Mowing steep hills

[Mark]

I just went and bid a job that pays well,but have never mowed anything so steep, 40 degree angles.Im plan to use a walk-behind 52 It is around 2 acers. Could use some advice on this job.I think if i stay sideways i won't tip over. I told the man ill try it and see what happens.<p>----------<br>Mark's Mowing Service<br>

[Lazer]

Mark, our WB mowers will hold hills that we have difficulty walking across. So, I think your #1 concern would be your own footing, not the mowers. I would look into getting some of those tree-climbers spikes for your shoes.<p>As far as the actual mowing patterns, I hope you aren't expected to make stripes or cross-cut. You mow across the hill and the following week move over 12-20&quot; so your wheels are always on a different track.<p>Good luck when it's wet!

[geogunn]

lazer knows what he's talking about. no way you are gonna tip a 52&quot; walk behind over. unless maybe it's sliding sideways and the down hill tire sticks in a rut on the way down.<p>why don't you give this one a courtesy cut (I hate working for free so I'd suggest some other arangement) and see how it goes?<p>it seemed for a while that all of my cuts were &quot;steep as a horses face&quot;. good luck.<p>GEO

[Evan528]

i have several lawns that have have about 45degree angle hills. because i am so spoiled with big machinery i insist on leaving the lawnboy in the truck when at all possible. i ussually cut those hills with my 36inch gravely wich is not the best on hills. in the summer when the grass starts to dry out aand ruts start to form i ussually weedwacking the hills for the rest of the year. (faster than lawnboying it) though i am not a scag lover i have used them and they seem to do better on hills than any other walkbehind i have usewd.

[Charles]

I cut this type inclines with my big kubota belly mower. Took me awhile and many hebejebes to get use to. I just go side to side

[southside]

The big walk behinds look pretty stable.<br>I think your biggest worry will be falling<br>arse over head down the hill. I call those<br>sites &quot;Elvis jobs&quot; because if you screw up<br>you'll end up playing cards with Elvis. :)<br>Good luck.

[Lazer]

I don't mean to nit-pick, but 40 degree slope is extremely steep, 45- that's pushing it.<p>For reference: A sand dune has a maximum steepness of 34 degrees, at which point the sand &quot;flows&quot; down.<br>

[osc]

Do not try to mow this slope with a belt driven machine. Hydro is the only way to go on steep slopes. When making turns always keep your weight below the machine. We use 61&quot; wb's on some very steep slopes. Check out the bottom of the slope and get an idea of how you are going to control a slide in the event you lose control. If there is water or a road or some dangerous obstacle to crash into then you may want to turn the job down. If the bottom of the slope levels out into more lawn then the only thing you will probably tear up is the turf on the slope. Finally, is the slope smooth or is it rough with a lot of crevices and knobs? Smoother is much better. Expect to lose control of your machine every once in a while.<p>P.S. The oil pick-up inside your engine has no baffle to catch oil when it is slung against the side of the engine, so you may burn up your motor.

[gene gls]

Do you guys measure the slope to determin the pitch or just eye ball it?

[Hardy Enterprises]

Sounds like there eyeballing to me. My house has an 8/12 roof pitch which calculates out to be 33 degrees. It is about all you can do stand up with out slipping and shingles have more friction than grass.<p>Jay

[little green guy]

I cut some realy steep hills that are hard to even walk on with a 52 scag hydro and it works pretty good. I've seen people trying to cut hills about the as the ones i do with a belt drive and i thought i was going to have to call 911.

[lawngator]

I have an account with a very steep front yard (40 - 45 deg). I use a 36&quot; wb and take my time and have never had a problem. I cut every direction, even cross-cut. The most important thing is not to get in a hurry and THINK about what your doing. Price the job higher due to difficulty and extra time. Good luck, Bill<br>

[Keith]

Daytona International Speedway - Banking 31 degrees<p>Bristol Motor Speedway - Banking 36 degrees<p>When the cars are on these bankings they look like they are at 90 degrees. I wouldn't want to mow anything much steeper :)

[smithf36]

Would a 36&quot; Toro work well on slopes. How does the T-bar handle on slopes. I am considering purchasing one and the primary reason is that my 54&quot; JD won't fit in some of the areas. Thanks,<br>Joe

[fireball]

drop a goat off now and pick him up in October when it stops growing. Use a steel chain and a good collar. Every two days bring a bucket of water and a handful of feed and move him. He'll probably be your best employee this year.

[little green guy]

haha, I think i'll try that. Anybody know where i can get one? I don't think my dealer carries them.

[Lazer]

Anybody ever use a flymo with a rope attached to stand at the top of the hill and let it down and mow extreme slopes that way?

[lawnforce1]

We have a few apartment complexes that have really steep hills that I have seriously thought about chaining a goat or two on. My partner looks at me as if I am daft when I say that. I have found that our '52 Scag hydro does it best at speed #1. The JD belt drive 48 makes my skin crawl while I mow those hills. The 22 pusher just dies out from the oil running over. Another thing I use, golf shoes. Go to a discount shoe store (rackroom) and get some $30 Nike golf shoes with turf saver spikes. No sliding here!

