I've been looking at getting a BX23S as a first time tractor owner. I have quite a bit of hill at behind the house, and I'm looking for a reality check on whether I should be thinking about driving on it. Very little of the discussions I've found about slopes give specific numbers, and most seem more focused on mowing and side-hill angles. I can't see a need to operate on the hill (no mowing, no side-angle), but I would like to be able to work at the bottom once in a while, so I'm really concerned about up/down travel in TLB configuration. You can assume loaded tires or wheel weights.
Assuming prudent operation (ROPS up, belt on, bucket as low as possible, 4WD, drive as straight down and back as straight up as possible, slow and steady operation, ground in decent condition/not wet/slippery, avoiding dips and bumps, etc), how steep is a worry? The manual says
"Stay off hills and slopes too steep for safe operation" but gives no guidance about what constitutes "too steep".
(NOTE: all numbers DEGREES not PERCENT)
So, I was thinking the hill was pretty steep... it sure feels much steeper when walking it! But I just went and measured it using my phone on a 8' 2x4, to approximate the wheel base of the tractor. It's about 15 degrees overall with the steepest 8' section on the main travel route being 17 degrees. One alternate route has a 19 degree maximum over 8'. The steepest 8' section I could find anywhere is 21 degrees, and is not a place I think I'd need to be.
On a scale of 1=No biggie to 10=suicidal, how would you rate this scenario? Thanks!
Assuming prudent operation (ROPS up, belt on, bucket as low as possible, 4WD, drive as straight down and back as straight up as possible, slow and steady operation, ground in decent condition/not wet/slippery, avoiding dips and bumps, etc), how steep is a worry? The manual says
"Stay off hills and slopes too steep for safe operation" but gives no guidance about what constitutes "too steep".
(NOTE: all numbers DEGREES not PERCENT)
So, I was thinking the hill was pretty steep... it sure feels much steeper when walking it! But I just went and measured it using my phone on a 8' 2x4, to approximate the wheel base of the tractor. It's about 15 degrees overall with the steepest 8' section on the main travel route being 17 degrees. One alternate route has a 19 degree maximum over 8'. The steepest 8' section I could find anywhere is 21 degrees, and is not a place I think I'd need to be.
On a scale of 1=No biggie to 10=suicidal, how would you rate this scenario? Thanks!