How much lateral tilt before tipping over ?

[jlyrintzis]

I'm a fairly new owner and operator of a Kubota B2620 tractor. I have a 5 acre property, of which I have to mow about 3 acres, some of it with a belly finish mower and some (most) of it with a rotary cutter. On one side of the house, there is a slope that is about 15 feet long from top to bottom, and about 100 yards wide. I'm guessing the angle of the slope is about 25 degrees. My question to more experienced tractor operators is, would I be able to mow it by riding a few long passes across the slope while the tractor is tilted laterally from side-to-side ? Without tipping over? I'm guessing the center of gravity of the tractor is pretty low, especially when dragging a rotary cutter behind. I'm tempted to try it (when wife is not home...), but I would hate if I tipped over sideways. I'm curious to hear any thoughts from more experienced operators.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Baby Grand]

<snip>
I'm tempted to try it (when wife is not home...), but I would hate if I tipped over sideways.
<snip>

Thanks in advance!

Make sure your cell phone is charged & in your pocket before you try it.
But seriously - your question is a very reasonable one, but very hard to answer with any certainty, since your safety depends on what you do with the answer. You'll get lots of answers, some will be relevant to you; some won't. "It depends ..." would be the most accurate.
What kind of tires?
PSI inflation?
Crosswinds?
What width are the wheels set at?
Any ballast?
FEL on or off?
How smooth (constant, sloping surface) is the area?
Any weight up high? (your weight, ROPS up or down, canopy, etc ...)
Is the soil soft, wet, hard, dry?
Any woodchuck holes or rotted stumps just under the surface.
25 degrees is one h*** of a steep slope to take sideways - I wouldn't try it.
I recommend you start out going directly up + down the slope, then take it at gradually increasing angles and trust your "pucker" meter.
-Jim

 

[k0ua]

25 degrees is quite a bit. But I have seen the State Highway tractors mow worse. But they are set up for it. Wide low wheels and tires.. a so called "squat" tractor. Some tractors and the way they are set up will slip sideways before they will tip, but don't count on it. As mentioned, holes and rocks or stumps can mean the difference between shiny side up or shiny side down. As for doing this while the wife is gone, yes I understand not having a hysterical loved one worrying about your actions, BUT, you just might need someone to call 911 to drag your crushed butt out from under the tractor too... Think about it.

So long story short, I don't know if your tractor could mow it or not, but my guess is you will chicken out before the tractor gives up and rolls over. But peoples "terror meter" varies quite a bit, and I don't know for sure what your threshold is.

 

[SPYDERLK]

You have a couple things going for you -- HST drive and belly mower. 25 degrees is the general area where the tip over "margin" gets pretty critical on stock B and BXs. The smoothness of operation with HST is highly valuable in preserving "safe" operation near the margin and a slightly suspended belly mower loads all 4 wheels at the very lowest point possible on the tractor.

,,,When I got my BX 1500 I took it out to the steepest place I had in mind [28 degrees] and crept it out onto the slope. I carefully got off and tentatively pushed on the ROPs. It felt solid. ... Then I pushed successively harder. - it was solid. I got the impression that, even with the added leverage on the rops it would take a LOT for me to upset the tractor.

You could try something like this to get an idea of the static margin you have. If its good, you should be able to use it dynamically with care. ... I find that repetitive sideslope will slowly rut corresponding to the heavy footprint of the downhill rear tire so I vary between sideslope and up/dwn.
larry

 

[TripleR]

There are several old threads on this and no one really knows, here is just one: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/279095-mowing-slopes-tractor.html

I mow slopes regularly and like James mentioned, my "pucker factor" goes too high way before my tractor tips.

 

[GManBart]

Do you have the FEL on or off when you mow? Since weight above the axles hurts in this case, I'd remove the FEL before trying it.

If you try it....make sure your seatbelt is on, and the ROPS is up!

 

[oosik]

I wouldn't try 25 degree slope. Turn your unit around and mow up/down the slope. Its could be a very dangerous & costly lesson to learn if the tractor tips over.

Since you indicate you are new to tractors - do it the safe way and give yourself time to learn and get the feel of your unit.

 

[jlyrintzis]

Thank you all, great comments. I don't have a possibility of going up/down direction, my wife's fenced garden is where the slope ends, so I could really only go sideways across.

 

[s219]

I'm guessing the angle of the slope is about 25 degrees.

Don't guess at that part, measure it! Five degrees in either direction would make a difference to me, and people are notoriously bad at estimating angles. I have been on ski trails and roofs that seem darn steep, and it turns out they are "only" 35 degrees. You can get a theodolite app for iPhone/iPad to measure angles through the camera lens, which would work great for a hill.

 

[Walkin Horse]

There is a level on an iPhone with the compass(slide the dot over) that shows degrees. I set mine on the dash sometimes to check the degree and 12 or 13 degrees puckers me with a round bale on the front.