Mowing Steep Hills

[Hay Dude]

I disagree with Randy, zero turns handle hills better than a rider. Mine's a commercial unit and would put it up against any rider out there. It's wider than my old rider and has a lower center of gravity.

Agree. Zero Turns can mow very effectively across hills, too.
Also, if you put traction tires on a Zero turn, it’ll go anywhere you dare to go.
You could buy 2 or 3 zero turns for the price of a steep slop mower.
Another option would be a Kubota “F” series. I have a 3680, which is unstoppable on steep hills and will not flip over.

 

[mikester]

Agree. Zero Turns can mow very effectively across hills, too.
Also, if you put traction tires on a Zero turn, it’ll go anywhere you dare to go.
You could buy 2 or 3 zero turns for the price of a steep slop mower.
Another option would be a Kubota “F” series. I have a 3680, which is unstoppable on steep hills and will not flip over.

The world really needs more lawns...first world problems. I want less grass to cut. Make a wild flower meadow aka weed patch.

 

[Hay Dude]

The world really needs more lawns...first world problems. I want less grass to cut. Make a wild flower meadow aka weed patch.

Um, ok?
Are you directing this comment at me for some reason?
I cut large lawns for customers. I do not believe in the need for excessive lawns, either.

 

[mikester]

Um, ok?
Are you directing this comment at me for some reason?
I cut large lawns for customers. I do not believe in the need for excessive lawns, either.

Sorry my check sarcasm light was on...

 

[Hay Dude]

Sorry my check sarcasm light was on...

No problem.
I am laughing at you a bit, though.
You hang out on a site dedicated greatly to lawn mowing & maintenance while espousing the virtues of less lawns and increased weeds.
You roll your way.

 

[Rdrcr]

According to my gauge, I’m side mowing 50% grade on my property with my Cub Cadet Pro Z. Anything over 45% gets your attention (roll bar up, seatbelt on) and I’ve experienced some slippage at 50% on wet grass.

My machine isn’t rated for 50% but manages it reasonably well.

I can’t recall the price comparison between the Cub Cadet Pro and the Ventrac.

Mike

 

[Raul-02]

bar tires

R4 tires?

 

[Raul-02]

carlisle WT300 tires

that's an R 14 isn't it?

 

[Nikkorott]

I need a new mower.

Long story, but now I have to mow more often and more areas. And the grass is on some pretty steep hills. I cannot simply go up and down them, as there is a fence at the bottom and my house at the top. I have to side-hill most of it. A push mower is simply out of the question, as it will take me days to mow this much with my bad knees. I need a riding mower.

I currently have a troy-built little 30 something inch, mower. One where you pretty much sit on the engine and there is no weight over the steer tires. Its in good shape but simply does not work on these hills. Center of gravity is way too high, cannot turn at the top of the hills, and that's if it can climb up the hill! It's got the power, but not the traction. It was given to me.

I need something that can side hill a steep hill, have the traction to climb the hills, and wide enough to not take all day.

What type should I be looking at? Zero Turn? More of the conventional? Which brand do you recommend?

Have thought about a 4 legged mower?

 

[4570Man]

R4 tires?

I run Carlisle AT-101s on my mower.

 

[Hay Dude]

These here tires and you’ll go wherever you want

 

[RjCorazza]

Here's the tires I put on mine, also filled for 140 lbs total fluid weight :

 

[Code54]

I had no luck with commerical zero turns on our very steep hills. They were fine when dry but if it was wet it would always slide. Ended up selling the two commerical zeroturns and went to 4 wheel drive compact tractors with the 60" deck. The one "yard" we mow we normally drive with the front wheels turned uphill with back wheels about 1' lower and "crab" across the slope. Little tough on the "turf" and looks and feels weird but it works - with a zero turn it was uncuttable as the caster wheels kept wanting to head downhill.

 

[mikester]

that's an R 14 isn't it?