[gene gls]

I was stationed at Fort Lewis,Washington. The Olympia Brewery was our favorite hang out at the end of the month and they used push mowers ,with out the handles, tied to ropes to mow the steep banks at the front entry way.They had 4 of them along the bank.I never did ask how long it took but knew that I didn't want to try it.

[cjcland]

when i first started mowing when i was 18 i worked at cypress gardens and there were some steep slopes with water at the bottom, we used the push mowers with rope it worked good but took a while one thing we had was lots of labor there were usually 4-5 of us doing it, good luck and be carefull<p>----------<br>CJC Landscape Management<br>Winter Haven, Florida

[AlpineLandscpMaint]

Had to put in my 2 cents..I just bid and got a 2.5 acre renovated school thats now apartments. Southside of property is 40ft by 248 ft. hill. Angle is about 20 degrees increasing to about 45 at the other end. Never let your confidence overtake common sence. My new Lazer HP 48&quot; deck did not like the idea of this at all. I finally listened to it, after sliding off about 6 times, never hit anything, just dumb luck. Got out my 21&quot; honda masters and finished it alot better. I just wanted to pass this on to anybody, It is not worth destroying your mower or putting your life in danger just for a buck or because you think you should be able to climb those hills. Its going to take me alittle longer now, but I was high in my bid anyways, so I'll still come out just fine. Besides the wife says shes ready to come help with the work, Have I got a job for her!!

[DTM65]

Here's an interesting article that I found in the May 2000 issue of Popular Science...<p>UPHILL BATTLE<br>To most people, hills look a lot steeper than they really are. Just ask University of Virginia psycology professor Dennis Proffitt.<br>He recruited students to guess at the slant of two hills, one with a 10-degree incline and the other with a 5-degree. The students estimated the hills to be about 30 degrees and 20 degrees, respectively, and were shocked to learn the truth.<br>Exaggerations are beneficial, Proffitt says. &quot;They help people pace themselves when ascending hills and may even prevent people from undertaking climbs that would be too difficult.&quot;<p>----------<br>D. Tom<br>

[geogunn]

DTM...--right you are about people not being able to assign a degree angle or percent slope to a grade.<p>thats not the real point! the point is there are some very steep angles that I can cut with my walk behind mower, but when it makes a slip then gravity takes over and down the hill we go!<p>grass will grow where only the foolish try to mow!!! HOOOONNNEEEE...HAVE YOU SEEN MY SPIKES???<p>please, lets all be careful on hills!<p>GEO

[steveair]

cjc,<p>I was in england a few years ago and that technique with the push mowers and rope is what they used to mow all those old, partially dried out 'motes' around the castles out there. Only thing, there was only one guy doing it. I felt sorry for him.<p>Also, England and Europe are the kings (well not kings, were better of course.....) of hill mowing. They seem to use a lot of tractors with arm mowers, like the state uses on highway shoulders. Also use them on all those hedges they have out there. (just a little off topic note)<p>steveair<br><p><font size="1">Edited by: steveair

[Ken Raney]

Hustler has a new Hydro WalkBehind that has 18&quot; drive tires. You can even run 11&quot; wide knobbies. It really holds a slope well.<p>A little slope info you might find helpful: few slopes are greater than 35 degrees. In fact dirt will not pile at much more than that. To prove this, just take a bucket of dirt and pour it on a flat surface. It will be about 30 degrees. Most hiway interchanges are built to a 2:1 or 25.6 degree specification or less.

[Charles]

I wouldn't use a Exmark lazor on a steep slope if you risk death or injury if you do slide

[geogunn]

charles...can you please explain?! thanks!<p>GEO

[Charles]

Geo, I am saying that i was working on a slope near a retaining wall 5 ft off a drive. Made the mistake of aiming the lazer toward the wall. Damn thing started sliding. I was just creeping along. Don't know which arm was pushing or pulling. Heading right for that drop off Luckily the deck caught on a stump. The I stopped raised the deck over the stump and turned to the right and got out of it. Anyway their are many examples of people on here sliding with the zeros. Off of curbs etc. I was just saying don't work on a slope near a cliff with a z. The owners manuel warns you about zs and slopes<br><p><font size="1">Edited by: Charles

[Keith]

Exact same thing happened to me. The wall actually stuck up a couple of inches beyond the ground in a couple of places and stopped the mower.

[fdew]

I ran across a web site for the most unique tractor I have ever seen. Among other things like front and back 3 pt hitch, front or rear or 4 wheel steering ETC. The add says it is a great machine for mowing hills including SKI SLOPES! (It is made in Switzerland) Here are some links to get started.<br>http://www.aebi-us.com/tt70/tt70-3.htm<br>http://www.aebi-us.com/tt70/tt70-4.htm<br>Quoting now. &quot; Mowing on steep slopes is no problem, even at an incline of 60-65%!&quot; Note that is % not Degree.