Get your lawn, garden equipment ready at Rocky Ridge Mowers

As spring approaches and the weather warms, it’s time to consider fixing or purchasing lawn and garden equipment.

Rocky Ridge Mowers, owned by Arlan Shirk of Shippensburg, is a full service small engine repair shop located just north of Shippensburg. It also sells new and used lawn and garden equipment and parts for most of the major brands.

Shirk started the business in 2003 more as a hobby and it has now blossomed into a full-fledged business.

“I always had an interest in mechanics,” Shirk said. He said his mind just understands a small engine and how to repair them.

His business can take care of anything from minor yearly servicing like oil changes and blade sharpenings to major overhauls of almost any small engine. He said they can repair just about any brand of lawn mower, as well as trimmers, chainsaws, leaf blowers and more.

Rocky Ridge sells a variety of new and used equipment for your lawn and garden needs. It offers equipment like mowers (from push to commercial), trimmers, chainsaws, leaf blowers, snow blowers, rotary tillers, generators and more. Rocky Ridge sells the Big Dog brand of zero-turn mowers and the Columbia brand for riding and push mowers.

Shirk said his business offers parts for most of the brands out there. He said customers are typically purchasing parts that wear out the quickest like belts, blades and filters but his business has pretty much any replacement part a customer could need.

Shirk and one other mechanic work for the company and he said they’re prepared for the ramp up in business come spring. He said what keeps Rocky Ridge competitive is its labor rates are usually lower than most other area shops.

For those thinking about purchasing a lawn mower this spring, Shirk said buyers should consider their budgets and how much time they want to spend mowing. He said the width of a mower’s cutting path would greatly affect how quickly a lawn can be cut.

“Zero-turns are more expensive but they’re quicker,” he said. He added buyers should also consider how some models of riding mowers can haul things.

When it comes to maintaining equipment, Shirk said users should keep fresh fuel in the equipment. He warned ethanol-blended gasoline goes stale in about a month so adding fuel stabilizers are key to maintaining a small engine.

Rocky Ridge Mowers is located at 1833 Ritner Highway, Shippensburg. For more information, call (717) 530-1765.