Brush mowing steep slopes

[CodeMonkey]

again - thanks for the info

it has been a while since I messed with any tractors - used to be a tractor mech (worked my way through college at a couple of JD dealers) but that was decades ago.

 

[CodeMonkey]

This is the area I want to terrace and is the relatively flat area on the downslope from my house.

The upslope from the house is flatter but has mature conifers I want to leave alone.

The rest of the property, probably about 16+ acres, is much more steeply sloped.

At the very least I want to terrace the area above and work it as a garden.

 

[Bentleg]

Nice looking property.

 

[khouse6]

bought gravely, good machine, well built, but did not do what i wanted. they are too low to get over rough ground. now have dr mower with brush mower, good machine and will cut one inch saplings, briars, weeds etc., without problem.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Thanks - will do. I hope to try it out (without the ags mounted) on some spots next week. I've located a 30" brush/weed deck for it locally so I'll install it and take it for a test run. After researching these old Gravelys more, the only real concern I have going into it is the splash-lubed Kohler engine. From the Kohler manuals:

That 23 degrees with the carb-side downhil is due to oilpan and crankshaft's oil slinger configuration. I'm really not worried about the machine's ability to stick to the slopes, because older L-model Gravely owner's manuals said their slope capability was 60 degrees, when running duals. That was, of course, the pressure-lubed Gravely engine.

In comparison, my PT-425's CH-25 is rated at 25 degrees on sideslopes (doesn't differentiate sides). So, I may end uphill mowing up and downhill with the Gravely in those areas with no runout or turnaround. I'll just have to wait and see... meanwhile I've ordered another set of ags and one set of chains but they won't be delivered and installed for next week's test run...

And, I'll learn how to operate it down in the hollow where it is safe...

This has to be a % slope designation. Regardless of width, a 60 degree would require a traction coefficient of 1.7. You dont get this on any dirt surface unless youre driving spikes into the ground.
larry

 

[CodeMonkey]

Finally got something.

About a month ago I got a Stihl Kombi system and after about three weekends of using that I could tell there was no way I was going to keep up with the growth, much less make headway, so I decided to go ahead and look at Gravelys. But then I started comparing a BCS and found a used 730 for only a little more than any running Gravely that was on the used market. The BCS I think is a better tractor, especially for what I have to do.

So today I went and got the used 730 with a tiller for $1300 and then went to another place and got a used BCS Bio100 chipper/shredder at a rental shop for $1000.

The 730 needs the PTO engagement lever worked on; it is frozen at the bottom and won't rotate because the PO never rotated the unit. I also need to get taller wheels - the current wheels are not tall enough to move the chipper/shredder around. I will probably also get axle extensions to widen the stance as my land is steep in places and rough everywhere - it would be all too easy to tip it over.

The almost first thing I did was remove the tape around the engine shutoff safety lever on the handle as when I tried the tiller out on some hard ground it got away from me and sent me flying off into some brush. The tiller propelled the machine much faster than the wheels would in low gear.

It seems to me that the wheels are constant speed whereas the PTO isn't. I am used to it being the other way around (IIRC from my tractor days - I could be wrong) - which is okay, I prefer the wheels to go a set speed when I am using it for ground work.

The high gear though is so fast I have to trot along to keep up with it. If I use that for snow removal or even just transport, I am going to have to get a sulky or something.

I am looking for a used flail attachment, which is what I really really need - but having no luck. Probably going to have to buy a new one. Oh well - I saved enough on the rest that it won't hurt too much.

 

[khouse6]

gravelys need a smooth place to operate. they are low on the ground and will become high-centered on a small stump, rock, etc.. also, the differential puts power to the spinning wheel, so the wheel on high ground will spin and machine will stop. also, if cutter gets lodge on something, machine will put power to cutter and machine will stop moving.

 

[CodeMonkey]

gravelys need a smooth place to operate. they are low on the ground and will become high-centered on a small stump, rock, etc.. also, the differential puts power to the spinning wheel, so the wheel on high ground will spin and machine will stop. also, if cutter gets lodge on something, machine will put power to cutter and machine will stop moving.

My land is anything but smooth or flat. Even the lawn is rough.

 

[aczlan]

gravelys need a smooth place to operate. they are low on the ground and will become high-centered on a small stump, rock, etc.. also, the differential puts power to the spinning wheel, so the wheel on high ground will spin and machine will stop. also, if cutter gets lodge on something, machine will put power to cutter and machine will stop moving.

Meh. I put MANY hours behind a Gravely Super Convertible L with turfs as a teenager and never had a problem with getting stuck once I put chains on it. They were some castoff chains from the garden tractor that I cut down so only there were 4 chains across the wheel, but that was enough.

Aaron Z

 

[KentT]

LOL... I just got an email notification that someone had resurrected this OLD thread. Don't know how/why I was notified now, and so many replies and time had gone by without being notified...

So, I'll provide an update. I put dual snowblower tires on the Gravely shown earlier, and it has done pretty darned well on the slopes.

I also upgraded the wheel motors on my Power Trac 425 to much larger displacement ones, gaining SIGNIFICANT torque though slowing down the top speed of the tractor. The Gravely has been used largely in areas where's there's no runout at the bottom, so I don't feel safe using the Power Trac there. Meanwhile, I've really not experienced any issues using the Gravely with it's low ground clearance. I've only gotten it "high-centered" once and that was not on these hillsides - it was trying to climb up and out of a field onto the raised driveway. Here's an update on the Power Trac copied/pasted from : http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/power-trac/277326-new-wheel-motors-pt-425-a.html

The Power Trac is now a Billy Goat, and will go anywhere it will get traction. I'm running 26x12x12 ag lug tires, loaded with windshield washer fluid, and it's working well. It is SLOW however, going only about 1/2 the speed it did originally. But, that's plenty fast enough for these steep hillsides. I've been too busy using it, to provide reports about it...

To put it into perspective, some before and after pics, of what I mowed with the brush hog and then raked the debris off with the landscape rake. View of the overgrown field below the house, from the yard - before.

Alternate view, from the dining room deck:

What it looks like now (actually last fall), from the yard. Most of that brush pile actually came from the yard, where I cleared out sprouts/saplings and low branches off the shade trees.

I've "bush-hogged" about 4 acres or so with the Power Trac cutting hardwood brush up to about 1.5" and pines over 2"... then raked up the debris with the landscape rake.

I also pulled out a section of fence a few hundred yards long, that separated the yard from the field. It was overgrown with honeysuckle vines, and a cedar tree had blown down across it. Removing it made it much easier (and safer) to go up and down those slopes.

View from the back yard, looking down into the hollow, before...

Similar view now. There's two piles of old tree trunks and stumps that run vertically up the hillside, where the field was initially cleared with a bulldozer, I'm guessing. I can't mow in there, and am contemplating just leaving them alone.

The driveway/parking area, before, as you approach the house, initially:

And now. I've spread 5 dump truck loads of fill dirt, levelling a spot (with retaining walls) to put a carport, and a better area to turn around.

I've transplanted ornamental grass and yucca plants as visual borders and "guard rails" around the parking areas on both sides. Now I just need to get another load of gravel delivered and spread.

Note the overgrown flower bed below the deck a couple pictures above. Here's what it looks like now, with the grasses and yucca moved out, and reseeded in grass.

A couple of "superflous" decks on the lower level, where the previous owners had a small above-ground pool. There were simply too many decks/porches to try to keep maintained, and I won't be having a pool...

Those two lower levels have now been removed, leaving the large 20x30 deck above. Here it is prior to final seed prep last fall: