TheOldHokie
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
L3901/LA525, B7200DT/B1630, G2160/RCK60, G2460/RCK60
Based on the photos your property has a varied slope. Some of it may be too steep to navigate with anything..Wow – there is a ton of useful information here. Thank you all for the replies.
It's surprising to me, but predicted above, that after going outside and actually measuring the slope, it's less than I had thought. There's no single plane/grade here, with larger-scale "mounds" and "bowls" coupled with smaller-scale ruts and uneven ground, but I came up with a maximum of about 18 degrees in the worst the places that I'm concerned about (there are other spots that are up to 28 deg, but those are narrower sections that are impractical to get at due to our current fencing).
So it sounds pretty clearly like the B2601 isn't an obviously terrible idea in the hands of a first time owner who is generally cautious and understands that riding along hills is dangerous. I'm still a bit apprehensive given that it seems unavoidable in practice on these contours to end up off of the straight-up-and-down paths, but I'm also hearing that some of that is likely going to be fine. I'm also thinking it might be a good idea to try smooth out the surface on the small-scale to make it safer/more predictable, but possibly with some kind of walk-behind equipment to avoid a chicken-and-egg problem...
RE: skipping the MMM for a zero turn or a riding mower, I've thought about it for the flat stuff, but I've not heard great things about reliability/longevity with them (I've never owned either before...), and I'd still need to brush hog the hilly stuff from the pictures. I think the zero turn is a stretch for our place, as the "flat" stuff I've referred to is only sorta "flat," none of it is "smooth" (it's currently pretty easy to turn an ankle on all the ruts, although I recognize that I can spend the time to fix that) and at least half an acre of it is still sloped in some direction. Frankly, after having suggested a riding mower for finish work to my wife a while back, that's still her preference. I imagine that I'd end up spending more in the long run with that option (operation and maintenance and presumably replacement at some point), but I acknowledge it would surely be faster. It's still a possibility.ercial
I drive sidehill all of the time. Straight up and down 100% of the time is simply not practical. The trick is knowing what is safely navigable and what is not. That comes with time and experience.
A commercial diesel garden tractor like my G series will last decades but they are 5 figure purchases. Do not confuse them with the machines you see at HD and Lowes. A good diesel zero turn os even more capable and expensive.
A B series is not too large for your needs - if anything it is undersize.
Good luck. You will learn a lot in short order once you start taking care of that property. You might want to start witj a nice used BX to get a feel for the job. That will be a good fit for much of what you need and give you some perspective on the larger machine you will surely need to go with it. Resist the temptation to buy a cheap 2wd lawn tractor. It won't do the job and you will be trying to make it work under unsafe conditions. BTDT.
Dan