Difficult lot - mower suggestions?

[TCSavage]

A couple of tethered goats?

X2 on the goats.

 

[JD 420]

I know how you feel. I have had way to many projects myself this summer so far. None of which seem to be getting finished in a timely manner. Which drives me crazy. Lol. You won't have to worry about the slope with a weed eater and a pair of baseball spikes. Lol

 

[Creekpaddler]

My front yard is pretty steep, too, up to 25 degrees in one place. I use a JD LX188 with a 48" mid-mount deck and low-lug ATV tires on the rear. It gets me up that hill and is very versatile, too. Some guys will use zero turns for slopes, but like 4570Man wrote, they have poor traction. And they can be hard to control when trying to turn at the bottom of a downhill pass. For my large near-flat areas, I chose a used JD F925 22hp diesel 2WD. That thing flies, but it slips on hills if the grass if damp. For your yard, I'd go with a gas lawn tractor, 20+ horse power, mid-mount deck at least 48" wide, and hydrostatic transmission.

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

Goats work well, less trouble however would be something along the lines of a Wright Stander or a large walk behind with a standup sulky. I have used standers on 30+ degree slopes without issues as you can use your body to counter balance the machine. If it gets hairy, step off to the rear and the machine stops in feet and your left standing.

Check out the video: Wright Stander

Tom

 

[Xfaxman]

Sometimes grade % and degrees of angle get confused. Here is a chart that shows what is what.

 

[Eric102]

Yeah its funny when some folks brag about there mower working on 60 degree slopes

 

[drhjmacleod]

Don't make the same mistake I made! I purchased a new house and I have a very hilly piece of property. I originally had an L110 John Deere and it was difficult to get traction while turning and it was very hard to mow the hill sideways because it liked to lift one of the rear wheels. I was also worried about the hydro holding up, so I sold it and bought a Simplicity Broadmoor that had traction assist. Not much better if any over the John Deere L110, as the traction assist is more of a gimmick than anything. I sold the Simplicity and bought a John Deere X500. The X500 is a great machine with a heavy duty hydro (which you need for hills). The locking diff works great and I am always amazed at how stable it is mowing my hill from side to side. There is a night and day difference over the two other machines. BTW, I also put HDAPs on the rear and they provided excellent traction. Would I have liked to get an X738 or X758 - of course, what guy would not! I just did not want to spend that much money and quite honestly, I like the size of the X500 better. I would highly recommend the X500 series.

Lastly, don't waste your time with a zero turn mower with steep hills. How can you steer it if the rear wheels break free while going down hill which they are bound to do if the grass is any bit damp? I would end up in the woods or hitting a rock wall!!!

 

[dstig1]

Mr Macleod, thanks for your input. Much of what you said confirmed other advice I have gotten, and also many of my suspicions. My only remaining question is "how bad is my yard?" And so my friend is going to loan me his X320 for a run or two. I'll see how that does, and then have a decent idea from there. But I am already at "no" on zero turns and for the lighter tractors with inadequate axles for the terrain.

My main questions at this time are an X300, an X500 or possibly that Husqvarna that was mentioned. I still may just have to "find something" in the mean time just to keep it under control, even if it won't last for years.

 

[Yellowfever440]

I used to mow a property a couple years ago that had a slope that was a ditch against a state highway and with a 54 inch deck it was 5 full passes on the sloped side by the highway. The top pass was probably 30 degrees and the center 3 passes were pretty close to 40 degrees if not just over. The bottom pass was about 30 degrees also. That's just a guess off the picture of degrees that was posted. I know it was steep enough that the variety of mowers I had over the 15 years I mowed it I had a pretty good idea what I felt comfortable with. I would suggest a mower with diff lock, I mowed that slope with cub 129, JD gt235, JD 318, JD 425, JD 455, and a JD 757 ztr. The 425 and 455 worked best because they have a wider stance and diff lock. I would say in my list in choice would go 455, 425, 318, gt235, 757, 129. The individual brakes on the 318 was nice but on the 318, gt235 and 129 when the back wheel would lift just enough the topside tire could spin and then you were stuck on a steep hill. I only mowed the hill horizontally because if it was wet I couldn't make it up the hill and I would have to drive to the bottom and down the other side then mow it all one way. The 425 and 455 could climb the hill. A 345 or gx345 was replaced by the x540 and they have diff lock, the early model 345 didn't have diff lock. If your topside tire lost traction the diff lock would keep it moving atleast.

When I mowed that ditch I had to sit atleast one cheek off the side of the seat towards the top of the hill, otherwise I would be up on 3 wheels. If your tire does start to spin and you don't have diff lock, if you still have momentum you can turn down the hill. Otherwise you back down the hill and that is a bad feeling and when the ditch had some water in the bottom of it you could get wet in a hurry.

That 757 was a sled when it was damp at all, but when it was dry that thing was extremely stabil.

Just my thoughts from some experience. I wish I would of kept mowing it since I have a JD x585 with a 62 in deck and the 4wd would be awesome on that hill.

 

[megotatractor]

Perhaps the photos are deceiving but it doesn't appear steep. It would be nice to have something in the photos that is true vertical for scale.
I used to have no problem mowing the ditch with my 2210. Until the highway department resurfaced and upgraded the road and left the ditch face that was once 20 to 30 degrees is now 30 to 40 degree slope to the shoulder, that is a bit too steep even for something with a low center of gravity as a 2210/2305 (1023 is the latest version).