Better Tires For Slope Operation....

[577jersey]

So far I really like my mower but I have a few lawns that have decent size slopes on them.

The tires that came stock on my mower(HRSD) are 20x12.00x10 Grass Master brand,,they are great tires but they do slide on some slopes especially if the slope is on a downhill,,then the high side tire will break free and I slide down to the bottom.

I dropped air pressure from 12 psi to 8 psi,,now the side wall is slightly bellied,,seems to hold them a bit better especially if there is a little bit of moisture.

The grass polishes the rubber on my tires and the tread is so wide they slide....don’t get me wrong,,i have no problem holding 25-40 degree banks at times,,but a few of my lawns are pretty hairy and i would like to see if you guys recommend a tire that would be a bit more aggressive on slopes..years ago I had a Exmark Turf Ranger 60" and I think it had Carlisle turf Tamers or something like that,,they had nice tread with cuts at the top and boy that machine would hold a bank like no tomorrow.Wish I could find that tire again..that was in the 90s.

I do understand that a more aggressive tire will tear up the turf faster so Ill really have to be on my game with a smooth 3 pt. turn.

Thanks for any replies,,
Happy Pappy to all you gentleman out there!!!

Tommy

 

[bertsmobile1]

:welcome:

Go to a retailes of ATV's
They have a much better range of agressive tyres in similar sizes.
Mower tyres are designed to leave no trace of themselves on the cut grass.
Over the years they have been getting less & less grippy

 

[577jersey]

:welcome:

Go to a retailes of ATV's
They have a much better range of agressive tyres in similar sizes.
Mower tyres are designed to leave no trace of themselves on the cut grass.
Over the years they have been getting less & less grippy

I will research that,,thanks Bert!!

Tom

 

[kraky]

I'm a big guy at 280 pounds.... and with very little front weight and most of my carcass being towards the rear I was amazed at how easy my raptor SD still slid around.
This summer I upgraded to a fast-track and can't believe how much nicer it is regarding sliding. I figured it would leave more marks on the grass when I did my turns but it actually left less.... I can't figure out why.
The only thing I can figure out about the raptor SD being so easy to slide is it's got so much rubber the PSI per square inch of ground contact must be pretty light?
I almost bought another raptor SD but decided to try the fast track instead and I can't believe how much nicer it is and I'm glad I spent the extra $ 2000.

 

[577jersey]

I'm a big guy at 280 pounds.... and with very little front weight and most of my carcass being towards the rear I was amazed at how easy my raptor SD still slid around.
This summer I upgraded to a fast-track and can't believe how much nicer it is regarding sliding. I figured it would leave more marks on the grass when I did my turns but it actually left less.... I can't figure out why.
The only thing I can figure out about the raptor SD being so easy to slide is it's got so much rubber the PSI per square inch of ground contact must be pretty light?
I almost bought another raptor SD but decided to try the fast track instead and I can't believe how much nicer it is and I'm glad I spent the extra $ 2000.

I am looking at the ferris,,they have the 3100 drives for $4999..I will get 10 MPH also...its either that or the Fast Track next,,but if the Ferris is $1000 cheaper and a good machine I may just get it!

The Fast Track has taller tires I believe,,what size tires are on that?

 

[kraky]

Wow that sounds pretty good for$ 4999. Our Ferris dealer is about 25 miles away but he sells a quite a bit of stuff around here. If I remember from looking at the ferris lineup they use a quite a few B & S cyclone Motors.... not sure if they're good bad or in between. I have to go look to see what size tires are on my Fast Track but they are definitely taller but narrower than the SD.
I think a lot of these 5 to $6,000 units are on pretty equal footing it all comes down to how good your dealer is and how many they sell so you can feel pretty good that he might have some parts on hand.... or may have sorted through problems that may come up in the future on your unit before.

 

[577jersey]

Wow that sounds pretty good for$ 4999. Our Ferris dealer is about 25 miles away but he sells a quite a bit of stuff around here. If I remember from looking at the ferris lineup they use a quite a few B & S cyclone Motors.... not sure if they're good bad or in between. I have to go look to see what size tires are on my Fast Track but they are definitely taller but narrower than the SD.
I think a lot of these 5 to $6,000 units are on pretty equal footing it all comes down to how good your dealer is and how many they sell so you can feel pretty good that he might have some parts on hand.... or may have sorted through problems that may come up in the future on your unit before.

Yes sir,,the taller and narrower tires do better on slopes,,they cut in a bit more,,and being taller they have a better ride...I have a 48" belt walk behind that sticks to the slopes like velcro..it has pretty small tires..lol

 

[kraky]

Many years ago we sold a lawn tractor to an older fellow that had a property along a highway with a pretty sharp ditch. One day he came into our shop just smiling saying he had gone down to the local Fleet Farm and got rid of his turf tires and got some kind of an ATV balloon tire with sort of a tractor lug on it. He said you should see what I can do on the Hills now. Then he wanted to know how to unhook his seat safety switch. I wouldn't show him or tell him ...I said if you can't keep at least one butt cheek on your seat you're really playing with fire on that ditch. He wasn't really thrilled but he wasn't really mad when he left either. About two weeks later he was in ordering a new hood and steering wheel.... he looked at the floor and said I wished I would have listened to you. I didn't ask him what all happened but he got away without hurting himself....except a hit to the pride.

 

[577jersey]

Many years ago we sold a lawn tractor to an older fellow that had a property along a highway with a pretty sharp ditch. One day he came into our shop just smiling saying he had gone down to the local Fleet Farm and got rid of his turf tires and got some kind of an ATV balloon tire with sort of a tractor lug on it. He said you should see what I can do on the Hills now. Then he wanted to know how to unhook his seat safety switch. I wouldn't show him or tell him ...I said if you can't keep at least one butt cheek on your seat you're really playing with fire on that ditch. He wasn't really thrilled but he wasn't really mad when he left either. About two weeks later he was in ordering a new hood and steering wheel.... he looked at the floor and said I wished I would have listened to you. I didn't ask him what all happened but he got away without hurting himself....except a hit to the pride.

Yeah,I don’t recommend jumping out the safety switches but each to their own,,it is a huge PITA to keep slamming the PTO clutch all day long every-time you jump up to open a gate,grab garbage, or move a branch....if you where to roll the mower down a bank and your foot got under it,,the blades will probably still be spinning either way,,especially if the seat hits the ground a few times on the way.

 

[MO_Hacker]

I am looking at the ferris,,they have the 3100 drives for $4999..I will get 10 MPH also...its either that or the Fast Track next,,but if the Ferris is $1000 cheaper and a good machine I may just get it!

The Fast Track has taller tires I believe,,what size tires are on that?

I'm pretty sure they are 3400 drives, I've been looking at the IS 600Z, trying to convince myself that I need it. It's way too much mower for what I'm doing, lol.