Mowing across a semi-steep slope

slomo said:
Steering wheels or levers, don't see how they do anything for wheel traction. Ears are wide open.
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If you're mowing across a slope, the steerable front wheels offer lateral grip, which helps keep the mower from sliding down the hill. With a lap-bar ZTR, the caster front wheels offer zero lateral grip... all lateral grip comes from the rear wheels. As for going straight up & down hills, the lap-bar machine works better, but the steering wheel machine still has an advantage. If one wheel starts spinning while going up a hill on a lap-bar ZTR, you will make a u-turn*, and go back down the hill. Steerable front wheels help keep the machine pointed in the desired direction if a wheel starts spinning. A standard lawn tractor has the advantage of not doing the u-turn thing, but they also typically have open diffs, so they're more prone to spin a wheel.

* I had this happen to me one time. On my lap-bar machine, I had a control cable (from one of the lap bars) break while going up a hill. I didn't lose traction, but I DID lose drive on one side, and the machine made an immediate u-turn.
 
This is likely not what you want to hear but it needs to be said.

You are exceeding the design limitations of the machine chassis and engine oiling system. Steep angles require equipment designed for the task.

Those engines would be equipped with a deeper oil sump and larger oil capacity, so the oil pump does not have a chance of sucking in air.

The chassis are also quite a bit wider, so they have better stability,

I suggest a small compact tractor with a finish mower and weight ballast in the wheels
 
Adding water ballast (into tyres/tubes) is not the way to go.
  • It will increase the load on your transmission excelerting wear.
  • Will cost you more in fuel consumption.
  • Will degrade ride comfort by redusing the ability of the tyre wall to flex.
  • Is unlikly to significantly improve stability on slopes, unless you only balsat the high side.
:devilish:
 
GearHead36 said:
I would get a steering wheel ZTR. I have one, and I got it because they were supposedly better on slopes & hills. They absolutely are. I still have a lap-bar ZTR, and it doesn't hold a candle to the steering wheel machine on slopes & hills. Unfortunately, Cub Cadet is the only mfr making them. Zero turns have a lower COG than a typical lawn tractor, but since the front wheels behave like casters, they don't perform well on slopes. And the rear diff is open, so the uphill wheel will tend to spin. A steering wheel ZTR solves all that. To get better than a steering wheel, ZTR for hills & slopes, you'd need to move up to something like a Ventrac. BTW, my SW ZTR is rated for slopes up to 20 deg.
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Here we go again…Why do you never see steering wheel zero turns (Cub Cadet is the only one), mowing hillsides from lawn services, and only see a real zero turn mowing the hillside? Because a real zero turn is better, faster, more productive, and holds hills better.
 
Hello M.,

Why a steering wheel on a zero turn? Smoother control especially in tight areas or turns. The one I have seemed to sit a little higher as well.

It appeals to many that cannot handle (not a pun) a separate R&L hand control because they react (jerky) too fast.

I have both an RZT s-50 (steering wheel) and Force 48 Cub Cadet (handle controls). They are both great mowers, but the operational/driving dynamics are totally different.

My wife prefers only the steering wheel control way more than the separate control handles.

I seldom cut grass, but I use my '87 Snapper Series 6 RER. That thing does not mind cutting across inclines at all, but it does get a little moody going up and down them after a while if the friction drive disc is worn down.
 
Tiger Small Engine said:
Here we go again…Why do you never see steering wheel zero turns (Cub Cadet is the only one), mowing hillsides from lawn services, and only see a real zero turn mowing the hillside? Because a real zero turn is better, faster, more productive, and holds hills better.
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Why the defensiveness? Was my comment some sort of personal insult to you? I don't see lawn services any more, other than the one that does my neighbor's yard, which is pretty flat, so someone else will have to answer your question. I have both types, and there's no comparison. I have a bank next to a road. Mowing across the bank, alongside the road, with the lap-bar ZTR, it crabs across the hill. I have to point it about 30 deg uphill from the direction I want to go. On this bank the steering wheel ZTR goes exactly the direction the front wheels are pointed.

I think many lawn services use stand-on ZTRs, which do much better on hills. The COG on the stand-ons are much closer to the drive wheels than on a standard ZTR. Walker ZTRs are good too on hills, as their COGs are closer to the drive wheels too.
 
GearHead36 said:
Why the defensiveness? Was my comment some sort of personal insult to you? I don't see lawn services any more, other than the one that does my neighbor's yard, which is pretty flat, so someone else will have to answer your question. I have both types, and there's no comparison. I have a bank next to a road. Mowing across the bank, alongside the road, with the lap-bar ZTR, it crabs across the hill. I have to point it about 30 deg uphill from the direction I want to go. On this bank the steering wheel ZTR goes exactly the direction the front wheels are pointed.

I think many lawn services use stand-on ZTRs, which do much better on hills. The COG on the stand-ons are much closer to the drive wheels than on a standard ZTR. Walker ZTRs are good too on hills, as their COGs are closer to the drive wheels too.
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I am not defensive. If a person speaks from years of real experience vs a few personal events, which one tends to hold more weight?

Standers are terrible on hillsides. Worse than the crappy steering wheel Cub Cadet zero turn you like. Some people can’t be convinced. I am done with this topic until it comes up again in a couple of years.
 
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