Mowing Steep yard! Mmm or finish mower?

[alextassos1]

Anyone with experience mowing steep property with these? have a few acres of very steep yard that a regular garden tractor cannot go up and down because the rear wheels slide. Am looking at a small scut to mow with and have narrowed it down to a 2025r and a 2032r. Both being capable machines but the 2032r is quite a bit heavier and wider. Oh and of course more expensive. If I was to go with a finish mower however the difference in price is not quite as much. And seems it would be a lot easier to remove when not using it and not have to worry about the mmm arms getting bent. I dont have many obstacles to mow around and I do not have to do much side hilling. Mostly will be up and down. I don’t think the 2025r will handle the rear finish mower very well due to its size but I could be wrong. Any opinions. Also the reason I am leaning green is we have a great dealer very close by. Any opinions or experience would be appreciated. The previous owner used a pull behind mower behind his ATV to mow it.

 

[Diggin It]

I have a hill that is estimated to be about 20 degrees. I went with a MMM because I really don't have a lot of room at the top to turn around with anything following behind. At around 2,000 pounds with the loader and MMM attached and me in the seat, I can climb OK, but have to be careful downhill. I have to be in Low Range and 4WD to do it safely on dry grass. I don't know on wet grass yet.

The PO here used a JD4020 with trailing brush mower but didn't have the shrubs and hedges I've since planted as wind breaks to deal with. He told me he could not mow downhill due to sliding. He had to mow up only, then go around another direction and come back up again.

Only you can decide, but I think the JD 20 series units may be too heavy.

 

[Code54]

We have a very steep section on the backside of the yard and I mow another property for our elderly neighbors that is also steep in one section (don't know the slope but it is not unusual for the front end to slide downhill even when the wheels are turned uphill going across in one short section at the neighbors- not deep enough to turn around so must be crosscut).
Anyway I have used a:
Cheap garden tractor -Wheels would lock and slide down, had trouble climb back up our yard, and cross hilling was way to unstable
Walk behind commercial zero turn - would work and was safest as if something happens just let go. Would often slide downhill if a little damp and was a lot of work
B7610 W/MMM - great up and down, not so great on sidehills as it was too top heavy
3pt pull behind on B7200 - Not bad but the extra weight of the rear mower wanted to push the rear end out on cross hills and sometimes downhill a bit
BX25 with MMM - Current setup - GREAT, been using for about 3 years now. No problems up or down, and sidehilling is EXCELLENT. I have the 60" deck and hangs out the sides pretty far and it is HEAVY (and LOW) so that helps a ton. It will slide before it gets tippy and the MMM sort of works as an outrigger to help it from ever rolling.
I used to cut professionally for years running everything from small machines to 70 hp size tractors for normal mowing (not brush hogging just grass and always pull behinds at the size) and I feel the BX is the most stable of anything I ever used.

 

[searcyfarms]

ok so my experience ranges from road banks/pond/lake dams ( small ) creek banks - used everything from a push mower ( gmas cellar ) to batwings - my experience is this, up/down/sideways - choose up/down for the steeper stuff don't risk the roll over - one thing to consider do you have room to turn around at the top/bottom? sometimes on dams or ditches you don't have that luxury so plan ahead - a MMM will provide less slippage and lower center of gravity - weight is your friend for traction but pulling something and the wide swing at the top or bottom of a RMM might be something to consider due to having to turn - let the MMM hang/suspend don't let it run on the wheels and slow you down or decrease your weight - example, is it easier to carry something up a hill or push/drag it - I personally own a 2038R and I haven't had any puker sensations yet and I have a 72MMM and some mild sidehills - I manage them sideways not up/down. You will also have better stability on side hill mowing with a MMM - again let it hang not ride on the ground - driving with your loader also ads weight for up/down I would recommend it less for sidehills since it raises your COG, if you can mow with it on the steep bank it will help if you need weight for traction but you likely wont since you are using 4wd, obviously keep it as low as possible. as code54 states the MMM would help from tipping on a sidehill if it hung out I have had that happen and help me before - puker included!!!

I love my green unit so far its wonderful for my wife and daughter. All I have to mow is the ditches/banks now ;-) - the price was less than a Kub and Mah as well a CNH and FNH but they didn't offer the MMM that I wanted and neither did Anyone else for the HP and Size so I didn't have to really choose - I look at EVERYTHING around - most people by default think green is overpriced but they sure surprised me I would have never guessed it.

 

[Code54]

ok so my experience ranges from road banks/pond/lake dams ( small ) creek banks - used everything from a push mower ( gmas cellar ) to batwings - my experience is this, up/down/sideways - choose up/down for the steeper stuff don't risk the roll over - one thing to consider do you have room to turn around at the top/bottom? sometimes on dams or ditches you don't have that luxury so plan ahead - a MMM will provide less slippage and lower center of gravity - weight is your friend for traction but pulling something and the wide swing at the top or bottom of a RMM might be something to consider due to having to turn - let the MMM hang/suspend don't let it run on the wheels and slow you down or decrease your weight - example, is it easier to carry something up a hill or push/drag it - I personally own a 2038R and I haven't had any puker sensations yet and I have a 72MMM and some mild sidehills - I manage them sideways not up/down. You will also have better stability on side hill mowing with a MMM - again let it hang not ride on the ground - driving with your loader also ads weight for up/down I would recommend it less for sidehills since it raises your COG, if you can mow with it on the steep bank it will help if you need weight for traction but you likely wont since you are using 4wd, obviously keep it as low as possible. as code54 states the MMM would help from tipping on a sidehill if it hung out I have had that happen and help me before - puker included!!!

