Need advice on mowing a slope.

[Pete Judd]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

I mow a area behind the house that is in the 45 degree area. I have to be in 4wd for the breaking as the weight transfer is to the front wheels. I only mow facing straight down hill. Yes, I mow one row forward, then one in reverse, and it takes time. but I don't think that I would want the weight of the fel to take any more of the little traction off the rears on the hill. If I forget to put it in 4wd (only done this once), the tractor will slide all the way down, and that can get scary.

 

[RoyJackson]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

FEL's and slopes are a dangerous combination, suggest removing the FEL before mowing. It will cause less traction and stability problems.

With vegetation 4' high, I'd strongly suggest having the FEL on the tractor. As long as the bucket is low (10" off the ground, raise or lower as required), there won't be any stability problems going up and down slope (side slopes are quite a different story, however). Plus, the bucket can act as a "bumper" for anything hidden by the brush.
However, I suggest edrobyn leave the bucket empty. There's no advantage to adding weight...the bucket is heavy enough.

BTW, as others have written, do a walk through first for hidden dangers...also, check to see if the brush is wet down low (wet slopes and tractors definitely aren't a good combination!)

 

[zlock24]

Does the tractor have ag tires or turf tires, ag tires should work just fine, if you have turf tires I would deffinetly chain up before attempting the slope

 

[Jerry/MT]

How does a loader make a tractor top heavy if it is down near the ground? Just curious. I do have hills to mow also, but not that bad or that long.

The bucket is just one part of the loader. The main frame and mounts are heavier than the empty bucket and they remain pretty high even with the bucket on the ground thus the cg of the tractor + the loader is higher above the ground than the tractor alone. Raising the cg is destabilizing about the roll (longitudinal) axis. Going straight down the slope at a slow ground speed is probably the safest way to do what you propose. Avoid any quick turns on the slope.

 

[boggen]

i am with whistlepig, mow in reverse and go up the hill backwards. atleast this is always what i have heard. what you are suppose to do.

never try to change gears while on a steep slope. pushing the clutch in, and loosing control of rear wheels with breaks are on could be a problem. if you need to shift to a lower gear, do so at the very top before going down. make a swipe. if it is ok, then if you fill comftroable go up to next gear, if you think it is to risky, then do not push yourself or let others do so. saftey first.

staying in a low gear range, and if you do end up mowing from top to bottom. allows the engine compression itself help keep you slowed down vs relying on just rear brakes to slow you down.

when you are mowing in reverse going from bottom to top. the gas peddle. can help you maintain your speed. vs relying on engine compression alone and brakes to slow you down. with loader on front low to ground as possible. say 1 to 2 inches off of ground. if the rear tire does hit a rock. you will not do a back flip. vs if you were mowing from bottom to top and mowing forwards. primary goal is keep from loosing control in how fast you are going. then at same time keep yourself from rolling over.

1st gear and if you have low/hi gear options place it in low. and it may take ages to get it done. but it would give you your best control. and allow you possibly more reaction time. if you do hit a rock, or go into a hole. to do something vs roling tractor over.

 

[Smallplot]

My first question is why mow this slope? It sounds like it will not be used for anything, am I right? Weeds and grass can be a great environment for wildlife especially small game and birds. If you don't know about any holes, rocks, or ditches guessing this property is new to you. My suggestion would be a controlled burn when conditions are favorable. This would allow you to get a look at any hidden obstacles that may be there. Then you can mow it more often before the weeds and grass get too tall or find out you cant mow it at all.

 

[North Country]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

If you think the brakes will lock up and not be useful, I wouldn't mow it at all. Period.

I drive up and down a 45% slope weekly and am able to stop and reverse at any time - and that's on short grass. The thick brush should give you even more traction. If you're worried about the brakes, it must be :shocked: steep!

If your brakes won't stop you, it's too steep. I don't understand how any rationalization can get around that fact.

