Need advice on mowing a slope.

[RoyJackson]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

Most everyone is talking of stupidly steep slopes. The OP never indicated the real slope, just that it is a slope that he hasnt mowed. All good advice here for really steep slopes but likely his slope is not nearly as steep as folks here have concluded...

You're assuming it's not steep...but you don't know.
I'm not sure what you consider a "stupidly steep slope", but that can vary quite a bit from one person to another as well as the equipment they're using.
Even a 10 degree slope on wet grass can be slick. And, if slick, it can be dangerous...

 

[North Country]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

Most everyone is talking of stupidly steep slopes.

Well, of course! The OP said his brakes wouldn't hold on the slope.

I have safely mowed a portion of my pond levee (prior to rebuilding the levee) that was 45 degree or morer by backing up to the top in 4 WD and sliding back down with the brakes locked. With the FEL on front and BH on rear, there is no way the tractor is going to end over and keeping it straight up and down the slope, it wont flip either.

If your brakes are locked, you have no steering. How do you keep it from going sideways when you're sliding downhill with locked brakes and suddenly one front wheel catches on an unseen root/rock/hole/who knows what hiding in the tall grass? With all that high weight (FEL and BH mounted) you'll spin and flip faster than you can crap your pants.

I drive on slopes I consider "steep" but anything where I can't start, stop & reverse is too steep for me.

 

[TripleR]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

When deciding whether or not to mow a "steep slope", I also consider the soil/turf damage done. If I am going to slide and my tires slip tearing up the ground/turf, I don't do it. I have found this can be mitigated by mowing under power going down a slope as opposed to going up; sometimes possible, sometimes not.

 

[Carykong]

I like Smallplots opinion combined with Jimman. Mow the lower portion if possible. Just let the upper portion go wild. Great wildlife perserve and a whole lot safer for you and tractor. Pictures?

 

[edrobyn]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

Thanks for all the good advice! Below is a picture of the land before anything was done to it. I know it looks rough. The hill between the truck and the tree line is what still needs to be mowed. From the picture it looks like a gentle slope that could be mowed from left to right but it is steeper than it looks from this angle and this is the only picture I have right now. I will probably go this weekend and do the string distance excersize to get an idea of the exact angle. I just bought this piece of land and the tractor and my pucker factor is still very high. Besides that I don't much care for pain or a damaged tractor.

 

[jinman]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

Edrobyn, I don't think you'll have any problem with that hillside as long as you back up it the first time. If you back up, you know you have enough traction on everything below you. The problems with slipping often happen right after a rain when we remember how it mowed when dry and pop over an hill to discover that with muddy soil or wet grass our traction is a fraction of what it was before and we go slipping and sliding down the hill. Remember, as long as you are rolling, you can steer, but if you lock up your brakes or your wheels are spinning and losing traction, you have no control and gravity will likely take your tractor sideways.

I agree completely with North Country. If your brakes won't stop you or you can't get enough traction to back up the slope, by all means stay away. Do not try driving forward up the slope. If something goes wrong or your engine stalls, you'll suddenly have less traction because of the design of your tires' tread and be rolling backwards. When you are backing up the hill and something goes wrong, you are going downhill in the forward direction and with the maximum holding traction of your tire tread design.

 

[TripleR]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

It is hard to fully appreciate how steep something is by a picture, but after I assured myself there were no hidden washouts or stumps, I would not hesitate mowing that. My preference, until I get a sense of the slope in person is to back up or drive down. I have even backed up slopes with an M8540 and 10' pull type cutter until I got comfortable with it. Be sure to cinch yourself in as I have literally hung from my seat belt on some hills.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

I have not seen anywhere in this post where the OP said his brakes wouldnt hold on this slope in fact he hasnt even had his tractor on the slope. He just mentioned about using his FEL as a brake in case his wheels started slipping.
My definition of stupidly steep is a slope that is so step that one would be stupid to even attempt it and no advice needed to approach how to do it other than the "hold my beer and watch this".
With regards to being unable to steer if your wheels are sliding, who in the tractor world has brakes on the front wheels. I dont know about you, but I steer with the front wheels, not the rear. If the rear wheels are locked up, you can still steer your tractor with the steering wheel like you normally do. You may slide down a stupidly steep hill, but if you keep your front wheels pointed downhill you will eventually arrive at the bottom with a good lesson learned on what is stupidly steep and what is safely steep.
From the photo we finally got, I dont see anything there that couldnt be mowed sideslope if you wanted, unless the photo is deceiving. I would still mow up and down however just because it is more comfortable in the seat.

 

[billybobjimmyjoejack]

I volunteer for a group that manages large (8 acres) fenced off leash dog parks in Washington state one of the parks has about one acre that is extremely steep and there is a fence at the top of the slope with no flat area and the bottom has a slight slope. I will not mow this area when it is wet (little traction even using the engine and 4 wheel drive to slow me down).
I use a flail mower and start by backing up the hill in 4 wheel drive low range with the mower disengaged then with the tractor still in 4 wheel drive and low range I shift into 1st gear and mow on the way down.

I have never mowed this hill with the loader on and don't recommend it to anyone, with the quick attach loaders that we are using there is no reason to carry around the extra weight (about 500 lbs). It creates extra wear on tires and front wheel drive components and it raises your center of gravity and you use more fuel carrying the extra weight.

From what you have stated in your post that you have a flat area at the top and bottom of your slope you should be able to mow up the face of the hill then drive across the flat at the top then mow on you way back down then drive across the bottom on the flat and mow on the way back up.
I would suggest that you walk the whole area and check for any hazards before you mow it the first time.

I mow using a Ford/New Holland model 1715 with a 5' VRISIMO flail mower.

 

[jinman]

Re: Need advice on mowing a slope

If the rear wheels are locked up, you can still steer your tractor with the steering wheel like you normally do. You may slide down a stupidly steep hill, but if you keep your front wheels pointed downhill you will eventually arrive at the bottom with a good lesson learned on what is stupidly steep and what is safely steep.

Gary, if you have a 4WD tractor with 4WD engaged and the back wheels are locked, at least one of the front wheels will also be locked. You must have a 2WD tractor or you would not have made that comment. Both rears and one front wheel locked and the other rolling on a downhill slope is a recipe for disaster. I still say the best test is that if you can't back up the hill with 4WD and differential lock engaged, just drive away and leave the hill to grow naturally. It ain't worth killin' yourself to prove a point. However, like TripleR, I don't see a problem with the OP's hill in his photo, but would still recommend backing up the first time he mows it.