Best mowers for steep hills. (Any price range)

[Hay Dude]

I know this has been discussed before but wanted to add a little more to the discussion. I currently have 3 Grasshopper mowers which I like a lot. I have a 325D, 725D, and a 900D. The 900D is by far my favorite as I have steep hills and the stability and traction is much better than the others. With that said there are a couple pond banks that even the 900D struggles a little so I have to go up certain areas backwards etc. The problem is the rear tires slide just a touch damaging the grass then erosion starts causing holes or small washed out areas on the dam. Would be nice to have a 4wheel steering mower with better traction. Right now I’m looking at Ventrac and the Kubota F series. Not sure which is better? Keep in mind I would use this mower in big fields to so mowing speed and comfort is important too.

Thanks

I run a kubota F 3680 on steep slopes and it does very well. Its not as fast as my Kubota zero turn, but it’s faster and more stable than a typical SCUT. My Kubota ZD331 is VERY stable on hills, but doesn’t get the traction to “match” its’ stability (if that makes sense). IOW, I will run out of traction before I run out of stability. The F-3680 will take you up or down or across and slope without fear of tipping.

I heard the John Deere 74x mowers are also very stable. They have 4WD and 4WS models. I always wanted one, but felt like they needed a ROPS on them to protect the operator.

 

[Creamer]

Both of these have higher centers of gravity than what the OP has - the Grasshoppers. Plus turf tires do not have near the traction of a bar type tire on wet just cut grass.

 

[Hay Dude]

Both of these have higher centers of gravity than what the OP has - the Grasshoppers. Plus turf tires do not have near the traction of a bar type tire on wet just cut grass.

The advantage of Low center of gravity is meaningless if you don’t have traction-you’ll just slide sideways or get in trouble going downhill.

I tried a zero turn on one of my really steep hills before I bought my F3680. The low center of gravity on the ZD331 zero turn was nice, but it would slide sideways or spin tires going up or down. Bar tires were better on the zero turn, but still slid sideways and chewed up turf on turns.

The F solved the traction issue and is still low enough center of gravity to cut any hill I have thrown at it.

 

[two_bit_score]

I like the goat option better than pushing that thing

Self propelled.

 

[Creamer]

The advantage of Low center of gravity is meaningless if you don’t have traction-you’ll just slide sideways or get in trouble going downhill.

I tried a zero turn on one of my really steep hills before I bought my F3680. The low center of gravity on the ZD331 zero turn was nice, but it would slide sideways or spin tires going up or down. Bar tires were better on the zero turn, but still slid sideways and chewed up turf on turns.

The F solved the traction issue and is still low enough center of gravity to cut any hill I have thrown at it.

I agree with you r statement completely but how does the F stop the traction issue if it still has turfs on wet grass?

 

[Hay Dude]

I agree with you r statement completely but how does the F stop the traction issue if it still has turfs on wet grass?

It has 4WD and differential lock. Even on slick grass, it climbs hills very well. It’s also considerably heavier. It also resists sliding sideways because it has 4 tires on the ground instead of 2.

If you had the need for even more traction, you could put bar tires on it and it’d climb trees.

 

[Creamer]

It has 4WD and differential lock. Even on slick grass, it climbs hills very well. It’s also considerably heavier. It also resists sliding sideways because it has 4 tires on the ground instead of 2.

If you had the need for even more traction, you could put bar tires on it and it’d climb trees.

I understand now. It did not look like 4WD in the photo. That makes a lot of difference. I know with my Deines when I changed to bar tires that thing would climb any hill - it was a totally different machine.

 

[whaning]

I know this has been discussed before but wanted to add a little more to the discussion. I currently have 3 Grasshopper mowers which I like a lot. I have a 325D, 725D, and a 900D. The 900D is by far my favorite as I have steep hills and the stability and traction is much better than the others. With that said there are a couple pond banks that even the 900D struggles a little so I have to go up certain areas backwards etc. The problem is the rear tires slide just a touch damaging the grass then erosion starts causing holes or small washed out areas on the dam. Would be nice to have a 4wheel steering mower with better traction. Right now I’m looking at Ventrac and the Kubota F series. Not sure which is better? Keep in mind I would use this mower in big fields to so mowing speed and comfort is important too.

Thanks

May be just the person to ask, does the 900 vibarate any more than the 725D or are they pretty much the same??

 

[dieselscout80]

I like the goat option better than pushing that thing

They aren’t pushing it it has a drivetrain the person just walks behind it to steer it. However, I’d bet it is a workout.

 

[oosik]

I will post a pic here at the end. I have a five acre lake. It is 80 feet deep with VERTICAL cliffs all around the lake. And I DO mean vertical basaltic lava cliffs. Jump off the cliff - fall 25 to 35 feet before you hit the water. At that point the water will be 40 feet deep. Where the water meets the cliff wall - water is 15 feet deep. There is no shore line where a person can stand up in the water. It's either swim or drown.

I have a 50 foot - "NO VEHICLE" zone around the cliffs. I'm not really so concerned about a person going off the cliff and what may happen. My concern is the grease, oil & fuel that will contaminate the lake.

So... why not just establish a perimeter around your pond and not have to worry about mowing that area.