Making riding mower more stable for hills

   / Making riding mower more stable for hills #11  
Steiner or Ventrac, but they require a serious budget to purchase one of those! I got one used way back when and it costs more to maintain than to buy it (that is how cheap I got it). If you are wanting to build one up, I still have the ole girl out back, which would make a good starting project! Sell it to you cheap, just give me my money back!
David from jax
 
   / Making riding mower more stable for hills #12  
Steiner or Ventrac all the way for 30 degree slopes. That's about it for safely cutting them. The rest is a "shot in the dark" dangerous. As for reliability, they aren't any worse than anything else. I have a 94' Steiner 420 Onan and it's been very good for the 20 years I've owned it. It's an amazing machine for sure.
 
   / Making riding mower more stable for hills #13  
if you haven't invested in a riding mower yet, I'd recommend you consider a stand-on mower. they are the best ride on mower for hills.
I'm actually considering this option as a replacement for my garden tractor mower. Do you use one, and which one if yes?
 
   / Making riding mower more stable for hills #14  
   / Making riding mower more stable for hills #15  
No. Downhill is a ZTs worst position on hill.
A ZTR can accelerate faster than a rail dragster going down a steep hill if it ever starts sliding. At that point you are just a passenger. Not that its ever happened to me :cool:
 
   / Making riding mower more stable for hills #16  
I'm actually considering this option as a replacement for my garden tractor mower. Do you use one, and which one if yes?
I have a Toro Grandstand 52". I added: front weights, wheel weights and snow tires (just for fun). I have hills...two are along the road and the Grandstand will pretty much mow sideways. I've never lost traction, but if I did I'd just step off and let it go into the road...good luck.
 
   / Making riding mower more stable for hills #17  
I have a Toro Grandstand 52". I added: front weights, wheel weights and snow tires (just for fun). I have hills...two are along the road and the Grandstand will pretty much mow sideways. I've never lost traction, but if I did I'd just step off and let it go into the road...good luck.
I just got back from demo'ing a 48" Grandstand. Tried it on some banks by the side of the road, yeh that thing would give me no problems on hills. In a word, that bad boy is N.I.C.E.!! But the price tag so steep though, like $10k for the 52". I suppose buying used is an option, but these commercial mowers get ran hard by landscapers, so I dunno, seems like problems bound to pop up.

I've also been checking out Bradley standers, watched some youtube vids of them, seem like great machines @ $6k for a 52" deck. Another stander in that price range is Wright Stander B. Good reviews overall on them, but Bradley has better per specs in every regard except for the name recognition. I think Wright was the original mfg of stand on mowers.

But those grandstands are crazy cool, their multi-force option lets you mount a snow blade on the front of it, among other things. I like their platform too, how it's kind of behind the wheels instead of between them. Yeh, if I had loose cash lying around, I'd buy the grandstand with the plow in a heartbeat!
 
   / Making riding mower more stable for hills #18  
Just weld on an outrigger like on those war canoes from Hawaii 5-0. ;)
 
   / Making riding mower more stable for hills #19  
Wheel weights can help some (lowers center of gravity). Wheel spacers are even better, if they will still fit within the cutting limits of your mower deck.
Wheel weights did help me some, but not enough to give me confidence to mow sideways. Nor did filling my tires. Duals and better traction tires would be my guess at being the most help.

I did upgrade my driving tires but less aggressive than bar-type tread. Nonetheless, I can get it stuck in a NY minute.

Obviously, a Ventrac or something similar is the answer if you want to spend 10x the price of a riding mower. I don't, so I just plan on washing my britches after mower the back side of our dam.
 
 
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