Sure are a lot of ideas in this thread, but like you, I ended up just mowing around the really steep section. I also stopped weed-wacking areas that are steep. I think of it as letting nature take its course, and since the rest of the yard looks pretty good, I can live with it. 85 years old now.
Mowing across a semi-steep slope
- Thread starter xoomer
- Start date
montesa_vr
Forum Newbie
Interesting. My neighbor uses a lawn service. The service has stand on and sit down ZTRs. They use the stand ons for the hills. I asked the owner of the service if the stand on mowers are better on hills and he said they are far better. So I have on voice from a professional that I see every week for the last five years and I have your anonymous internet voice. I think I'll listen to the guy who is doing it for a living.
Utopia Texasi
Forum Newbie
Have you considered a walk behind weed eater? Much safer and they can cover a lot of ground fast. Try power.com
Small ones start at $499.
Small ones start at $499.
I agree with gearhead. I have two steering wheel zt machines and they perform much better on the slopes. No dog-tracking and the front end stays on the ground. My slope is so much, I have to mow up and down. I got rid of my Deere 318 after falling off it twice. If you can find a used Cub Commercial, it will take the abuse and be very reliable. Even my Kohler Commands are holding up for 12 years now.
If your gonna put anything in the tires\tubes and live in a state that gets cold in the Winter, try RV antifreeze instead. Won't rust the wheels either.
If your gonna put anything in the tires\tubes and live in a state that gets cold in the Winter, try RV antifreeze instead. Won't rust the wheels either.
robertschemenauer
Member
I have a 2003 craftsman 6000 with a 54" deck .I have never had a problem with slopes ,but I have upgraded the rear tires to ITP mud lites.mY YARD AND DITCH ARE SLOPED , I don't know the degree but I beelieve the 54" deck helps to prevent rollover.
2muchgrass2mow
Well-Known Member
I used 2- 45lb. weights on the rear of my JD X-370 to mow across similarly steep, and steeper, sections of the field adjoining my house lot. I had previously owned a Husqvarna with auto locking differential but got rid of it because the tranny twice fell out on the ground after engine mounts broke!
But the locking diff was great, although I needed power steering - a necessity, not a luxury- for my arthritic hands/fingers/wrists - so I got the JD and weights. I figured that 90 lbs. on the rear would somewhat replace the locking D. It did - up to a point! I had to be very careful mowing across hills and be ready to quickly turn downhill or back up in case of trouble with weight distribution. That's one of the reasons the first thing I did to the machine was bypass the reversing procedure. It would have actually been dangerous, not a safety feature at all!However, most of my hill mowing was up and down, not across. The JD wouldn't climb those hills without the extra weight. So, you might want to try that, but if you do mow all you can up and down, and if you mow horizontally, be VERY careful and expect a problem. It may not happen, but you'll know to shut the blades down, turn it downhill and raise the deck (if you can). BTW, the X-370 is a fine machine!
Cheers!
TMG2M
2muchgrass2mow
Well-Known Member
Hey GH36:
If anyone out there is interested in a ZT battery op, EGO also makes one with a steering wheel. My next-door neighbor bought one and has used it this season. He loves it. I almost bought one myself but decided to wait until next time (if I don't croak before!)
2muchgrass2mow
Well-Known Member
Steering wheels actually somewhat control the direction of the mowing path rather than just flipping around like casters on a desk chair. It has to help, unless off the ground, but not much!
GearHead36
Well-Known Member
What makes you think I don't have years of experience? I've been mowing my yards since the mid 80's.
You should stay done with topic. Permanently. You are absolutely ignorant on the topic. Or you're trolling, because you're giving the exact opposite advice that matches reality.
Vertical is much more controllable but now you may end up with fuel feed problems depending on length of time climbing and descending...and that leads to electric fuel pump in 1 to 2 psi range. Got headlights? Use that circuit to control on/off. I would not cut horizontally unless you had some serious counterbalance weight on the uphill side. And...is there less steep access to the top of the slope ? If so drive to the top that way and cut coming down hill. Dry grass only but even then slick, hardened tires and dry grass will just let you slide down the hill. It's all a finesse type of deal.
A lesser concern is oil supply and lubrication when the engine is tilted out of its spec range. If the time is short enough it may not be a problem. But then you won't know til it's too late.
Last edited: