Difficult lot - mower suggestions?

[Birdhunter1]

A stand behind has a narrower wheel base and a higher center of gravity than a ZTR, but it would be easier to abandon ship when it rolls.

I should have stated my advice on the walk behind is 100% based on other guys, I've never ran one. One mowing account my dad and I had has a ditch between the highway and a car dealership, the previous guy that ran a solo crew did it with a walk behind and a ride on thingy. I knew the guy well, he hated that ditch but it looked good when he mowed it and he said the walk behind helped, he let that account go when he downsized away from bigger time consuming jobs.

Dad and I had the account about 7 years, his old Toro with Super lugs held on the ditch banks very well, my Grasshopper did too. Dad Gravely Pro-Turn 160 does not, flipped it once. The ditch is about 1/4 mile long and highway to car lot is about 200'.

The new crew I do not know but they use Grasshopper front mounts and a walk behind.

 

[Gafn]

I suggest a nice used commercial walk behind. I have a few spots on my property that exceed 40 degrees... The walk behind sticks to it like glue....

Mine is an old belt drive unit I bought 3 years ago for $800 with the Kawasaki 17hp engine on it. I mow everything that I can with the tractor and what is left I use the walk behind on. Plus I have a small orchard, and us the Walk behind to clean up around the trees. Just check Craig's list - they are out there, they are cheap and disposable. In fact the wife has agreed to buy a new one, once the Kawasaki dies... but three years of using it, and the dang thing will not die...

As for it getting away from you - just let go - again at $800 it is disposable. Added bonus... helps keep me from getting to fat from just sitting on the tractor...

 

[DHD]

I got some steep slopes and recently got a Husqvarna R322T AWD with a Combi 103 mowing deck.
I had looked at other 4 wd riding mowers but not could justify the high cost, the Husqvarna R322T AWD was about $5000.

It's hard to explain how well this machine can perform on sloped ground, so I've tried to find a video of the R322T mowing some slopes.
I didn't find a video of a R322T, but I did find a video of an articulating AWD mower being used on a steep slope.
The machine in the video is a Jonsered FR2216MA2 with a Combi 103 mowing deck which is almost the exact machine as my Husqvarna R322T AWD.

Front and back transmissions are the same for both machines but the Husqvarna R322T's engine has a little more HP.

The video does a pretty good job in showing what the articulating AWD mower can do on slopes.

Part 1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMfAAoaLur0

Part 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZQ3cbD0rPY

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/general-lawn-garden/250220-husqvarna-r322t-awd-mower-any-8.html

Here is a link to another thread on this forum, take a look at post #74.
A guy from Wrightsville, Pa uses a R322T AWD to mow the steep sloped lawn in the photo on post #74.

 

[dstig1]

DHD - thanks for that and the links. I had never heard of this mower at all. This sounds like it might be perfect for my needs. I don't have a ton of area, so an expensive commercial mower is beyond overkill, but it is still a bit of a challenging site to mow. This might be the perfect blend... Now time to start digging around a bit more on this.

 

[DHD]

DHD - thanks for that and the links. I had never heard of this mower at all. This sounds like it might be perfect for my needs. I don't have a ton of area, so an expensive commercial mower is beyond overkill, but it is still a bit of a challenging site to mow. This might be the perfect blend... Now time to start digging around a bit more on this.

Here is another link for the R322T, a bunch of other R322T owners hang out there, lots of good info.

http://www.mytractorforum.com/64-husqvarna-dixon/250230-husqvarna-rider-322t-awd.html

 

[jix]

A couple of tethered goats?

 

[radioman]

well-- I been working 1 day a week mowing with landscaping company and I work on their hardest mowing jobs. One lot that we mow is terraced but still steep. We use a combination of commercial walk behind on the flat spots but it can go up the hill to flat spots. I use a push mower mowing sideways pushing it at a angle pointing up. They say its the best way to mow with what they have, but personally I would have attempted it with cheapo lawn mower from box store and load the tires with wiper fluid and add concrete weights to rears just to lower the center of gravity some. I also have used my kubota BX on a side of ditch real steep over 30 percent grade i think with loaded tires but i have to take the FEL and BH off to make it stable and lower COG.

 

[BHD]

Plant a grass that does not need mowed. or wild flowers,

one can always mow down hill, and depending on the tractor up hill, go slow,

one thing the county does is weight the upper wheel or fill with fluid and that way the tractor is much more stable, on slopes, many times mowing very steep ditches, it would scare me what they mow, I have never head of them flipping a tractor,

 

[JD420]

My apologies that was meant as a possible alternative to the x7xx. I was just saying I mow some fairly steep hills with my 430 and it is fairly sure footed on the hills I mow. But I'm sure not as sure footed as an 4wd. But finding those older mowers in nice shape is sometimes difficult. And when you do find a nice one its rather pricey for an older mower. Good luck on your search for the right machine.

 

[dstig1]

radio - I don't have time to do this with a push mower. We use one for our current house in the city, but that would take forever, and time is very much at a premium to get the build completed.

JD420 - thx. As I noted before my friend with an X320 is going to do a test run to see if that is workable or not. That should give me a good idea where I stand, but it is going to be at least another week or two. Looks like I will need to get the Stihl weed whacker out for a spin around here some first. Sigh...more time I don't need to waste...

DHD - thx again. will check it out!

 

[TCSavage]

A couple of tethered goats?

