Mowing Steep yard! Mmm or finish mower?

[Rock Crawler]

You method is also what I did. I found that my lesser sloped areas are 16 degrees, and my steepest is 32-33 degrees. There are angles in between the two extremes. Sometimes I see photos of peoples properties where there are nice gradual slopes and even level areas... and I have to say that I am envious to some extent. For at least 3-4 months of the year I can not drive a jeep, tractor or ATV on the yard because of how wet it gets and how sloped it is. I feel like a prisoner in my own house because I want to go out and do things so badly, but I just can not always get to the woods because of the crappy wetness turning everything into soup. The grass peels off as you slide down the hill, you screw up your own yard turf and you end up getting your equipment stuck... not to mentioned thrashed with mud and clay. I have 15 acres of hillside. I should clear cut it and start a hobby snow skiing or something.

 

[Diggin It]

^^ I have places I can't even walk in winter when it's snowy, icy or just plain mud slick. I leave footprints in the grass just from my own weight (which isn't a lot). There is nearly no real level ground beyond 10-15' away from the house, garage and driveway. Just walking to the mailbox can be an experience in winter.

The picture above shows an embankment of about 12' from bottom to top. That almost has to be mowed sideways because of the road below and wall above, meaning no place to turn. Like I said, once I start the climb from the bottom towards the top, it's at least 70 linear feet before it begins to level off at all. And it isn't even. There are low and high spots so sidemowing is really out. Even if I had a machine that could handle the side slope angle, dropping a tire into one of those low spots changes everything REAL quick. One of the things I've been doing this week is filling in some of those lows.

I could do it with the small mowers but the small transaxles didn't like it at all. The SCUT handles it better, but I'm still a bit hesitant until I get more acclimated to using it.

 

[wawajake]

I agree with Dodgeman.......and my BX with a 60 " rear finish mower does much faster job than my 42 inch Husky lawn tractor that I have since retired. And my bx handles the steep side grade beside my house easily ( as long as grass is dry) by backing up in reverse and using dif lock. Much safer than the Husky was that spun going up the steep hill and was a even worse pucker factor riding her down the slope. (flipped Husky once even because was essentially a single wheel drive , and when one locked up and you slid.....your up for a wild ride. uch:

 

[crazyal]

On one of my computers I have a picture that the government made to measure slope/ grade. It's the size of a standard piece of paper and you simply glue it to a board and then put a nail in it with a piece of string hanging down. Place the bottom of the board on the ground and gravity does the rest. On mine I put a 4' long board to smooth out rough terrain. I haven't looked but I'm betting there's a smart phone app that could do it.

 

[firebird93]

I hear goats will mow anything that grows, grade not a factor - if it will grow there, they will find it.

i've had goats. they eat everything you don't want eaten and not what you want! and forget a fence, if they want out they get out!

 

[Tennsawdust]

i've had goats. they eat everything you don't want eaten and not what you want! and forget a fence, if they want out they get out!

Well behaved they are not. It's the smell that takes them off my list. Not what I want to endure when I'm trying to enjoy a nice evening on the porch.

 

[ning]

a regular garden tractor cannot go up and down because the rear wheels slide

My lawn tractor was terrible on the steep part of our lawn until I swapped out the rear tires, to something like this:

With these tires, despite not having a diff lock, as long as both rears are on the ground I can climb the hill mowing where it previously couldn't get anywhere near. I still have one spot that's extra steep which I either use the trimmer or I approach from the top and only go down.

Mind you I don't mow to golf course quality, but I haven't noticed any damage from the ag-style treads - but I suspect the low weight of the lawn tractor (vs the weight of a real tractor) will keep damage down.

If you have normal turfs, I'd consider swapping the tires before spending thousands on a different mower - I love my big tractor, but I wouldn't get rid of the lawn tractor because it mows so well and also pulls its cart for many tasks very well.

For my lawn tractor, I bought "Carlisle Super Lug Lawn & Garden Tire - 20X10-8". They were very easy to swap with no special tools (used a ratchet strap around the diameter to seat the bead when inflating).

 

[Rock Crawler]

I run Kenda bar tires on my Cub Cadet.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I run Kenda bar tires on my Cub Cadet. View attachment 574203

And I run chains with 60 lb weights in the other.

 

[dieselscout80]

I run Kenda bar tires on my Cub Cadet. View attachment 574203

I’ve had tractor/bar tread tires on all our mowers here after about six months otherwise you just spin.