<font color="blue"> What is a safe uphill slope for a tractor? Downhill the same as uphill? How about horizontally, what is a comfortable slope to traverse hills.
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Never exceed the manufacturers recommendation. (now there's a weenie, no-sue-em answer /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) Hard to say. As many people have answered, the angle can change very quickly if you hit a rut or rock and the angle can be irrelevant if the tractor's center of gravity is higher or lower than what the manufacturer tested at because of implements, weights, etc... My suggestion would be to get familiar with the machine on flat land. Go slow and build up your confidence, skill and familiarity with your machine and your work area. Practice safe work habits. Walk the areas that you intend to operate on before you operate. Always use the safety equipment no matter what. That means ROPS and seat belt at all times, every time, even just backing in and out of the garage. Roll overs can happen on flat ground too. You could hook something with a towed implement and over you go backwards before you can react to it. High speed turns can cause a flip to the side or roll over. I had my tractor going all out mowing about 8-9 MPH and started making turns. Wide sweeping turns. They felt very comfortable, so I started making each successive turn tighter and tighter just to see what would happen(I use to do this kind of stuff in cars too, just to see how they would handle). One turn too tight and I was up on three wheels. I pulled my joystick from float to lock(my mower is mounted on the FEL arms) and that tended to act as outriggers and I didn't go over. I don't know if I would have gone over had I not done this, but if I had hit a dip or rock at the same time I got up on three wheels, my guess(just a guess) is that I probably would have gone over.
Another problem is, some people get complacent about safety and paying attention. How often have any of us been out mowing and just gotten into it and started zoning out? Down the field. Up the field. Down the field. Heck, you start thinking about other things, and before you know it the field is done and you wonder how you got there so fast. Were you paying attention the entire time? Try to remember when you passed that tree. Can you? That's why it is important to be alert and focused on what you are doing at all times. With a high level of focus and a familiarity with your machine, you will probably get out of sticky situations quickly and safely every time(you may not even get into sticky situations ever if you plan well). However, for those times that you can't you have to rely on your safety equipment. I wouldn't attempt a jump from a rolling tractor for anything. If you jump to the downhill side, you'll probably get squished. If you try to jump to the uphill side, you probably won't make it over the top but at least you'd have better odds going uphill than downhill.
As for turning into the ditch if you detect a roll is eminent, that might just work. Hope your seat belt is on, because you'll be eating the hood when the front of the tractor meets the other side of the ditch. But that beats rolling and then lying submerged under water strapped in to your seatbelt, knowing you lived through a roll over but will drown in a minute or two. You probably shouldn't have been that close to the ditch to start with. Just stay away from them or get the proper equipment to mow them. Better yet, plant some ground cover and never mow it again. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Anyway, those are just my opinions. Thanks for listening.
This has been a great discussion so far. Good questions. Good answers. Hope everyone takes the time to become familiar with their machine and practice safe operating techniques. Best wishes to all.