Don't know for sure, it isn't advertised as one

Carlisle WT300 Agriculture Tire

Carlisle WT300 tire for tractors with less than 30 horsepower. Its low ground pressure preserves turf while its tread provides aggressive traction.

www.carlislebrandtires.com

 

[Rdrcr]

I had no luck with commerical zero turns on our very steep hills. They were fine when dry but if it was wet it would always slide. Ended up selling the two commerical zeroturns and went to 4 wheel drive compact tractors with the 60" deck. The one "yard" we mow we normally drive with the front wheels turned uphill with back wheels about 1' lower and "crab" across the slope. Little tough on the "turf" and looks and feels weird but it works - with a zero turn it was uncuttable as the caster wheels kept wanting to head downhill.

Were either of those ZT’s designed for mowing hills? If not, I’m not surprised they didn’t work. I demo’d several bar/lap style ZT’s and all slide down my hills.

I too can mow my hills with a 4WD tractor. I did it for over a year. I had to mow straight up and down in 4WD. It was sketchy at best and I couldn’t mow around any of the trees on the hills or the tractor would get tippy (that’s with loaded tires and 2 inch wheel spacers).

I began researching machines designed for hillside mowing and eventually purchased the Cub Cadet Pro Z 560 S KW. I couldn’t be happier.
This ZT has saved me over an hour of mowing time and is much safer mowing my hills than my previous tractor.

Mike

 

[Avenger]

Thank you for all the great info here!

I'm not sure about the actual slope in degrees or grades, but its steep enough that its uncomfortable to side-hill it while sitting on the uphill side of the mower's fender. With the turf tires, it struggles to climb up and down and impossible with the slightest bit of moisture.

I had a conventional riding mower with the deep lug tires on it, and that worked well enough, but it did roll on me twice and after the last time, I scrapped it. The engine was very old and tired (Think it was a 1998 cost to cost special MTM something or other) and very banged up. Thats when I was given this Troy-Built by my mother who moved into a condo. And when she gave it to me, this section of my yard was not grass.

My well went dead a few years ago. During the dry months, we don't irrigate. So, the yard turned to weeds. I simply stopped mowing everything minus the very front yard (which was weeds too, but I kept them down). This year, we have water (another long story) so I really want to have green grass to enjoy with my small children. Now that I can water, I tilled it all under and reseeded it. I went out and attempted to mow with my Troy-Built, but quickly found that this little mower is not good enough. I'm going to attempt to sell it.

Which brings me to my budget. As cheap as possible without sacrificing quality. Honestly, I'm about function here. If it can mow these hills and wont breakdown on me every other week, then I'm all for it. However, the $13k price tag for the Cub Cadet Pro Z 560 S KW is a bit much. Lets be real here, I'm not a commercial guy. I just need to mow my lawn. Even more so with the Ventrac! Thats a big no!

4 legged mowers are great, but probably not an easy sell for the wife. Especially with being so close to the house, the fertilizer would be a bit smelly.

I'd say my budget is under $4k, and that would be a hard sell to the wife.

So, how much area am I mowing?? According to Google maps, right under 15000 square feet. Thats roughly a third of an acre total. Much of which is on the side of a hill! Our house sits on top of this hill and is mostly surrounded by this grass.

I'll measure the slope of these hillsides when I remember.

I'm not afraid of installing the deep lug tires, but not a huge fan either. On that older mower I had them, and I had to cut the fenders just to get them to fit, even then they rubbed. Now, I probably screwed up and bought the wrong size, but the deck was level. I am liking the idea of a 4WD mower, if they wont roll on me. I just need something that is stable on the hillside, can climb up the hill when I need to turn around, and not break my bank account.

The VA wants to replace my knees, and Im prolonging that idea as much as possible. Currently doing PT, but pushing a mower up and down hills would be a nightmare. So no to a push mower, even a self-propelled one. Its the going down that sucks anyway.

With all that in mind, if you have a recommendation, I'm all ears. Thank you all again!

 

[ptsg]

A couple of these boys and girls works wonders and they will keep everything trimmed nice and low. Also very low maintenance.

