(Originally posted on Yarbo Users and Community Facebook Group, June 4, 2025)
Tip 1: Make some of the starts of your parallel, close, or bunched Deadends a little kinder to your lawn
Tip 2: Weed whack with your rover…kinda…'til the Trimmer arrives
Tip 1: If you have a bunch of Deadends that need to be mapped near each other, stagger or step where you start them. Make the first Deadend in the bunch a little far out into the Area. That one will get all the gyration, which can’t be helped. But the 2nd and subsequent Deadends you can make along or nearby to the path of the first Deadend closer to the target. When the rover finishes the first Deadend, it backs up. Now it will be aimed right at the next Deadend, and it’ll go straight to it – it won’t spin around or whatever. Do it right, and it won’t even shut off the blade. Do the same for the 3rd and subsequent Deadends.
Edit your Work Plan to put these Deadends in the order that they’re staggered, longest first, then shorter.
I wish I had figured that out before mapping a bunch of Deadends to mow some tight spots and pockets! I’ve been doing this on new Deadend bunches/groups.
Tip 2: “Turn late and hug!” Use your rover as a weed whacker…well, kinda…poorly. While we’re waiting for the Trimmer, I’ve tried to work out the best way to “hook” around trees and posts to get closer to them without going crazy.
A typical scenario: You put a No-go Zone around a tree or post, and now there’s a ring of foliage you have to weed whack. Can you cut down some of that foliage with the mower? Kinda.
You could use a tight circle, but it may be too tight, and turns become an issue, as the rover sometimes gets clumsy. So what if you relax that Deadend circle?
Try this: Use Deadends that “hook” around the post. Start one Deadend out in the Area a few feet away from your tree or post, drive the mower head next to the post within a couple inches, and keep driving until the rover itself is next to the tree or post between its first set of sideplate screws and the antennas, THEN make your turn to “hook” the mower head partially around the post, and drive straight a few feet. “Hook,” not a sharp turn. You can try some different stuff – I’m still experimenting.
Create a scratch Work Plan and test it. When the rover mows this Deadend, it “should” turn when its first track wheel is slightly after the tree or post and not whack anything on the way back. If it does, re-map.
Make as many “hook” Deadends as needed to clean up around the tree or post. 2? 3? 4? Shouldn’t be more than that.
It…umm…kinda works. I guess?
Deadends tend to be a bit tough on my lawn and use the same tracks each time, so I may put these “clean up” Deadends into a Work Plan and run that once a week instead of every time I mow the Area.
Map, TEST, tweak, TEST, observe, dial it in.