring them back to life.
I do remember as a youngster and even into my teens my father ALWAYS had a Lawn Boy and they were the only ones I saw anywhere in the neighborhood :dunno:

 

[Y Block]

The OR and CA tree huggers maybe? Just sayin...!

Nah, it's probably because all the 2-stroke fuel is used up cutting down trees. :ROF Oregon is not as "green" as some people think. But 2-stroke mowers are seriously rare around here.

That's surprising to hear so many people who also face this same "problem". This forum always makes me think LB's are everywhere. I guess I don't feel quite so bad now.

 

[lawnboy dan]

i didnt use lawnboys when i moved to the south till the toro buyout. the sp system wasnt up to par till they went with the toro system.

 

[Lawn-Boy91]

Ditto about the place of manufacture/distribution. I live about 2 hours South of Peterborough Ontario, where OMC had a major Canadian plant for years. This works out to my benefit. It makes sense that Lawn-Boy remnants are more plentiful in this region than say out West in the Prairies.

 

[Mad-Mike]

Maybe all the Lawn-Boys are in Aumsville in Wells Power Equipment's back yard............here

.

I vote regional too...

When I lived in the south we had a few Lawn-Boys in Opelika and Auburn, they all seemed to come from the same tractor shop down the street from the mall on Old Opelika Road though. They had a 4600, brand new, in their window from about 1989 till 2001 or so it seemed. Ours came from an OMC Authorized Service Provider/Boat Shop in Florida though via grandparents. Also saw a lot of them in Illinois too....quite

Since moving up here (Seattle) and getting back into landscaping and power equipment (for fun, not profit) I don't see too many here, I always thought it was the tree huggers. I've been seeing more electric mowers out and about lately, probably all the gas ones are going onto "Mt. Lawn-Mower" on Aurora (there's a shop there with STACKS of junk mowers out front...but not a Lawn-Boy to be seen). It's a little surprising though being as we have a few boat shops that probably sold Evenrude/OMC products at one time.

Alabama = one ASP Tractor Shop, seems most of our Snappers came from the Rent-A-Center in Auburn, including the one I had.

Illinois = Midwest distribution

Florida = All those Boat shops in the Keys that are OMC dealers for Evenrude.

 

[Y Block]

I'm going to Silver Falls in a couple weeks and I have a friend who lives in Aumsville. I'd think about visiting if the family wasn't with me. :hide:

There's a Snapper dealer in Corvallis that has a bunch of LB's and other old mowers out back. No idea what's he doing with it all. There's a wacky guy in Eugene who has lots of stuff but LB's are still rare.