How do highway departments do this?

[Kenneth in Texas]

Ive seen some tractors lately mowing the most ungodly hills and inclines with their full size Deeres and Kubotas, some with cabs some with not. They are going up and down, back and forth and any direction they please and they dont roll. Now i know they have filled back tires but how can that keep them from rolling over on some of the hills and inclines they mow? They are way more than a 30 degree angle.

 

[brin]

Kenneth.......I agree I see them going sideways on hills that have to be 60 deg or better...the only thing I can think of is maybe it is the batwing mower they have that keeps their wheels on the ground....No way I would ever think of doing that...

 

[RoyJackson]

I think you'll see quite a few tractors have up slope counterweights. The older Fords that were used in Pennsylvania were quite low-slung...although one wouldn't notice that when they operated on slopes.

 

[SPYDERLK]

They have their rear wheels set all the way out. Ill bet youre seeing 30 degrees and judging more. Way more than 30 cross slope is out of the question. Up and down could do more ... probably a hard limit of 40.
larry

 

[RoyJackson]

Ill bet you're seeing 30 degrees and judging more. Way more than 30 cross slope is out of the question.
larry

I agree....very hard to judge slopes unless you have a reference to work from.

 

[brin]

I'm thinking of what I saw just the other day on a freeway not far from my home ...there was a 50 foot power pole...a row of them along the other side of the freeway and then the bank go up the hill and there were two DOT tractors with bat-wings behind them...now my eyes saw the vertical power poles in contrast to the angle of the hill behind them...my mental protractor said it had to be more than 30 deg...I wish you guys could have seen it...my wife was with me and she even commented and said " You would never drive your tractor like that would you " I told her NO ! So I am just saying in this case I did have a point of reference...the Power poles for Vertical . Who Knows...scary though..I would have to wear a diaper and be encased in foam to try it...

 

[bcp]

Sometimes they don't.

Four photos of a roadside tractor mower rollover:

Tractor Rollover Scenario

None of the tractor roadside mowers I've seen here have loaders.

Bruce

 

[SPYDERLK]

I mow a slope that increases from about 25 to a measured 30 degrees at the point where I turn downhill. I am using a BX1500 with 4wd AGs and a 4" widened rear stance, with 54" suspended MMM. And I am sitting on the uphill fender and leaning low and forward. As I approach the 30 degree the tractor is creeping sideways and I have to turn the fronts into the hill to put the tractor on an approx 2% upslope orientation to hold even. Forget it when the grass is damp. When climbing straight up the steepest part of the slope that is 30-31degress I have to engage differential lock to assure it doesnt spin. Walking up it risks a fall.
larry

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

slopes like that are what teenagers and push mowers are for .put them to work so they have stories like we do !

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

The slopes im talking about are far more than 30 degrees and it defys logic how they can do this, up and down ok i can understand but going sideways is amazing. These are just standard looking kubota and deeres wirth 8' mowers. Theres no way i would even attempt that so i huess i would be fired ).

 

[Baby Grand]

At some point it seems that the equipment becomes less important than the experience and good judgement of the operator. It just blows my mind, driving past fresh mown right of way slopes that look impossible. Very humbling.

 

[LD1]

The slopes im talking about are far more than 30 degrees and it defys logic how they can do this, up and down ok i can understand but going sideways is amazing. These are just standard looking kubota and deeres wirth 8' mowers. Theres no way i would even attempt that so i huess i would be fired ).

Im not saying I dont believe you, but without pictures, its hard to believe that a standard tractor is mowing sideways at "way more than" a 30 degree slope.

 

[SPYDERLK]

The slopes im talking about are far more than 30 degrees and it defys logic how they can do this, up and down ok i can understand but going sideways is amazing. These are just standard looking kubota and deeres wirth 8' mowers. Theres no way i would even attempt that so i huess i would be fired ).

Measure one.

 

[LD1]

a 6/12 roof pitch is hard to walk on even with shingles. And is pretty steep. Yet it is still under 30 degrees.

Get a cheap angle finder gauge from harbor freight for $2, and measure the slope and take a picture:thumbsup:

 

[TripleR]

Hard to understand how they do it, MDOT began experimenting with remote controlled mowers this year in some areas.

 

[Scooby074]

Bigger tractors are wider so they are more stable, but they are also taller.

Heres a video I like of ROW mowing in Europe using some big Fendts with dual wheels.

 

[Scooby074]

Side Hill:

 

[Scooby074]

 

[brin]

Side Hill:

Now this is what I'm talking about...the DOT mowers I saw were on a steeper hill than this going sideways...I would say 20 deg steeper...I'm not kidding....

 

[Midniteoyl]

They have their rear wheels set all the way out. Ill bet youre seeing 30 degrees and judging more. Way more than 30 cross slope is out of the question. Up and down could do more ... probably a hard limit of 40.
larry

Thinking the same.. 60 degrees is quite a bit ..