Cutting slopes

[bertsmobile1]

I think I know what you were trying to say but just in case,,,
The weight distribution on a ZTR is around 20/80 front to back.
If you the do the vector analysis on a 40 deg slope, the center of gravity shifts .
Rear wheels pointing down the hill, gravity is working with you

 

[send2den]

Per Senior Citizen reply. ( Didn't post the quote for some reason)Yeah, that's some good stuff to think about. There's really no sense in me putting myself in that situation. I'm retired and I'm just cutting some yards in my neighborhood for some extra golf money and to basically get me out of the house.lol. It's not like my livelyhood depends on me cutting yards. I DO like cutting grass though and actually thought about getting my own business after I retired form my full time career job. So I don't NEED to cut yards, but I like doing it and I do a pretty good job or so I have been told. Gotta get back to basics though and think about being safer with what I am doing. A 54" zero turn is more machine than I have ever had. Need to get back to respecting what it can and CANNOT do. Thanks for getting me back to "perspective".

 

[send2den]

You may consider adding a weight kit on the back. My z masters have a factory installed weight on the back of them. My 48 inch is better on slopes than any mower I've ever used. Also always mow that yard in the middle of the day after the dew has long gone. If that didn't help I'd think about a small increase and just push mow it. I purchased a 4 wheel drive push mower for extremely steep areas .

Wow, that's wild. A weight kit for the BACK. I would have thought a weight kit would be added to the front. Shows you how much I know on the subject.lol

 

[send2den]

Thanks guys for all the input. After reading your posts and a few other threads here on the subject, I have come to a logical solution for me on the subject. IF, I get this yard again next season (or any others with similar slopes) I'm just gonna add an extra charge to push mow (unless of course the yard is too large to even be logical). I'm getting at an age where I sure in the heck don't need to be flipping over a lawnmower. And it's not like I'm cutting 100 yards a week and need to get em cut as fast as I can. I just have a handful to begin with. That's all I want anyway. Thanks again.

 

[Ric]

The last time I cut it I started at the upper right hand corner, came to the upper left hand corner. 180 and went back and forth until I hit down at the bottom by the sidewalk. It's a long rectangle shape yard that with my 54" takes about 5-6 passes at a turtles pace. I'm done for the year, but if the guy asks me to do it next year, I'm gonna have to change patterns because there are ruts already from previous cutters. Maybe I just have the wrong mower to try and cut that yard. If I use my 21" I'm gonna not create any more ruts, but it will probably take me an additional 15-20 minutes to cut if I had to guesstimate.

Ok, you already stated coming straight down the hill and lost control of the mower and ran right over a utility tower so you've learned about going down hill on a ZTR. You never start at the top of the hill and mow down and never up and down the slope. You start at the bottom of the slope and mow across the slope and at the end of every pass you turn up the slope to make the next pass that way you always have control of the mower/ ZTR. If you ever get to a point where you start mowing more or a number of slopes you may want to consider a Toro Grandstand or some other type of stander which are can handle slopes better and faster than the ZTR.

 

[send2den]

Ok, you already stated coming straight down the hill and lost control of the mower and ran right over a utility tower so you've learned about going down hill on a ZTR. You never start at the top of the hill and mow down and never up and down the slope. You start at the bottom of the slope and mow across the slope and at the end of every pass you turn up the slope to make the next pass that way you always have control of the mower/ ZTR. If you ever get to a point where you start mowing more or a number of slopes you may want to consider a Toro Grandstand or some other type of stander which are can handle slopes better and faster than the ZTR.

Gotcha. That makes sense. That way I'm never pointed downward. Now as far as the ruts and possibility of leaving ruts in the future with that same pattern, do you offset the wheel track from time to time? In other words mow a path that is maybe 1-2 feet higher on the slope than the last time, and stagger that with each cut? This particular yard has a sidewalk bordering at the bottom. so of course I try and start my cut on the edge of the sidewalk, but to offset I now don't leave a fresh cut pattern parallel to the sidewalk. Is that OK? Or do you advocate something else. That's how I started doing it at my house which has one little stretch just like this yard and I noticed I was leaving some semblance of rutting on it by going the same track. That gets tricky too though, as the sidewalk and grass where they meet are at totally different angles. I've tried to cut just a foot or two (that I miss when I offset the cut) from the sidewalk and have scalped it a time or two. So I guess what I'm saying is if I DO offset each time I cut, how do I cut the small patch between the edge of the mower and the sidewalk? I have pushed mowed that small strip before at my house to take care of it and that worked OK. I can push mow it and offset it off of the sidewalk by 21" and then come in with my Hustler, thus getting my wheels on different paths for each subsequent cut. What do you think? Bottom line here though, and I've learned a valuable lesson here, DO NOT turn that zero turn or attempt to cut DOWN a hill. It was amazing that day I hit that box, how little control I had over the mower when it started sliding down toward it. I had a guy tell me I should have throttled it and that would have picked it up and allowed me to gain traction. THAT idea sounded VERY dangerous to me as I would have then had a high rate of speed going down to the road AFTER I jumped over the sidewalk.LOL. Had to think about that one.