I love my green unit so far its wonderful for my wife and daughter. All I have to mow is the ditches/banks now ;-) - the price was less than a Kub and Mah as well a CNH and FNH but they didn't offer the MMM that I wanted and neither did Anyone else for the HP and Size so I didn't have to really choose - I look at EVERYTHING around - most people by default think green is overpriced but they sure surprised me I would have never guessed it.

Excellent point about ditching the loader for side hilling!!

 

[alextassos1]

Plenty of room at top and bottom to turn around.

 

[John_Mc]

My solution to mowing steep grades was to put chains on my garden tractor. It works great. I just leave them on year round now.

 

[TrackerOwner]

My solution to mowing steep grades was to put chains on my garden tractor. It works great. I just leave them on year round now.

This maybe a dumb question, but what purpose do the chains serve?

 

[Diggin It]

Same as they do in winter ... increase traction. I have them on mine too. Makes a whole world of difference on grass.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

I like my DR All Terrain mower for steep banks. It's a walk behind, self propelled with differential lock, and it does great on steep banks. If the blades are kept sharp, it cuts grass very well, but doesn't chop up the clippings much. If the area is mowed regularly, it does about as well as an average finish mower. If only mowed every month or two, it will leave big windrows of cut grass, much like a rotary cutter does. Walk behinds are much safer for the operator on steep slopes, IMO.

 

[ovrszd]

I thought this thread would take off like a Prairie fire...... Seems there are a LOT of opinions here on TBN when it comes to the proper mowing equipment.

 

[searcyfarms]

I will add this, momentum is your friend, do not and I repeat do not stop on the way up to gaze at the wild flowers and then take off again!!! do it when the dew is off too ;-) nothing worse than spinning out going up and then sliding going down

 

[4570Man]

Usually I don’t like MMMs but they are a better tool for a dedicated mowing machine.

 

[ovrszd]

Usually I don’t like MMMs but they are a better tool for a dedicated mowing machine.

Way more compact.

 

[John_Mc]

This maybe a dumb question, but what purpose do the chains serve?

My biggest problem on slopes was lack of traction. A lot depends on the terrain, the condition of the soil underneath, and of course how dry the grass is. With the chains (v-bar, ladder style) I can drive straight up and down steeper slopes. I also find I can handle side slopes better (while ladder style chains are not known for their lateral traction, they do help, and help significantly if you have the v-bars or some other kind of studs on them). A side hill that had little "pucker factor" can get scary if you start sliding sideways, then catch the tires on some irregularity. (Since I'm not at all into the "manicured lawn" look, my property has a lot of "irregularities").

 

[John_Mc]

I will add this, momentum is your friend, do not and I repeat do not stop on the way up to gaze at the wild flowers and then take off again!!! do it when the dew is off too ;-) nothing worse than spinning out going up and then sliding going down

This is exactly why I have the chains on my Garden Tractor. I can stop to move some debris, or let a frog or snake move out of the way, then start up again without problem, even on dewy grass. Without them, I could only drive up my steepest hills in perfect conditions, and even then If I stopped, the only way I was starting again was going down.

 

[crazyal]

Do you have other needs for this tractor? I'm not trying to talk you out of getting one, everybody should own at least one tractor. But there are some much cheaper options that will work as well. For example Hasqvarna sells a 4wd front mount mower with rear steering made exactly for steep hills. But it's just a mower so no loader or rear pto. Also with it's lower center of gravity it'll be stabler but not be as useful if you want to pull a cart or something else on rough ground.

 

[alextassos1]

Do you have other needs for this tractor? I'm not trying to talk you out of getting one, everybody should own at least one tractor. But there are some much cheaper options that will work as well. For example Hasqvarna sells a 4wd front mount mower with rear steering made exactly for steep hills. But it's just a mower so no loader or rear pto. Also with it's lower center of gravity it'll be stabler but not be as useful if you want to pull a cart or something else on rough ground.

Yes I have about 1/4 mile of pretty steep driveway to clear of snow in the winter also. Plus growing up on a Dairy Farm I’ve always just wanted my own Tractor. We bought this house with 5 acres and I can think of a million uses for one. I’ve been drooling over grapples for months now to clean up all the debris but it has to be my mowing machine also to justify the cost to my wife lol. I would probably plant a small garden and get a brush hog for it.

 

[nyone]

I have a buddy that mows a section of his front lawn with a ride on mower. Its so steep it hard to walk down. He groved the lawn tractor tires and added about 150lbs on behind the seat. Its way to steep to side hill mow. This is prob why he rolled the tractor a few weeks ago. Just a bent hood, he was up and mowing again in 5min.

I wouldnt go buying a new tractor to do this. You may really not get any more traction than a lawnmower with chains and weights.

 

[John_Mc]

I have a buddy that mows a section of his front lawn with a ride on mower. Its so steep it hard to walk down. He groved the lawn tractor tires and added about 150lbs on behind the seat. Its way to steep to side hill mow. This is prob why he rolled the tractor a few weeks ago. Just a bent hood, he was up and mowing again in 5min.

I wouldnt go buying a new tractor to do this. You may really not get any more traction than a lawnmower with chains and weights.

I forgot about weights. In addition to the v-bar ladder style chains, I have 55# wheel weights on each of my rear wheels.