tipping point

[heehaw]

as i begin this post, let me first say that i am a coward: that said, how do you tell how much slope is ok to run your mower/tractor on, without tipping over? i do know, without 4wd, i couldn't mow an area in our front yard, because one wheel will lose traction an start to spin: so i end up just spraying roundup in the last 5ft or so of the slope/ditch.
heehaw

 

[westcliffe01]

Is it impossible to mow straight up / down ?

 

[dex3361]

I mow a lot of hills and have for years. I watch the uphill side tires for the impression the leave in the ground and pay attention to that still small voice that says dont go any further. I would recomend to use a tilt meter and even try progressively steeper stopping every little bit to see if you can still cut uphill slowly it will want to skid instead of turn uphill as it approaches the limit. I always set my rear wheels at their widest and load the rears. ALWAYS KEEP THE FEL LOW TO THE GROUND RAISING THE FEL WHILE TRAVERSING A SLOPE (ACROSS THE HILL) WILL TURN YOU OVER. I would run chains on my 2WD but do not on my 4WD unless it gets slick/muddy/icy. Just my opinion for what its worth.

 

[heehaw]

i'm mowing along a ditch that has a busy state road on the other side: i do some of the mowing by backing into the ditch an then pulling out an moving over etc etc et: but that sure takes a long time: using a kubota 7510 with a 5ft finish mower on the back: if i would unhook the kill switch under the seat, i could stand on the uphill side an guide, like i have done with regular lawn mowers, but like i said, the coward comes out in me really quick, plus i do have others that occasionally use the tractor, so i best not unhook any safety cut offs. i'll try to post a link to the google picture of what i am mowing later.
heehaw

 

[heehaw]

2405 east main, mtn view, arkansas 72560 - Google Maps
that should be a link to a street view of where i am trying to mow: i have to admit it doesn't look near as sloped in the picture as it feels on the tractor.
heehaw

 

[scott_vt]

Good Mornin Rick,
What exactly are you even mowing, all I see is brown ?

 

[heehaw]

that pic was taken after the tornado feb 5th of 2008, but not much after: did anyone ever see the folks that drove around the country taking these pictures?
heehaw

 

[dmccarty]

as i begin this post, let me first say that i am a coward: that said, how do you tell how much slope is ok to run your mower/tractor on, without tipping over?

I would not use the world "coward" but how about smart and/or wise. The photo looks steep enough.

The road/drive I mow in places has a falloff of 3-6 feet. And its a sharp drop off. the slope prior to the drop off is fairly flat, maybe 5 degrees on the tiltmeter but what I worry about is the soil shifting under the tractor so I don't get too close. I was mowing some of the neighbors road frontage yesterday because it sorta needed it and I was mowing so what the heck. I have not mowed down there in a year or so and one area has washed out a bit. Kinda veered around that bit.

Back up on my land on the other side of the road is a ditch. At the bottom of the road I can put the tractor tires in the ditch or even on the other side of the ditch and mow up the hill. About a third of the way up the slope goes from 0-5 degrees to about 10-15 degrees. Its very subtle and happens very slowly. It can lull you into complacency. When the tiltmeter starts going over 10 degree I get out of the ditch and stay a 12-24 inches away from it. My fanny does not like it when the tractor starts gong over 10 degrees. And 10 degrees is not that much but its uncomfortable. Can't imagine going to 20 degrees.

What I can't get mowed with the JD gets mowed with the DR. I watch the Tiltmeter and use that as a guide and keep a big safety margin. A small hole, rock, log can easily tilt you 5-10 degrees.

I have seen an elderly neighbor with a JD riding lawn mower cutting a ditch having to use his leg from keeping the mower from rolling....

Scared the heck out of me....

Later,
Dan