Mowing Steep Hills

[oldpilot]

Yeah, we put as much fill into our foundation as on our driveway, which measures 1820 feet. The east and south elevations have a steep slope. My old riding mower would choke while mowing it sideways. The new zero-turn 42-inch Toro Timecutter has no problem CLIMBING the slope; the difficulty is in going downhill or making a turn. I get a lot of bald spots where the rear tires slippage as a result of the engine's trying to hold it back from running away (and potentially hitting a tree). I know of no solution. I just do the best I can with the obstacles the terrain presents (a tree, a rock, and the granite steps leading down to the back lawn).

 

[Tim Schwaderer]

I see a lot of people use Steiner mowers on really steep area. 4x4 with dual wheels and it gets it done

 

[stso9d]

I have some slopes that my spartan handles well but i like the idea of rubbed tires.

 

[Hamlin6]

There's a company out of Wisconsin called RC Mowers. I've seen one in action and it is very, very impressive. We have very long steep banks where I work and the lawn service company has one. I was more than jealous when I saw it.

 

[Wrldtvlr]

You really need to define steep. Eyeball doesn't work - use the 2x4 method. I have 2 acres of mostly slope up to 21-22 degrees, with the occasional pot hole. My cub cadet steerable zero turn works well. Zero turns with swivel fronts do not work well.

 

[jfh0jfh]

We mow w/ an older Kubota F-3060 4WD/ AWD but they are ridiculously expensive now. Before that we used a 4WD Kubota w/ belly mower and a tractor w/ a finish mower on a 3-point.

We tried 0-turns and commercial walk-behinds (w/ sulkies) - Scag, Bunton. They are OK sideways on hills re rollover but they slip easily (won't go up hills; slide down) on damp grass/ soil and tear it up.

One neighbor has rolled his 0-turn twice on banks; another frequently gets stuck in wet places. OTOH, a 3rd neighbor has mowed 2+ acres for years w/ 0-turns.

This is SE Ohio - hilly, clay soil.

 

[jimgusek]

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?

So many variables, but depending your budget Ventrac ($$) has about the best options. Zero turn can work moving up and down not so great sidehill. I do some with a 60' Toro but will cause a bit of tire scrub of your grass, I just live with it. Bigger zero turn has better center of gravity but the design for steering will tend to drag a tire on the uphill (less traction) side.

 

[Tony H]

I know you mentioned Walk-behinds are not an option. $20k for a Steiner or Ventrac would not begin option for me. I have a scenario where I can not go up my hill to the flat on top, like your fence issue, I have a 48" walk behind and it let's me now totally perpendicular to the slope. My neighbor came over with his ZT just for giggles. Nope, way unstable going perpendicular to slope and real scary going up the slope and turning around to come down. I don't use it but these larger walk behind do have a Sulky that can be attached to stand on.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

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?

In the same situation I eventually lit upon a five-year-old Kubota B7510 (21 hp diesel) with belly mower. With 210 hours on it and an owner who wanted to buy a heavier tractor with a loader for his property, I bought it for half the retail price at that time in 2010. It has hydraulic drive and power steering and 4WD on demand. The reason I relegated our Bolens G174 to other duties was its lack of safety equipment. The Kubota stops if you stop driving. It has a seat belt and ROPS. If you leave the seat the engine quits. It is excellent on slopes as the 5' belly mower provides additional stability to the tractor. The hydraulic auxiliary runs a little dump trailer and a 3 pt hitch block splitter. The thing has been trouble free-through 1300 hours, and in retrospect was a bargain at $9600 CDN.

 

[Gravely1961]

Grillo climber might be the safest besides a walk behind. Probably break the bank but be safe as possible. Climber 9.22 Grillo Spa - Agrigarden Machines

 

[Hamlin6]

I almost forgot. BCS tillers have a sickle mower attachment you can put on their machines. They also sell metal spiked wheels as an accessory. I've seen one of these in action before on a steep hill and was very impressed

 

[EddinKY]

This video discusses the issue and suggests steering wheel zero turn mowers. Worth the time to watch.

 

[jdefils]

Maybe Its been already said, but if its that hard, I'd use an alternate ground treatment (gravel, mulch, pavement?) or wildflowers, let it grow wild, etc. Having a running riding mower on my chest with me under it on a hillside wasn't fun and not worth repeating.

 

[Big Jon]

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?

i have a commercial zero turn and mow sideways on a side hill of a bridge. hurts to walk up it my tractor didn't want it had to back up it with it scary.... depends on equipment and driver.

 

[Nikkorott]

A female pygmy goat won't smell. Another option in your budget is one of those robot mowers.

I have a barn full of bargain deals that I can't find parts for. I also have a BCS mower like some one talked about earlier. Your bad knees can scratch that off of your list.

 

[Ed Weber]

Not a fan of steep hills
Ever consider a robotic mower?

 

[Fxfymn413]

Probably not a great buy, but here is an example of a Stiener set up for steep grades: 94-95 Steiner - farm & garden - by owner - sale

 

[panamaguy]

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?

A friend has one called a Dixie Chopper 4x4 zero turn. When you want to turn a small set of wheels pops down and picks up the front tires to make the zero turn work. And he has some good step hills

 

[Bentrim]

Years ago the dealer sold one something like this https://www.harperturfequipment.com/slope-mowers/atm72/ it at that time was called Mow Cycle as I remember the price was high but it a neat machine.
As a youngster dad had bought an early JD 110. Turned the wheels wide and sitting on the up hill fender wasn't any thing I was afraid to mow, but don't think I would do that anymore too slow to react. Now I would have to put duals on to feel safe.
I was surprised to find some of the riding mowers recommended when I searched for "hillside mowers".

 

[bnold]

Huge fan of my Cub Cadet 760S for all my side hills.

Leaps and bounds better than previous traditional zero turn.