Zero Turn traction issues

[Texasmark]

Those are the same tires I have and if you can稚 mow it with those then it doesn稚 need mowed. I can push mud with the deck.

Well I started out with them because they work on my tractors in getting traction. Mowing my 30 degree pond banks weren't the same as plowing a field and I slid down the banks more than I wanted. So after several hundred dollars in different tire types I settled on these and besides a nice soft ride, hold better than anything else I have tried:

2PK 22x11-8 22 11-8 22x11.��-8 Golf Go Kart ATV Tire 4PLY P322 Dimple Knobby | eBay

I have them on 2 ZTs, one weighing around 1k# and the other 1300 plus my 250#. They are spec'd for 360# at 5 psig but I run them at 10 and they support the load nicely, have sufficient lateral stability on slopes plus I get the softer ride. One ZT came with 10" and the other 12" diameter wheels. I bought new 8" wheels for these tires allowing me to maximize the balloon area (over OEM installations) which reduces the shock when driving over the cracks that are common in my Houston Black Clay soil.

The other nice thing is the shoulders are rounded, and the ground contact points are many so in mowing turf, I don't have to worry about tearing it up if I don't go nuts with quick ZTs.

 

[9973720wb19]

stand on mower is the best for hills. it's as fast as a sit down Z Turn and if you get in trouble just step off

 

[dnw64]

DNW64, when you say "steep", how steep is it?

Finally had a chance to measure it.

The steepest part on my regular mowed lawn is 42% slope. There are many sections at 30-35%. There is one area in my pasture, which I have been mowing with my tractor rather than the ZT (since my BIL wheelied the ZT going UP it...), is 52%.

 

[Texasmark]

Finally had a chance to measure it.

The steepest part on my regular mowed lawn is 42% slope. There are many sections at 30-35%. There is one area in my pasture, which I have been mowing with my tractor rather than the ZT (since my BIL wheelied the ZT going UP it...), is 52%.

With that It would be up and down, no sideways movement. In going up no problem, but going down you still have a chance of skidding. Touching the brakes initiates it, having a heavy mower initiates it, as does soft soil, or wet grass.

I have a 46" Husqvarna conventional rider that I put studs on the front (for steering traction on hillsides) and on the rear. I can sit on the side of the seat on steep hills and being light in weight it doesn't slide like the heavier machines when mowing along rather than up and down the slope. On your 45+ slopes I would use something like that and only run up and down....course these are the cheap ways out. There are some mountain climbers out there that roll over anything....if you have deep pockets. Grin.

 

[leonz]

Forgive me for asking this Texasmark,

What was it that made you shy away from the ventrac, price? With thier four wheel drive low profile tractors with front or rear mounted flail mowers they make a good
pair.

The small trailerable spyder 4 wheel drive robotic lawn mowers with the flail mower attachment are also well known for handling VERY VERY steep grades mowing a cross slopes with the winch rope attached to a secure location like a guardrail or a vehicle.

 

[dnw64]

Forgive me for asking this Texasmark,

Did you look at the four wheel drive Versatrac four wheel drive low profile tractors with front mounted flail mowers as an option? You can add dual wheels and also load the tires with windshield washer fluid for tire ballast as well as additional weight from what I remember.

The small trailerable spyder 4 wheel drive robotic lawn mowers with the flail mower attachment are also well known for handling VERY VERY steep grades mowing a cross slopes with the winch rope attached to a secure location like a guardrail or a vehicle.

As he said:

...course these are the cheap ways out. There are some mountain climbers out there that roll over anything....if you have deep pockets. Grin.

BTW not familiar with Versatrac, but Ventrac/Steiner would be a good option if I wanted to spend that kind of money. Which I don't. I'd definitely hire it out if it came to spending $20k for a mower to run 1.5 hours a week during our short Vermont Summers...

 

[John_Mc]

Finally had a chance to measure it.

The steepest part on my regular mowed lawn is 42% slope. There are many sections at 30-35%. There is one area in my pasture, which I have been mowing with my tractor rather than the ZT (since my BIL wheelied the ZT going UP it...), is 52%.

Just to make sure we are talking about the same thing here: You do mean percent grade, not degrees, right? The numbers mentioned in your post convert as follows
30% = 17˚ (degrees)
35% = 19˚
42% = 23˚
52% = 27-28˚

I run those slopes on my Craftsman Garden Tractor regularly. I did have to put chains on the rear tires to do the steeper end of that range reliably. I've been debating getting a zero turn. Are slopes in excess of 40% (22˚) really that much of an issue on a zero turn?

 

[RalphVa]

I had the same issues with my Gravely, which is pretty low slung, too. I'd often drive it with me on the back sitting on a sulky. It would often go skidding down our back hill. It also has problems with traction going back up. Finally got an extra set of wheels for it but had decided pretty much by then that I needed 4wd.

Of course, my 4wd tractors will skid down that same hill out of control if I take it out of 4wd and forget to put it back.

Ralph

 

[dnw64]

Just to make sure we are talking about the same thing here: You do mean percent grade, not degrees, right? The numbers mentioned in your post convert as follows
30% = 17˚ (degrees)
35% = 19˚
42% = 23˚
52% = 27-28˚

I run those slopes on my Craftsman Garden Tractor regularly. I did have to put chains on the rear tires to do the steeper end of that range reliably. I've been debating getting a zero turn. Are slopes in excess of 40% (22˚) really that much of an issue on a zero turn?

I didn't calculate degrees. In my book 100% Percent is where 1 Rise = 1 Run. So, sounds about right.

Slopes in excess of 30% are definitely an issue for my Ferris S400. I can't speak reliably about others, although my son concurred that the first day he worked for a professional lawn care company driving some kind of professional grade ZT (X-Mark most likely) he ran into a barn because he couldn't stop going down a hill. That is the biggest traction issue for me - stopping/slowing going down hill. I really don't understand why - I can't imagine there is a "lawn tractor" alive that has more rear:front weight bias than a ZT, but I've never seen any posts about them having trouble going downhill...

 

[big bubba]

haven't read the entire post so please excuse if asked. how much of your mowing area is manageable with normal zero turn use, and how much is the slope an issue of traction? 50/50? have you considered a pro hyd walk behind mower for the slopes?
Hydro Drive Walk-Behind Mowers - Encore

the 36" hydro walk behind works wonders for my steeper pond dams, a good compliment to my other rider zero turn (80% of mowing area) something to consider.
otherwise, good luck on your traction find. my experience is than when rider zero turns start sliding sideways on wet surfaces, they just tear up the sod no matter what tread you use