Grass Hopper Front Mount Mower - stability on hills

[JDKu]

I was curious what makes this mower more stable on hills than zero turns? I think it still has a castor wheel for turning.

I'm thinking of buying one. I have some 20 to 30 degree slope right by my house (I will hit the house if it loses control). I will have to mow it straight up and straight down.

I'm also looking at a GF1800. I suspect this will have absolutely no problems because there are no castor wheels on this mower.

 

[Xfaxman]

For steep slopes I recommend 4 wheel drive.

I mow sidehill with a used commercial 4WD TORO Groundsmaster 325D.


This is what 30 degrees of body lean on a 26.6 deree slope looks like.

 

[Kernopelli]

I agree that a 4WD mower is the best way to go. As far as front mount mowers specifically, I have wondered if they are inherently better on hills than mid mounts? I have mowed with 2 older Front mount Grasshoppers (an 1822 and a 720K) and now have a Front mount Deere F680. I mow a pond levy that is close in slope to Xfaxmans and the best of the 3 was the GH 720K. It had chevron tires and it held a straight line on side hills and it would climb anything that was dry and most wet hills. It don't remember ever getting it stuck either, which is a big deal because mowers this heavy stuck in mud means I was walking to my tractor, pulling them out, taking the tractor back and walking back to the mower. The GH 1822 had chevron tires and was very good on hills and mud too. The Deere has turfs and is "stable" but it wants to "dog walk" on side hills. It will also get stuck in mud much easier than either of the GH's. I have tire chains for the Deere which helps but there is still no comparison in traction to either of the GH's. All 3 were heavy duty and well built but overall I think the GH's are absolute tanks!

 

[Verticaltrx]

I've spent many hours running a Grasshopper 614 and 725K. With the right tires and weights they are very stable on most any hill you'd encounter in a grass mowing situation. As mentioned above, having the right tires is important, the 725K has chevron or bar tread tires (think R1's) and the 614 had knobby atv tires (we swapped to those from turf). If you plan on going down a steep hill and backing back up you'll want the counter weight kit, which I think they may come with nowadays. Overall they will go up, down, and across hills much better than the current breed of mid-deck zero turn mowers. I think this is because they have a longer wheelbase, lower center of gravity and a stout drive system. Really the whole mower is overbuilt compared to most.

 

[mjstef]

I've spent many hours running a Grasshopper 614 and 725K. With the right tires and weights they are very stable on most any hill you'd encounter in a grass mowing situation. As mentioned above, having the right tires is important, the 725K has chevron or bar tread tires (think R1's) and the 614 had knobby atv tires (we swapped to those from turf). If you plan on going down a steep hill and backing back up you'll want the counter weight kit, which I think they may come with nowadays. Overall they will go up, down, and across hills much better than the current breed of mid-deck zero turn mowers. I think this is because they have a longer wheelbase, lower center of gravity and a stout drive system. Really the whole mower is overbuilt compared to most.

I have run Grasshopper for many years. Being out here in the mountains much of my cutting is steep terrain. I go places a mid mount would not dare to go. The issue with a mid mount is going down hill a lot of your weight is shifted to the front casters taking weight off your drive axle causing you to loose control. This does not happen with the front mount mowers. There is actually a company that make brakes for the caster wheels on mid mounts and from what i here it is a total game changer in handling.

 

[Cord]

For steep slopes I recommend 4 wheel drive.

I mow sidehill with a used commercial 4WD TORO Groundsmaster 325D.
View attachment 366961 View attachment 366962

This is what 30 degrees of body lean on a 26.6 deree slope looks like.
View attachment 366963 View attachment 366964

How does the 325 do on those slopes? Looks like you are crabbing and tearing things up a bit.

 

[Xfaxman]

How does the 325 do on those slopes? Looks like you are crabbing and tearing things up a bit.

It does better than I expected. It slides sideways a little and the ground was too wet that day.

With the 6' deck, I don't worry about a rollover. :thumbsup:

 

[Sawyer Rob]

The front mount Grasshopper mowers are quite good on side hills, that front deck makes the mower longer, and puts weight on the drive wheels. Also, the center of gravity is really low too and all of "that" really helps on side hills....

I love my GH mower!

SR

 

[4570Man]

A 4wd is best for such a job. My B7100 would tackle such a job with no problems. My F2560 drifts down a hill less than a zero turn, but still has terrible traction on hills. I have never used a GH, but I would think a Kubota F series would perform about the same.

 

[Creamer]

A 4wd is best for such a job. My B7100 would tackle such a job with no problems. My F2560 drifts down a hill less than a zero turn, but still has terrible traction on hills. I have never used a GH, but I would think a Kubota F series would perform about the same.

One thing about you Orange guys - your are loyal. Wrong but loyal! A GH is much lower center of gravity than an F series and holds hills very well. The wide stance, weight balance, and low CG make it ideal for hillsides.