Mowed the down slope pretty well

[pequeajim]

Well, I mowed the big hill in the back of my house tonight with the PT for the first time.

The slope is 25+ degrees at it's steepest. The first time down I was pretty spooked and went very slow. I mow uphill on a more gradual slope and ride along the top of this one to get to the area that I want to go down.

After three or four trips, it was no big deal. I guess I make it from the top of the slope to the bottom in about 5 seconds.

This was the area that I really questioned the PTs ability to cut, but it will do fine. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[SCOTCHERS]

I too have a 25 degree +/- and found I was very cautious at first. I switched the tires and added 5 more inches to my wheel base and HOLY HANNA what a difference. I strongly recommend this. It's night and day. You'll never go back. The stability is incredible. Hope it works for you as well as it did for me. John

 

[Gravy]

I've got some steep slopes as well. I haven't measured them yet, but the're steep enough that I have previously only been able to mow them with a walk-behind mower, and that wasn't fun.

There's a steep dropoff at the bottom, so I have to mow across the slopes.

I talked to Terry at PT, and got his (limited) approval for reversing the wheels for more safely mowing across the slopes. As you said, what a difference.

However, I should mention that Terry said not to leave the wheels reversed for general use, as it puts more load on the wheel motors and will eventually cause problems, even on the newest models with the upgraded motors.

With that in mind, I figure to reverse the wheels and mow the bad slopes less often than the main lawn areas, maybe every other week or so...

Dave

 

[pequeajim]

I feel pretty safe mowing down the slope as I am staying on a straight line. When I had my Ventrac with duals, I could mow all but the steepest part side to side. At the steepest part, the Ventrac would just slide. I'm sure the PT would tip. Another reason to mow top to bottom on this hill is that I believe because of the oil delivery system design, the engine is only rated to 25 degrees and going top to bottom, I am only exposed to the slope for around 5-6 seconds at a time. Not long enough to cause any problems.

 

[tracdoc]

Has anyone ever considered or tried reversing only the REAR wheels? There seems to be a lot of tractors that have wider rear track as compared with front.

Would reversing the rears provide the added stability on side slopes, and stress only the rear wheel motors, instead of all four, or is that a bad idea?

 

[MossRoad]

Glad it worked out for you.

Have you ever tried to go up it with the mower turned off?
How about with the mower turned on?

We have one steep section of trail on our property that is only about 4-5 feet up in total elevation, but my guess is it is somewhere between 20-30 degrees. The tractor will not climb it with the brush hog engaged. The tires of the tractor start to spin. However, if I lift the brush hog a couple of inches, it transfers enough weight to the front tires and up the hill I go.

I'm not suggesting you mow uphill. Just wondered if you experimented a bit, yet. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[bbabineau]

Wow - this is exactly the data that I needed to make my decision. It sounds like several of you have a situation like mine with the 20 degree slopes. It seems that I should be mowing down the slope from what I am reading and perhaps also reverse wheels. This may be a stupid question but with the bar tires would I reverse the right front to the left rear and the left front to the right rear? The bar tires would seem to require that all four be reversed and not just two, perhaps on the front, which might provide additional stability for the mower. I don't really have a clue but would like some reaction from those of you that know.

Also seeing that PT does not apparently foster the reversal of the wheels. Will this in some way affect warranty? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue">Will this in some way affect warranty? </font>

Get it in writing from PT before you do it. Just my humble opinion /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[tracdoc]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( with the bar tires would I reverse the right front to the left rear and the left front to the right rear? The bar tires would seem to require that all four be reversed and not just two, perhaps on the front, which might provide additional stability for the mower. )</font>

To reverse, you need only to move LEFT to RIGHT and vice versa. When you switch, you will NOT "flip" the wheel.. If you do, the bar tread will be oriented in the wrong direction, and you will not achieve the wheel offset that you are seeking.

Jack up front end. Remove both front wheels, and keep them alongside the tractor in the correct tread orientation. Once both wheeels are off, move the right to left and the left to right, keeping the tread orientation correct. When you switch, you will see that the right wheel will now fasten to left hub with the "dish" of the wheel being closer to the hub. The offset of the wheel now positions the wheel further outboard of the hub. Once the front switch is done, you just have to repeat with the rear.

You can move right front to left rear. If you follow the above, in terms of keeping the tread orientation correct, the same goal will be achieved. If, however, you flip the wheel, no matter whether it goes front or rear, the resulting tread orientation will be incorrect, AND you will not achieve the desired wheel offset. The only problem with RF >> LR and LF>> RR is that unless you have some spare wheels/tires around, you have to have the PT on jackstands to do the switch. It's a PITA, as I have done it lots of time in our race car under sub-optimal conditions /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

As FOURTEEN pointed out to me, you can use the FEL to "jack up" the front end for the switch. Doing the rear requires a standard floor jack.

By the way, does anyone have any thoughts yet on switching only the REAR wheels?

 

[bbabineau]

I had to draw a picture to get it but you are of course correct.

I too would be interested if one axle change would work and is it best on the rear or front?

Bob