Dear KentT,
Not to belabor the issue, but I have lots of slopes with no runout on the bottom. Yes, I mow carefully, but usually I mow down, back up the mowed area, and cut fresh again. If I can, I'll cut a swath along the top/bottom to give me working room, but it isn't always possible. You could use the Gravely for edges and the PT for the center.
Again, chains made a huge difference for me in terms of control. When I brush cut, I have lots of sappy weeds that make the slopes very slick once they are cut, as well as being 25-30 degrees.
Have you thought of adding calcium chloride to the Gravely? It would add mass that might make it more stable, as well as keeping the traction up.
All the best,
Peter
The dual wheel adapters for the Gravely that are on there are cast-iron, which adds considerable weight -- not exactly sure how much.
These old design 2-piece wheel rims require tubes, which complicates adding fluid (in comparison to tubeless). I may experiment with trying to pump windshield washer fluid in, under pressure, since I modified an old 3 gallon pump sprayer to do that long ago. It's just time consuming. I generally try to avoid calcium chloride, even though it is heavier -- I've seen too many old machines with severe rust. However, a 4.80x8 tire 16" tall just won't hold enough fluid to add a lot of weight, anyway. I'd guess it would add no more than 10-12 lbs or so, at a little less than 8 lbs per gallon.
I am looking at chains for my PT though... with the wheel motors that I'm putting on it, if I reverse the wheels, the track will be about a foot wider than stock. So, I don't especially want duals - just the wide stance. I'm concerned that with the low weight of the PT-425 (in comparison to slope mowers) that if I went duals the tire lugs might never dig in on the slopes. Is there such a thing as too much floatation?
I've even thought of mounting up some lightweight 25x12x12 ATV tires that I have lying around and mount them on the outside of the 26x12x12 lugs to serve as "outriggers" just in case it starts to tip, especially if articulated during a turn. Being shorter, they wouldn't contact the ground normally, reducing flotation, but would serve only the "outrigger" type of role...
With that said, I don't want to operate the PT a lot on side-slopes since the Kohler engine is only rated to 25 degrees. Going up and down the slopes isn't a problem, I don't think, but going around hillsides above 25 degrees I could experience oil starvation...
Thanks, everyone for helping me "brainstorm" some approaches to all this..
