Big Pits and Dips

[Greenblades]

So, the guy who comes and mows the lawn use to mow the front (which isn't big) with a professional ride on mower he hauls on a trailer behind his work truck. He mowed the back with a push mower because his big one couldn't fit through the fence. The landlord recently had him remove a large section of the fence to let it fit through. He seems to do fine with the back with it.

Pretty soon the free mows will stop and I'm going to have to buy a mower to do it myself. The thing is stuff used to be buried in the back yard and when they dug different spots up the yard was left with a lot of pits, some the size of large curled up bodies, but they are shallow. The terrain is very bumpy, kind of semi swampy with a variety of greenish grass-like plants.

In addition, the back half of the lawn semi-gently slopes down. Its perhaps a third of an acre big. I'm thinking a push mower is too exhausting (hence why the mower guy took out the fence), but I don't have the money for a super duper professional ride on.

Are there any ride on mowers that can handle shallow dips and slopes without tipping over and crushing you? Or am I stuck with a push mower? (Assuming I don't create my super duper bike mower--but that would be for exercise, not every mow or all of the yard...)

 

[BlueGrass]

I don't see why you couldn't use a ride on mower unless the slope was major but you said it gently slopes. I'm getting my yard fixed this weekend because of all the bumps in it. We are finally adding dirt to level the yard and then we get to add new grass.

 

[Greenblades]

Hmm, I guess I've just seen too many pictures of people pinned/killed by ride on lawnmowers that flipped doing slopes. We have lots of volunteer firefighter friends that like to freak us out with their work. What is a safe slope grade to use a ride on mower on?

 

[KennyV]

What is a safe slope grade to use a ride on mower on?

You should not put a number on a 'safe' slope...
Equipment can fail, wheels and wheel studs break. You can encounter a hole that was not previously there...
You can roll almost anything over, use good judgment and get something you are comfortable with... KennyV

 

[Greenblades]

Hm...there are tons of holes all over the yard. It is pocked, and the pocks are of various sizes. Maybe I should be concerned less with the slope and more with those. Can riding mowers usually handle dents, pocks, and shallow semi-pits if you know they are there? Or is it a sign that a push mower is better?

I can't imagine giant golf courses and lawns don't have these, but I doubt they use push mowers...

 

[rekees]

What is a safe slope grade to use a ride on mower on?

15 degrees or less should be safe if you go slow. It would be a good idea to smooth out the rough spots beforehand.

 

[KennyV]

Agree with rekees... 'good idea to smooth out the rough spots beforehand.'
And golf courses will top dress to keep things smooth, holes and dips are not necessarily a danger on flat areas but can be a problem on a bank or hill side. KennyV

 

[noma]

Hi I don't think you will have any problems ,people who live on hills don't have a problem and they don't mow with a push mower.You have to be smarter then the hills and know how to mow on hill mow the right way so you don't tip over people have been doing it for years. Farmers mow & hay road ditches with no p0roblem. If you are that worried about it i would hire it done, or push mow it.

 

[cren]

I think thats the issue though, just like with cars there are dumb people behind the wheel of mowers too. And I can not think of one person that would disagree with me on this. I actually watched at a stop light in town one day, an idiot with a weed whacker who for some reason it was not working, he threw it into the air and it came back down and landed somehow on his leg (yes mid day and rush hour traffic = too much time on my hands waiting at a red light that felt like it would never change).

I remember seeing this guy get mad at the unit and then continue to pick it up and beat it to "death" against a small hill he was working around.

:confused2:

 

[mystreba]

I remember seeing this guy...continue to pick it up and beat it to "death" against a small hill he was working around.

Maybe he thought it was "manual" weed whacker.