All wheel drive for sloped yard

mkitchin

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The turf tires that come on most zero turns are horrible on hills. (mine were terrible on hills)
I ditched my turf tires and replaced them with AT 101 bar tires and the difference on our hills was HUGE.
Our hills are no problem now.
Somehow I missed this response. It's mowing season again, and I just destroyed portions of my yard which got me looking again. I think I may give this a shot. I have a normal fescue lawn. Do you find these tires damage your lawn any worse than standard turf tires?
 

DK35vince

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Somehow I missed this response. It's mowing season again, and I just destroyed portions of my yard which got me looking again. I think I may give this a shot. I have a normal fescue lawn. Do you find these tires damage your lawn any worse than standard turf tires?
They can if your not careful in hard turning.
Not enough to bother me. And the huge difference in traction vs turfs and how much better it works on hills is well worth it IMO.
 

helomech

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I love my Jacobsen, I have some pretty steep hills, and it never feels like it is going to tip over. With the deck down the center of gravity is very low. 4WD, and almost will turn like a zero turn, it leaves a little missed spot when doing a tight turn, but not much. If the tree is bigger than about 5 inches I can cut around it without missing anything.
 

mkitchin

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They can if your not careful in hard turning.
Not enough to bother me. And the huge difference in traction vs turfs and how much better it works on hills is well worth it IMO.
Thanks. I think I will order a set of these.
https://www.amazon.com/Carlisle-Sup...005O5VAVY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
It is the only bar tire I can find in a 18x9.5, Update: it is only available in 2 ply.
https://www.carlislebrandtires.com/our-products/product-detail/super-lug-power-trac-tru-power
Guess I should keep looking for a 4 ply 18x9.5 bar tire. This one maybe?
https://www.amazon.com/Duro-18-9-50-8-HF255-Trencher-Tire/dp/B00D6OLSPI
It seems there are better mowers for this type of work, but they are out of my price range.
I'm not getting any notifications when someone replies to this thread for some reason.
 
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helomech

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Thanks. I think I will order a set of these.
https://www.amazon.com/Carlisle-Sup...005O5VAVY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
It is the only bar tire I can find in a 18x9.5, Update: it is only available in 2 ply.
https://www.carlislebrandtires.com/our-products/product-detail/super-lug-power-trac-tru-power
Guess I should keep looking for a 4 ply 18x9.5 bar tire. This one maybe?
https://www.amazon.com/Duro-18-9-50-8-HF255-Trencher-Tire/dp/B00D6OLSPI
It seems there are better mowers for this type of work, but they are out of my price range.
I'm not getting any notifications when someone replies to this thread for some reason.

I bought my Jacobsen used. I think I paid 2800 for it. Put about another 300 in repairs, but it has been awesome.
 

mkitchin

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Anyone have any experience with this one or something similar?
Cub Cadet RZT SX 46 KH
https://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/...ders/steering-wheel-46-in-23-hp-kohler-engine
Seems like a decent Zero Turn for hills. I might consider if the new tires don't help out a lot with my current mower.
I know a front mount deck mower would be nice, but they appear to be a very expensive and not great at cutting close around trees.
 

helomech

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Anyone have any experience with this one or something similar?
Cub Cadet RZT SX 46 KH
https://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/...ders/steering-wheel-46-in-23-hp-kohler-engine
Seems like a decent Zero Turn for hills. I might consider if the new tires don't help out a lot with my current mower.
I know a front mount deck mower would be nice, but they appear to be a very expensive and not great at cutting close around trees.

Front mowers do fine around trees, especially trees that are bigger than 6 inches wide. I paid less than that for my Jacobsen used, and I have a feeling that Jacobsen will be running for decades more.
 

Darryl G

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I mentioned this before, but technique on slopes is key. Without being there it's hard to say if it would be enough. It's all about keeping weight on the rear wheels and proper stick technique on turns. Wondering if you can get a highly experienced Zero-Turn operator to have a look-see?
 

mkitchin

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I mentioned this before, but technique on slopes is key. Without being there it's hard to say if it would be enough. It's all about keeping weight on the rear wheels and proper stick technique on turns. Wondering if you can get a highly experienced Zero-Turn operator to have a look-see?

Thanks. My back yard is 80% made up of a wide continuous hill. Nowhere to turn that isn't on a hill. My neighbor has the same situation. His professional mower uses a walk behind for this area. I would prefer to do it all with a riding mower. I know they're staged, but those videos of the Cub Cadet navigating hills look awesome. I will see how my new tires do and go from there. Thanks for all the advice.
 

DK35vince

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Please give us an update how the new tires perform vs the turfs.
Bar tires on mine made a massive difference on hills. The same hills that were always a problem with the crappy turfs, or I couldn't mow at all are no problem at all now.
 
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