 

[SandburRanch]

I have a 1920 with 4WD and a FEL and a 5ft. bushhog type mower. I have a slope(I am not good at judging how many degrees it is). It looks to be about as steep or steeper than jinmans signature picture except about 300 feet from top to bottom. It is about 1 acre to mow and it is about 4 feet tall grass(weeds) and I can't see the ground so I can't see if there are rocks or holes. It is flat at the bottom and at the top of the slope so I know I will mow from top to bottom. Once I am at the bottom I can drive around the slope back to the top and take one swipe at a time. I already know that I need to be in the slowest speed and in 4WD. My question is should I have weight in the loader to aid in traction or would that make it worse? If not, should I have loader bucket turned toward the ground so if I should start to slide I could lower the bucket to help in stopping? I already have figured that once I start down the hill there will be no stopping with the brakes as they will probably lock up which will cause it to slide.

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QUOTE: I have a slope(I am not good at judging how many degrees it is).

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Rather than keeping yourself and the forum members in suspense about the angle of the slope, consider a string level for obtaining some numbers of the steepest slope and then the math/angle whizzes on the forum will have a race as to who can come up with an answer first. If the answer is (beeeep) incorrect, that person will be notified very shortly.:laughing:

If you are not familiar with string levels and too embarrassed to ask how to use them there are videos on google.:thumbsup:

 

[jinman]

Edrobyn, I'm going to suggest you back up that hill as others have suggested. That is exactly how I'd approach a steep hill where I didn't know for sure what was there. I hope you have lots of shear pins or a slip clutch though. Mowing where you don't know what is "lurking" in the grass is sure to produce a few hits with your mower. Be slow, be careful, and be ready to shut 'er down.

How I would approach your hill is to definitely leave the loader on. Having a bucket you can lower to the ground for stability is a big plus. Also, it keeps weight on all your wheels to add traction balanced against the cutter on the 3PH.

I would back the mower from the bottom up the hill in 25' segments. Back up and mow the first 25' and then move left or right and do that 25' until you have a 25' row mowed across the face of the hill. Next, do another 25' and work across the face. Repeat this over and over until the whole hill is mowed. That's lots of back and forth, but it's only the first time and will keep you in control as you explore the ground for the first time. After you have mowed the hillside one time, then the next time you can back up all the way to the top, but always be VERY CAREFUL when applying brakes as you go down the hill. If your tractor slides sideways and your backside starts to come around you'll end up in a very dangerous situation in a hurry. It is imperative that you keep your tractor straight at all times. That's why backing up the hill is so important. If you stall or spin while backing, carefully drive straight back to the bottom and either figure out why you spun or give it up for another day. When your wheels start spinning, very bad things can happen on a hillside. You mentioned my avatar. When I was going down that hill, I dug channels to hold my tractor and keep it from going side-to-side. That way I could dig and push the loader while keeping the tractor straight. You won't have that luxury on your hillside and 300 ft is a long way to go when you are out of control.:shocked:

 

[Gary Fowler]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

Most everyone is talking of stupidly steep slopes. The OP never indicated the real slope, just that it is a slope that he hasnt mowed. All good advice here for really steep slopes but likely his slope is not nearly as steep as folks here have concluded. He did say it has been mowed before. The best advice given is to start out by backing up the slope to see how well the tractor handles it. I would leave the FEL bucket on for extra front wheel traction but keep it low as previously suggested but not so low that it digs into the ground at the bottom of the slope. If the OP can back up the slope in 2 WD then it is not too steep to mow safely as long as he keeps the tractor pointed straight up and down the slope. By backing up the steepest portion first to get a feel of the tractor/slope, then mowing back down if everything went well on the backup portion, he should be safe. I have safely mowed a portion of my pond levee (prior to rebuilding the levee) that was 45 degree or morer by backing up to the top in 4 WD and sliding back down with the brakes locked. With the FEL on front and BH on rear, there is no way the tractor is going to end over and keeping it straight up and down the slope, it wont flip either. A lot depends on your feel for the conditions. My friend eats a hole in the seat of his pants when he gets on a 5 degree slope and my wife thinks almost level ground is scary on the lawnmower (she claims-maybe that is just her way of not using the mower) but highway mowers safely mow some very steep slopes. Take a look at some of them to compare to your area and then use proper caution and the good advice here to get the job done.
As for mowing side slopes, I find that if you start to slip sideways in the seat, it is a good indication that you should be mowing up and down.