X2 on the goats.

 

[JD 420]

I know how you feel. I have had way to many projects myself this summer so far. None of which seem to be getting finished in a timely manner. Which drives me crazy. Lol. You won't have to worry about the slope with a weed eater and a pair of baseball spikes. Lol

 

[Creekpaddler]

My front yard is pretty steep, too, up to 25 degrees in one place. I use a JD LX188 with a 48" mid-mount deck and low-lug ATV tires on the rear. It gets me up that hill and is very versatile, too. Some guys will use zero turns for slopes, but like 4570Man wrote, they have poor traction. And they can be hard to control when trying to turn at the bottom of a downhill pass. For my large near-flat areas, I chose a used JD F925 22hp diesel 2WD. That thing flies, but it slips on hills if the grass if damp. For your yard, I'd go with a gas lawn tractor, 20+ horse power, mid-mount deck at least 48" wide, and hydrostatic transmission.

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

Goats work well, less trouble however would be something along the lines of a Wright Stander or a large walk behind with a standup sulky. I have used standers on 30+ degree slopes without issues as you can use your body to counter balance the machine. If it gets hairy, step off to the rear and the machine stops in feet and your left standing.

Check out the video: Wright Stander

Tom

 

[Xfaxman]

Sometimes grade % and degrees of angle get confused. Here is a chart that shows what is what.

 

[Eric102]

Yeah its funny when some folks brag about there mower working on 60 degree slopes

 

[drhjmacleod]

Don't make the same mistake I made! I purchased a new house and I have a very hilly piece of property. I originally had an L110 John Deere and it was difficult to get traction while turning and it was very hard to mow the hill sideways because it liked to lift one of the rear wheels. I was also worried about the hydro holding up, so I sold it and bought a Simplicity Broadmoor that had traction assist. Not much better if any over the John Deere L110, as the traction assist is more of a gimmick than anything. I sold the Simplicity and bought a John Deere X500. The X500 is a great machine with a heavy duty hydro (which you need for hills). The locking diff works great and I am always amazed at how stable it is mowing my hill from side to side. There is a night and day difference over the two other machines. BTW, I also put HDAPs on the rear and they provided excellent traction. Would I have liked to get an X738 or X758 - of course, what guy would not! I just did not want to spend that much money and quite honestly, I like the size of the X500 better. I would highly recommend the X500 series.

Lastly, don't waste your time with a zero turn mower with steep hills. How can you steer it if the rear wheels break free while going down hill which they are bound to do if the grass is any bit damp? I would end up in the woods or hitting a rock wall!!!

 

[dstig1]

Mr Macleod, thanks for your input. Much of what you said confirmed other advice I have gotten, and also many of my suspicions. My only remaining question is "how bad is my yard?" And so my friend is going to loan me his X320 for a run or two. I'll see how that does, and then have a decent idea from there. But I am already at "no" on zero turns and for the lighter tractors with inadequate axles for the terrain.

My main questions at this time are an X300, an X500 or possibly that Husqvarna that was mentioned. I still may just have to "find something" in the mean time just to keep it under control, even if it won't last for years.

 

[Yellowfever440]

I used to mow a property a couple years ago that had a slope that was a ditch against a state highway and with a 54 inch deck it was 5 full passes on the sloped side by the highway. The top pass was probably 30 degrees and the center 3 passes were pretty close to 40 degrees if not just over. The bottom pass was about 30 degrees also. That's just a guess off the picture of degrees that was posted. I know it was steep enough that the variety of mowers I had over the 15 years I mowed it I had a pretty good idea what I felt comfortable with. I would suggest a mower with diff lock, I mowed that slope with cub 129, JD gt235, JD 318, JD 425, JD 455, and a JD 757 ztr. The 425 and 455 worked best because they have a wider stance and diff lock. I would say in my list in choice would go 455, 425, 318, gt235, 757, 129. The individual brakes on the 318 was nice but on the 318, gt235 and 129 when the back wheel would lift just enough the topside tire could spin and then you were stuck on a steep hill. I only mowed the hill horizontally because if it was wet I couldn't make it up the hill and I would have to drive to the bottom and down the other side then mow it all one way. The 425 and 455 could climb the hill. A 345 or gx345 was replaced by the x540 and they have diff lock, the early model 345 didn't have diff lock. If your topside tire lost traction the diff lock would keep it moving atleast.

When I mowed that ditch I had to sit atleast one cheek off the side of the seat towards the top of the hill, otherwise I would be up on 3 wheels. If your tire does start to spin and you don't have diff lock, if you still have momentum you can turn down the hill. Otherwise you back down the hill and that is a bad feeling and when the ditch had some water in the bottom of it you could get wet in a hurry.

That 757 was a sled when it was damp at all, but when it was dry that thing was extremely stabil.

Just my thoughts from some experience. I wish I would of kept mowing it since I have a JD x585 with a 62 in deck and the 4wd would be awesome on that hill.

 

[megotatractor]

Perhaps the photos are deceiving but it doesn't appear steep. It would be nice to have something in the photos that is true vertical for scale.
I used to have no problem mowing the ditch with my 2210. Until the highway department resurfaced and upgraded the road and left the ditch face that was once 20 to 30 degrees is now 30 to 40 degree slope to the shoulder, that is a bit too steep even for something with a low center of gravity as a 2210/2305 (1023 is the latest version).