 

[Ric]

Gotcha. That makes sense. That way I'm never pointed downward. Now as far as the ruts and possibility of leaving ruts in the future with that same pattern, do you offset the wheel track from time to time? In other words mow a path that is maybe 1-2 feet higher on the slope than the last time, and stagger that with each cut?
This particular yard has a sidewalk bordering at the bottom. so of course I try and start my cut on the edge of the sidewalk, but to offset I now don't leave a fresh cut pattern parallel to the sidewalk. Is that OK? Or do you advocate something else.
That's how I started doing it at my house which has one little stretch just like this yard and I noticed I was leaving some semblance of rutting on it by going the same track. That gets tricky too though, as the sidewalk and grass where they meet are at totally different angles. I've tried to cut just a foot or two (that I miss when I offset the cut) from the sidewalk and have scalped it a time or two.
So I guess what I'm saying is if I DO offset each time I cut, how do I cut the small patch between the edge of the mower and the sidewalk? I have pushed mowed that small strip before at my house to take care of it and that worked OK. I can push mow it and offset it off of the sidewalk by 21" and then come in with my Hustler, thus getting my wheels on different paths for each subsequent cut.
What do you think? Bottom line here though, and I've learned a valuable lesson here, DO NOT turn that zero turn or attempt to cut DOWN a hill. It was amazing that day I hit that box, how little control I had over the mower when it started sliding down toward it. I had a guy tell me I should have throttled it and that would have picked it up and allowed me to gain traction. THAT idea sounded VERY dangerous to me as I would have then had a high rate of speed going down to the road AFTER I jumped over the sidewalk.LOL. Had to think about that one.

Always turn up a hill or slope or hill with a ztr it's the only way to keep control of the mower. I've always found that when turning up the slope so the mower is pointed up the hill then reverse the inside tire backing up to line up the next pass works good for me. Another thing to remember if you ever get anywhere around ponds is to put a mower width between you and the pond for a safe zone. I seen a guy lose control of ztr on slopes and end up in a pond and talk about funny, all you could see was the rops in the water.
AS far as ruts go you should be able to offset like you said but I think every couple of times would be sufficient. You shouldn't have to offset every time. If you have two mowers of different sizes you can also alternate mowers, I often use or alternate between the ztr and stander. For me the 36" Grandstand is what I use on slopes or hillsides and for clients who love to water every night. It has a far lighter foot print than ztr. What I have found a lot of businesses are doing or have started using here when they run into pond areas or slopes is either the Toro Turfmaster or Exmark 30" cut push mowers, they do a good job and cost a lot less and it still keeps up there productivity.
There is a good rule of thumb to follow for doing slopes with a ztr mower and that rule is if you can't back up the slope without spinning a or the tires you don't belong on that slope with that mower.

 

[send2den]

Always turn up a hill or slope or hill with a ztr it's the only way to keep control of the mower. I've always found that when turning up the slope so the mower is pointed up the hill then reverse the inside tire backing up to line up the next pass works good for me. Another thing to remember if you ever get anywhere around ponds is to put a mower width between you and the pond for a safe zone. I seen a guy lose control of ztr on slopes and end up in a pond and talk about funny, all you could see was the rops in the water.
AS far as ruts go you should be able to offset like you said but I think every couple of times would be sufficient. You shouldn't have to offset every time. If you have two mowers of different sizes you can also alternate mowers, I often use or alternate between the ztr and stander. For me the 36" Grandstand is what I use on slopes or hillsides and for clients who love to water every night. It has a far lighter foot print than ztr. What I have found a lot of businesses are doing or have started using here when they run into pond areas or slopes is either the Toro Turfmaster or Exmark 30" cut push mowers, they do a good job and cost a lot less and it still keeps up there productivity.
There is a good rule of thumb to follow for doing slopes with a ztr mower and that rule is if you can't back up the slope without spinning a or the tires you don't belong on that slope with that mower.

WOW. I had no idea they had pushmowers that wide. Pretty steep price for them babies too. $1700-$2000 for a new one. Is that correct? How about a walk behind Exmark? I see quite a few of those in the 36-42" range w/o sulkeys. How do they act on slopes?

 

[Ric]

WOW. I had no idea they had pushmowers that wide. Pretty steep price for them babies too. $1700-$2000 for a new one. Is that correct? How about a walk behind Exmark? I see quite a few of those in the 36-42" range w/o sulkeys. How do they act on slopes?

Yeah the 30" mower carry a pretty steep price, I gave $1699 for my Turf-Master but it was well worth the price and it's funny you should talk about the 36-42" walk behinds because that's what I replaced with the Turf-Master. The difference in productivity between the Turf-Master and my 36" walk behind was near nothing. The TM weighs less the half of the WB and it's more maneuverable than the WB and the best part there less than half the price. The TM and Exmark both have a 1 gal tank and easy on gas which is nice and like the bigger mowers they actually have a air and oil filter to change which is a plus and it's a Twin Blade mower. It's a sweet addition for any lawn service because you always run into those clients that don't want the big ztr on there lawn or would prefer to have there lawn pushed and with the 30" you save a lot of time and work over the old 21".

 

[SeniorCitizen]

It would be interesting to compare the grade or degree of slope on that lawn to the recommendation in the operator's manual of your mower that had the run away down hill. I'm curious to what degree one can go over the recommended before the excitement begins.