steep property,what to use

[arkydog]

My best friend is building an house on 5 acres in the woods of the ozark hills. Around the house the grade is 19 degree and goes down to 28 degree at the back of the property. I had heard not to use a tractor over 15 degrees slope, so what are his options to buy for mowing around the house and also cleaning up at the back of the property. My thought would be some kind of track vehicle, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

arkydog

 

[Gaspasser]

I saw this while looking for some other equipment. Don't know what the cost is, but the video on the website is amazing. Says it will mow up to 34 degree slopes.

Mower for steep slopes

 

[Rip]

Check out the Power Trac line of articulated hydraulic tractors at www.power-trac.com

While all of their models can handle steeper slopes than standard CUTs, they have two models Rated for 40 and 45 Degree slopes!

I live on a very steeply sloping property in Colorado and needed to do extensive wildfire mitigation involving removing many trees and slash on 30 degree plus hill sides. I have the single wheel version of the PT-1845 which has worked quite well for this application.

The PowerTrac line has a wide range of mower heads as well as many, many other attachments making these units equal or better than CUTs in terms of versitility.

There are several other machines such as Steiner and Ventrac that are excellent slope mowers, but quite limited in terms of other capabilities. The PTs are very good as slope mowers, but also very good at many other tasks.

See the Power Trac forum on this site for owner information in addition to the company web site listed above.

Good luck

 

[David_G]

I used a BX23 on a 25 degree right to left with a 20 degree up slope. Have cut and leveled that bit of track now.
Scarey but the BX seemed stable even though I wasn't.

 

[OkieG]

gaspasser,
Welcome to TBN! That is amazing video of the hillside tractor you found.

Don't forget to filll out your bio. Let us know a little more about you.

OkieG

 

[Freds]

gaspasser, that's a pretty wild looking unit you found. I wonder how the deck can float and adjust, but still provide the stability? I've never seen anything like this. Neat.

 

[rmorgan]

Arkydog--

I wrestle with the search for the perfect hillside mowing setup all the time, as I have hills right by the house which are 20 and 33 deg. Right now I use a hydro CUT, backing up and driving down the steep hill and driving up and down the less-steep. The Power Tracs have a great and loyal following but you have be ready to do your own repairs because they have no dealers; the PT board on this site gives great information about the ups and downs of that situation. As to dedicated and reasonably-priced mowers, the current slope leader, I think, is the Hustler ATZ, a zero-turn rider with slope-holding modifications. There are many pull-behind-ATV mowers. Going to something with tracks sounds like tons of fun--watch the movie at Litefoot's website, where an ATV climbs a 22" vertical obstacle--but adds a bunch of cost.

Another possibility with the kind of slopes you're talking about is to turn them into prairie/meadow, mowed occasionally or not at all.

 

[arkydog]

Since he is my best friend and knows almost nothing about equipment and I know only slightly more, would an ATV work on those type hills, one that his wife could use to pull a small utility wagon up and down and across those hills, or are we still talking about some of the same equipment mentioned above. Would something like a gator work, or are we back to the same roll over problem?

Thanks

arkydog

 

[Darren]

A two wheeled tractor would handle the job easily even running across the slope. There's a recent thread that covers the topic. If he wants to ride, I'd look for a Unimog setup for Ag or construction work.

 

[OkieG]

<font color="blue">I wonder how the deck can float and adjust, but still provide the stability? </font>

Freds,
I was thinking about that, too. I bet the mower deck pivots, kinda like the front axle on a conventional CUT, and possibly provides little stability to the unit. Maybe like riding a bicycle across the slope. That doesn't sound very stable though, does it?

OkieG