Can anyone post some pictures of hills

[3RRL]

You wanted some pictures of slopes and I just rotary cut about 2-½ acres this weekend at my rural property. These pictures show the areas I mowed in the large meadow in front of our campsite, also in between the Oak trees. Most of it has some slope to it, but not that bad. Look to the right of the photo and you can see the edge of a steep gulley.




This photo shows a different view of the meadow that has some slope in it and also a better perspective of the steep slope across the gulley.




This slope across the gulley is pretty steep. I traveled sideways across it a couple times but mostly up and down for safety sake. In my case, I had to watch that my tires did not ride up and over any large rocks that would cause it to tip over. The tractor felt very stable with the large rotary cutter and bucket held low. Neverhteless, I would not reccomend traversing this area sideways however, as the slope easily exceeds 25° or more.

 

[Slacker]

After looking at the pictures I have to say the majority of you with "wide stance" type CUT's seem overly cautious.
First tractor was a Yanmar type JD750. That thing was a tippy canoe. I was VERY careful of where I put it and where the front loader was.

I've now got 15 hrs on a new Farmtrac 360 DTC and I'm using that thing like a 4-wheeler! It feels VERY stable. This weekend I rough cut the roadsides on a 3 mile road, driving with 2 wheels in the ditch the entire way. Pucker factor was zero, with some pretty steep angles. I never would have attempted that task with the Yanmar style JD.

Owning a CUT that was tippy has made me appriciate the stabiity of my current CUT.

 

[Doc_Bob]

As one of my old instructors used to say:
"Better to be on the ground, - wishing you were in the air,
than to be in the air - wishing you were on the ground!"

I have spent many hours in UH-1 and UH-60s. I love what you have to say.
Bob

 

[daTeacha]

There was a picture posted here a couple of months of a pretty good sized tractor that someone had rolled in their backyard. The outstanding comment on that post was that it happened so suddenly -- it felt stable and all of sudden it was rolling. That's the thing to watch for. When you start to think you can handle slopes pretty well, you can get surprized in a big way. Always be extra alert and focused on slopes.

I have a new computer, so am going to try to post a pic I took yesterday. I've had very little success with this in the past, so bear with me, laugh as much as you want, but tell me how to do what should be simple. My picture is in a SD slot on my new computer right now and I have no idea how to get it out.

 

[daTeacha]

Okay, I typed in the bracketed code for image, then copied the address of the picture, then typed in the bracketed code for image again, with the result that you see above.

I feel really stupid about posting pics here!

 

[daTeacha]

Now I have "managed attachments" and uploaded the file, but it's not here yet. Wait a minute, there it is! This is my house, the logs are level as you might presume. I took this from the lane to the rifle range. The slope is typical of my land, with some place steeper and a few less so. I drive cross slope with caution on the CUT, but feel no puckering at all on the Cub Cadet mowers.

 

[Ductape]

I just have to say..... Pooh Bear, you almost had me in tears, laughing when i read your post. What i need to know now is...... what force is needed to break the "pucker" when you are on a slope, and need to bail out of you tractor ?? Seems the "pucker factor" will add to the danger of mowing on slopes !

 

[Volfandt]

Alright daTeacha
Nice place too....

That slope I posted pics of gets alot hairier when the FEL and BH is mounted. But then again I don't have much call to traverse it when I'm not mow'n it anyhow

Volfandt

 

[flusher]

I was reading on one of the threads about mowing on hills.
Someone posted a picture of a 17 degree hill.

This was not very steep. I am new at using a bush hog.
Monday I am going to the tractor store to buy what ever they have for a tiltmeter.
They did have something but not the same thing that is on the internet.
I would really like to see what 15 degrees looks like if anyone else could post some pictures.
Our 10 acres was part of a dairy farm and has been farmed over.
When we bought it last Jan. we had to moved some old fence lines. Where the cattle either walked the fence or these fields were plowed there are small ridges along the fence lines.
These don't feel to good to go over while on a small up and down hill.
I just wondered somethings about feeling like I am over reacting because they look more level until you go over one.
Also sometimes you can't see them and there are little gulies where some of the soil has washed. It is like a small ditch on a hill.
This is also so minor that you can't see it but the tractor will feel to down hill when one wheel going into one of these small drops.
I find that I look at other pastures with people mowing them. When I see others mowing hills steepier than mine then I think I am ok.
Looking at more pictures would be helpful.

Thanks,
Kubota 3130
Kodiac Grizzley bushhog.

Like you I have 10 acres. Mine's pasture, looks flat but there's a substantial grade and the ground is uneven. There're always new surprises when I mow for the first time in the spring (gopher and fox holes, piles of compacted cuttings, soft spots, etc). My Kubota B7510HST with LA302 FEL gets a little tippy at times when brush hogging. But the closest I've come to rolling it occurred when I was moving a pile of dirt. I had the loaded FEL bucket about 5 ft in the air when my front tire dropped into a rut. Talk about puckering up. Now I'm real careful with that FEL, even doing "routine" stuff like moving soil and gravel.

My new tractor is a 1966 MF-135 (w/o FEL, see photo). It's an old orchard tractor with filled rear tires weighing about 4400lb. The seat is 32" high and the rear tire track is about 84" wide. By comparison the Kubota track is about 50" wide and the weight is about 1900 lb.

I don't think I'll be rolling the 135 sideways anytime soon on my place. But to be on the save side, I'll fire up the Hobart stick welder this Fall and build a ROPS for the 135. I'll be using the 135 for tillage so there's always the possibility of doing a tractor wheelie even with the Ferguson 3pt hitch. Hence, the ROPS.

 

[Pooh_Bear]

Seems the "pucker factor" will add to the danger of mowing on slopes !

If you are paying attention to your pucker meter it definitely won't add to the danger of mowing on slopes. In fact, if your pucker meter has ANY activity at all you should start paying close attention at that point right there.

......what force is needed to break the "pucker" when you are on a slope, and need to bail out of you tractor ??

If your pucker meter develops enough force to break the "pucker" you will definitely know it from the smelly brown stuff that suddenly blows out.
At that point forget bailing off the tractor. Your reflexes aren't fast enough.
Bail too soon and the tractor recovers and proceeds out of control.
And you could possibly be run over by the implement you are pulling.
Bail too late and your, well, too late. Squashed like a bug.

I liked the triangle explanation above. It's a good representation of the forces involved. But one thing that wasn't mentioned, if you are right at the balance point and hit a bump with a wheel on the uphill side, it's like putting english on a pool ball. That may be all the jolt it needs to push things past the balance point. And since you don't know exactly where the balance point is, you want to stay as far away from it as possible. And it is different for different people. My brother is built like a stick so with him sitting on my tractor I doubt the center of gravity would noticebly change. I'm built like an overstuffed teddy bear. When I sit on the tractor the CG moves way up. So he could drive across steeper hills than I could.

There is a deep ditch across the road from my house.
I have watched my neighbor mow it with his tractor and it looks like
his tractor is laying on its side as he travels along the ditch.
I went over there and tried mowing it. Forget it. I couldn't get close to that.
And how he mows around his pond baffles me. Too steep for my pucker meter.

If you can mow across a known steep slope and not feel a thing from your pucker meter then you mite want to consider a ROPS for your tractor and use it.

There is no easy answer for what is too steep.
Too many tractors and configurations and other variables to consider.
What my neighbor mows with ease is way too steep for me.

Pooh Bear