 

[Teachu2]

I mow some pretty steep hills with the older version of https://www.advancedmower.com/new-models/2022-husqvarna-ts-348xd-960-43-03-19-28558565b . I put lugged tires on the rear. The electric locking differential makes all the difference.

 

[Randy Gann]

With only 1/3 acre and your budget limited to $4,000 or less I would suggest a used commercial walk behind with a stand on sulky. This would probably have a lower center of gravity than any riding mower or z turn in your budget. Here is a skag with only 750 hours in your budget. It does not list a sulky but you should be able to find one that will work.

SCAG 48” Mower - farm & garden - by owner - sale

SCAG SWZ-14KA 48” walk behind mower. Smooth hydrostatic drive. Electric Clutch Only 750 hours Fresh oil change Ready to cut! Toro. Exmark. John Deere.

spokane.craigslist.org

 

[Rdrcr]

Thank you for all the great info here!

I'm not sure about the actual slope in degrees or grades, but its steep enough that its uncomfortable to side-hill it while sitting on the uphill side of the mower's fender. With the turf tires, it struggles to climb up and down and impossible with the slightest bit of moisture.

I had a conventional riding mower with the deep lug tires on it, and that worked well enough, but it did roll on me twice and after the last time, I scrapped it. The engine was very old and tired (Think it was a 1998 cost to cost special MTM something or other) and very banged up. Thats when I was given this Troy-Built by my mother who moved into a condo. And when she gave it to me, this section of my yard was not grass.

My well went dead a few years ago. During the dry months, we don't irrigate. So, the yard turned to weeds. I simply stopped mowing everything minus the very front yard (which was weeds too, but I kept them down). This year, we have water (another long story) so I really want to have green grass to enjoy with my small children. Now that I can water, I tilled it all under and reseeded it. I went out and attempted to mow with my Troy-Built, but quickly found that this little mower is not good enough. I'm going to attempt to sell it.

Which brings me to my budget. As cheap as possible without sacrificing quality. Honestly, I'm about function here. If it can mow these hills and wont breakdown on me every other week, then I'm all for it. However, the $13k price tag for the Cub Cadet Pro Z 560 S KW is a bit much. Lets be real here, I'm not a commercial guy. I just need to mow my lawn. Even more so with the Ventrac! Thats a big no!

4 legged mowers are great, but probably not an easy sell for the wife. Especially with being so close to the house, the fertilizer would be a bit smelly.

I'd say my budget is under $4k, and that would be a hard sell to the wife.

So, how much area am I mowing?? According to Google maps, right under 15000 square feet. Thats roughly a third of an acre total. Much of which is on the side of a hill! Our house sits on top of this hill and is mostly surrounded by this grass.

I'll measure the slope of these hillsides when I remember.

I'm not afraid of installing the deep lug tires, but not a huge fan either. On that older mower I had them, and I had to cut the fenders just to get them to fit, even then they rubbed. Now, I probably screwed up and bought the wrong size, but the deck was level. I am liking the idea of a 4WD mower, if they wont roll on me. I just need something that is stable on the hillside, can climb up the hill when I need to turn around, and not break my bank account.

The VA wants to replace my knees, and Im prolonging that idea as much as possible. Currently doing PT, but pushing a mower up and down hills would be a nightmare. So no to a push mower, even a self-propelled one. Its the going down that sucks anyway.

With all that in mind, if you have a recommendation, I'm all ears. Thank you all again!

I agree, $13K is a lot for a mower. Trust me, it took quite some time to wrap my head around it. I don’t expect many residential folks are going to purchase something like it.

Knowing your budget, I’d definitely suggest looking at some pre-owned 4WD mowers. But, depending on what’s on top of your hills, you may not be able to turn around. You might have to mow straight up, back down and mow straight up again. That’s how I had to mow with my tractor. I’d tip over trying to turn around. Just food for thought. Please be careful with whatever you move forward with.

Mike