side to side counterbalance

[tradesmen4]

Good morning All. Would like to know if anyone has built a counterbalance weight that you could shift from side to side when side hilling . I'm getting tired of me being the counter weight when mowing. The weight would have to lock in the uphill side. But be able to side to the opposite side and lock when going in the other direction. Any ideas would be helpful. Hydrulic controled would be cool.
Thanks Greg

 

[bigtiller]

A backhoe is just the ticket for you. But I'm guessing you are looking for something a little more compact.

 

[tradesmen4]

thanks for the reply. I mow with a little toro lawn mower. Lots of slopes on a few properties. I'm going to build something I can slide to either side to counter the weight for side hilling. Just thought someone might have already tried it.

 

[leonz]

What model Toro do you have?

If your mowing a side hill that is greater than 15 degrees you asking for trouble
as the mowers center of gravity is too high.

Is there any reason you cannot mow up and down?, that is the safest way to mow
steep slopes unless you have a side hill lawn mower.

Short of that you can have the rear tires loaded with windshield washer fluid and
have added stability.

Having a sliding counterweight is not good as the weight will always want to break away.

Have the rears loaded with winshield washer fluid first and you will notice a big difference.

You can back up and mow safely at the same time with the rears loaded too and then drive down
hill as you mow.

 

[Steave]

Something like that would be handy. There's a bank along my drive approximately 200' about 7' elevation that is almost sloped to much for a lawnmower. I still cut it and have to cut it sideways as opposed to up and down. I go back and forth the 200' length about 10 times so not a big deal but I thought of a weight being put on a pivot off the back. Swing it to one side then swing it to the other side according to which direction you're going. Haven't give it a lot of thought about how to go about it I guess mostly dreaming but it would make me feel better and keep my butt down on the seat so as not to kill the engine.

One concern would be the extra weight to carry around for the rest of the yard so it would need to be easily installed and removed.

Keep us posted if you come up with a workable idea.

 

[roadhunter]

My first thought would be a water tank that was removeable and could mount on either side. Easy to drain when not in use.

Ballast in tires or widening the stance of the mower would be the better solution.

 

[jeff9366]

Tractors with large rear wheels and smaller front wheels are inherently unstable.

Buy a low ground clearance tractor with small equal-size wheels all around.

Some, such as Ventrac and Steiner, may have dual rear wheels installed on right and left sides for added stability.

These are low volume specialty tractors, so expect to pay a premium price. Much cheaper than three weeks in hospital and twelve weeks of physical rehabilitation.

LINK: Ventrac - Solution: Slope Mowing

 

[bcp]

Tractors with large rear wheels and smaller front wheels are inherently unstable.

Buy a tractor with equal size wheels all around.
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SMALL equal size wheels all around.

Not a side hiller:


Bruce

 

[tradesmen4]

I was thinking ( which really hurt ) of a post with a weight on top and a pin at the bottom that could lean to the up hill side. Then when you mow in the opposite direction you lean it in other direction. when on level ground you pin it in the middle. Like an upside down pendulum.

 

[tradesmen4]

To answer other questions my toro is a 42" lawn tractor. And I can not mow up and down . One of my slopes has a pond at the bottom. The other slope has wet swamp area. I think I will build it and mount on the back of the toro. Greg