Side hilling with a z turn mower

yelbike · Feb 10, 2012

So I just bought a used Z465 mower! I live in the prairies so I'm not too knowledgable about operating on slopes. The only slope I have is a moderate ditch which the 2305 and 2320 do fine. I had a z445 on demo and it did relatively fine, I was new at operating zturns.

I can not mow up and down as the ditch is 8-900 feet long but only 15 wide/tall.

Is it safe to "side hill" with a zturn or will I end up in the bottom of the ditch upside down?

I typically mow dry.

Thanks for the advice before a mishap for me and a pay day for the wife!!:laughing:

KYDan · Feb 11, 2012

Commercial zero turns do great mowing across the face of the hill. I have a JD 757 that I mow with that does a lot better on hills than any tractor type mower. If it is too steep the mower will tend to slide down the hill sideways.

namesray · Feb 11, 2012

i worked at a golf course for 6 years and they had a zero turn. we would mow the steepest banks on the course with that mower. it was a lastec articulator 72" cut/deck. that thing would climb hills super good and hold well going across. i am not sure about the exact degree of slope we mowed on with that mower, but i would almost have to say around 30* slopes give or take. they were steep. the mower did great climbing and going across, but if you got it pointed down hill you would go for a ride. it would slip out from under itself. we would always start at the bottom of a slope and mow across and move up as we went. if we had to start at the top then to get to the next mowing pass we would turn the machine uphill and back down into our next mowing pass. like i said if you tried to turn down the hill you go for a ride. i don't know much about the deere's, but would figure them to be simular. did't say what degree of slope your hill is or if machine comes with rops. don't go where you don't feel comfortable. side hills are nothing to mess with. good luck and stay safe.

cooper99 · Feb 12, 2012

I completely agree with namesray.

Like always, definitely use caution when you're mowing slopes on wet grass. Good rule of thumb is to never start at the top and go down, but to start at the bottom and go up.

It's extremely difficult to tip one over, but when you slide sideways on one, there's no stopping until you're at the bottom, or until you've hit a tree, or in a pond. Besides being injured and damaging the mower, it's usually a real PITA to get it un-stuck.

I'm not talking about after a rain storm, but even on a hot sunny day in the shady areas where there can still be some dew from the morning, you can run into trouble.

One of my first part time jobs in early high school was a caretaker on a neighbor's property. At the time, he had one of the best ZTRs on the market, a Scag Turf Tiger. After several hours of seat time, you think you know what you're doing and your confidence level increases.

I was mowing on the side of his pond one day and literally just slid in; happened so fast, I didn't think to turn the blades off and really freaked me out when they went into the water and killed the engine. Another time, I was mowing on a moderately steep hill that I've mowed many times before, but the grass was still slightly damp with dew, and before I knew it I was sliding sideways 30-40 feet down to the bottom of the hill; finally stopped about 5 feet into the woods and stuck in old leaves.

Yelbike, as long as the conditions are dry, it sounds like you should be just fine sidemowing your long strip of grass. Just don't get over-confident after the first several times you mow it and start to assume you will never lose traction or slide. Great mower by the way- hope you like it!

super55 · Feb 12, 2012

Agreeing here with other posters you can do it but take it sloooow. Momentum is your worst enemy on slopes. Once those wheels get facing downhill and are locked it's just going to slide it's way down. Run it slow the front wheels are going to naturally want to angle downhill so it takes some manipulation of the handles. Don't even try it on wet grass if theres a danger area where you might slide into something that might cause injury.

I would think if you were comfortable running the 2305 or 2320 on it you shouldn't have any issues running a z mower.

Dadof3 · Feb 12, 2012

We have a ZD21 that we use to mow around two lakes. When cutting around them the slope is steep but very doable at slow speeds. We have had the lower wheel traverses a wet patch of ground near the waters edge and zippo. If this happens to you. Don't try to drive it to dry land, stop immediately and pull it out with another vehicle. It will probably save you from going all the way under. My son put it in the drink once and all I could see was orange at the bottom. Easy to do.

yelbike · Feb 12, 2012

namesray said:
i worked at a golf course for 6 years and they had a zero turn. we would mow the steepest banks on the course with that mower. it was a lastec articulator 72" cut/deck. that thing would climb hills super good and hold well going across. i am not sure about the exact degree of slope we mowed on with that mower, but i would almost have to say around 30* slopes give or take. they were steep. the mower did great climbing and going across, but if you got it pointed down hill you would go for a ride. it would slip out from under itself. we would always start at the bottom of a slope and mow across and move up as we went. if we had to start at the top then to get to the next mowing pass we would turn the machine uphill and back down into our next mowing pass. like i said if you tried to turn down the hill you go for a ride. i don't know much about the deere's, but would figure them to be simular. did't say what degree of slope your hill is or if machine comes with rops. don't go where you don't feel comfortable. side hills are nothing to mess with. good luck and stay safe.

The ztrac z465 does not have rops. I'm not too worried about sliding to the bottom, if it happens there is not much of a hazard as its just a regular country side ditch. Worst might be getting a little wet, possibly stuck, not really my concern. What I am more worried about is if the is a risk of flipping, either from a skid or climbing up the ditch. The front wheels get very "light" when climbing. Can these actually flip over backwards?

jcmseven · Feb 13, 2012

They certainly can. I have a differing opinion from some about ZTR mowers. They do generally have a very low COG and are very stable on hills, to a point. Are they more stable than a 2320 or a 2305?? Probably, but not by much. Will they slide, yes and frequently without warning. Once sliding they are very difficult to stop since all the control of the machine comes via the drive wheels. They will also flip backward. I am reminded of my first viewing of a 997 JD ZTR. I love those machines and wish I could justify having one for no more mowing than I do, but at my friend's dealership I saw one being backed off a truck ramp and tilting backward, cracking the rear motor cover. It was an expensive replacement and that machine surprised me with how far it tipped back before re-orienting itself. Granted a Yanmar diesel weighs much more than a small gas engine but you do not have the ROPS either.

John M

Gary Fowler · Feb 13, 2012

I have a homeowner version ZTR and have not experienced any tendency to tip backward on any hill it can climb with regular turf tires. It wouldnt hold on slopes on wet grass and would just take off downhill even on moderate slopes as the rear uphill tire couldnt get traction. I have since put on some tractor lug type tires and now it goes where I tell it too. I just have to be careful when turning because they will dig a hole if you try to zip around in a tight turn. I no longer get stuck or slip sideways mowing around the pond. I used to have to drag it out 2-3 time on each mowing.

yelbike · May 31, 2012

I just found my old tread looking for something else. Anyway just to follow up, I put about 20 or so hours on it.I've mowed the ditch a few times now. I feel pretty comfortable on it now. Its pretty stable on the side slopes, does great going up hill. Going down either takes super comfidence or you end up taking an uncontrolled ride to the bottom.

My only complaint is I'm finding out how rough my lawn is. It can actually make me sick to my stomach if I go to fast.