All wheel drive for sloped yard

mkitchin

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I moved to a house with about 1.5 acres to move. I bought a Husqvarna Z246 46 inch Zero Turn about a year ago. I absolutely love it for the flat parts of my yard, but it is a mess on the hills. I don't think it is anything with the mower itself. I think it is just the issue of zero turns in general on hills. I'm destroying my yard and I can't get close to several obstacle that I have to go around while on the slopes. So, I love the mower, but I think I go the wrong kind. I need a tight turning radius mower, but it doesn't absolutely have to be zero turn. I can hopefully get close to $2000 for mine if I sell it. I want to get the most affordable mower that will do the job and not fall apart in 2 years. What about this one? https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/riders/r322t-awd/967153002/ All wheel drive seems like a great option. Any thoughts?
 
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Darryl G

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Some lawn areas are certainly too steep to safely mow with a zero-turn riding mower but sometimes it's just a matter of technique. What it boils down to in general is keeping the weight of the mower and operator on the rear wheels.

Are you going up and down the slopes or across them?

Edit: Here's a post I started a while back. Maybe it will be of some help. https://www.lawnmowerforum.com/showthread.php/46882-Zero-Turn-Mower-Operation-and-Safety
 

mkitchin

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Are you going up and down the slopes or across them?
Thanks for the reply. When possible, I go up and down them. There are large portions with a drainage ditch and a burm that require me to go across. The shape of yard makes mowing portion of the hill up and down extremely inefficient. In the attached pic, the red arrows show the slope of the hill, and the blue line is a drainage "valley/ditch" with a burm next to it. I will pay more to get a mower that won't slip. I generally do okay on the sideways part. It is the coming down the hill and especially turning while coming down the hill that I struggle. I know that is because a ZTR isn't designed to do this. I hoping to find something more appropriate for the job.

yard.png
 

Darryl G

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I see. I would start at the bottom going across so that all of my turns are uphill, unless it's so steep that the mower slides. But yeah you certainly don't want to be running a ZTR down a steep hill with a ditch at the bottom. Mowing diagonally is also an option. I have the luxury of being able to justify having both ZTRs and a hydro walk-behind for slopes.

I understand your thinking regarding getting an AWD mower. I was trying to see if your problem could be resolved by changing your technique. There is also the option of getting different tires.
 

bertsmobile1

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The easiest things to work on steep slopes are the Husqvarna articulated mowers or the Stiga park Estate articulated mower.
Both come in 4wd .
However they are expensive, have fairly small decks and if you go too quick and turn too tight on hills they tip over.
After that it is a Ventrac, a specialist brand of steep hill mowers.
Next best will be the standers.

Tight turns on hills is something to be avoided at all costs unless you have a fettish about becoming a tent peg.
 

mkitchin

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The easiest things to work on steep slopes are the Husqvarna articulated mowers or the Stiga park Estate articulated mower.
Both come in 4wd .
Thanks. The Husqvarna is the one I posted in my original post and the one I'm the most interested in. It seems hard to find a Stiga in the US. I'll have to save up for the HUSQVARNA R 322 with mulching deck. That thing is pricey.
 

ukrkoz

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I have STEEP hills. I eyeballed some areas at 45 degrees. I have NO issues going up them or even sidewise. Of course, I ditched turf tires at 8 hrs of use and installed ATV tires. Done. Only problem is - they suck on driveway. Riding on washboard. And you got to be careful taking turns, or they will rip sod.
 

ukrkoz

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Now, when you really need 4x4 is wetland. Swamps. Puddles. It is HARD to pick up and pull mower out of mud, when stuck. I did it 4 times, I don't really want to do it again. Yes, you read right. Pick up rear end and pull it out onto drier soil. Mud is like damn glue.
 

bertsmobile1

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Stiga comes out of the EU & the Park Estate is made in Sweden & Germany so they would not be cheap & tend to be confined to the N-E corner states.
You should find a lot of used 155 Huskies around.
The original batch from Sweden ended up down here in OZ cause Americans are not capable of reading instructions and they got banned.
The next batch do not turn as tight so they are more difficult to turn over and the name changed.
Forget which way but one design is called Rider Pro & the other lot are called Pro Riders
 

DK35vince

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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.
 

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