Rider or Self Propelled Walk for Slopes

13 years ago

This seems to be an age old question but I can't find any good info out there. I have a fully exposed basement so both sides of the yard are about 15-20 degree slopes.

First I start with Home Depot. They say I can easily get a $1500 price point JD for the slopes. I'm thinking I'm set.

Then I go to demo a comparable model at a dealer and he says I need to get a $3000 price point model as they have stronger transmissions. He said if I get an entry level rider the tranny will blow out in a few years going up and down those slopes.

Now I'm thing $3000 for a rider to cut grass on a .5 acre...probably only 1/3 acre after you factor in the house, the drive and the landscape beds.

Now I start looking at these 34" self propelled walkers from Gravely ($1500 price point). Looks promising but the dealer tells me they can be a pain to put in and out of forward and reverse for smaller areas because of the size of the mower(think about mowing around the AC, the deck, the corners of the garage and all around the house).

Now I'm back to the basic self-propelled mower, like a Toro personal pace mower ($400 price point). Looks like it might do the trick as its light enough to make it up the hills. But they don't have reverse. So people complain about pivoting and the pull action as they are a tank to move manually.

I am so confused as to what to purchase here. Any thoughts?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (18)

rustyj14
13 years ago
Go hire a man with a Bob-cat, and have him dig down that 15 degree slope beside your walls, to a more manageable slope, clean up the concrete block walls, and use a regular rider, or walk behind type to mow the new grass you will plant there. I use a Snapper Hi-vac Rider on my hilly/sloped yards, and it never complains about steep slopes. It will rear up on a hill with a full bagger, if you "pop" the clutch, which the instructions warn against doing, but normal kinds of low angle slopes don't faze it. I've used mine for about 35-40 years and it hasn't "got" me yet. And, my slopes are better than 20 degrees.
tomplum
13 years ago
Safety, maneuverability and lubrication ... You'll note that the rider manuafactures don't give their blessing for too much of a slope. I haven't used the gravely, but generally like mid size walk behinds for their maneuverability. Time to try some things out. Local rental store?
Related Discussions
What to get? Self Propelled? Riding? Zero Turn?
Q
Comments (15)
level ground less than 1/3 acre? Just get you a cheap push mower 22" from walmart or honda or toro self=propelled if you think you can't push it. Really No self propelled needed, can push that in probably less than half hour and it's good excerise. Self-propped just adds weight and more things to break not needed in your case with level ground. I wouldn't mow when the grass is wet usually early mornings in spring and fall dew. Mid to late mornings or late evenings in summer. Spring and fall Late morning and early afternoon. I would multch and not bag. If you bag you have to get rid of the grass clippings, if you just mow the exit shut may leave rows of grass depending on how often you mow. IF you multch you want to cut the grass maximum 1/3. SO this maybe once week or maybe twice in early summer when the grass really grows. Grass needs about 1" water once week. Along with push mower you will need sprinkler and hoses when it don't rain. You will also need to feed it, control weeds, and sometimes down the road insects...Start reading up now so you won't be in over your head. Not that hard millions of people do it with little or no knowledge. One last thing NO KIDS in the yard or immediate area while mowing. Beware mowing with the exit shut torwards the street or at someone, the mower can throw a rock or metal object at high rate of speed. Fast enough to break windows, dent cars and injury walkers. So if you don't multch using the exit shut 98% of the time the exit shut cover will direct the clipping downward and anything else coming out. It's away good idea to look over your yards for anything that's not grass, like papers, toys, trash, ect... if you mow over these it will make mess and may damage you blade. Notice I said blade? No need for two or more with such small yard. If you think your in over your head watch some Ytube video's on servicing, starting, using push mowers. Unless you get elect. You need to check the oil and gas before use and inspect for loose hardware. Mowers vibrate and can shake hardware, screws, nuts & bolts loose. Ok enough I think you get the picture?? more to it than just pulling the rope and walking off.
...See More
Rider or Self-Propelled? - Help me pick !!
Q
Comments (8)
I have 1/2 acre, half of which is wooded. Like yours, the other half contains the house and driveway. I also have narrow natural strips on each side and a 15'-wide cut slope in front which is mulched and planted. Other than that I also maintain grass in the ditch and street shoulder at the bottom of the cut slope. I only have walk-behind mowers. A rider would definitely be impractical for me. By the time I cut what I could get to with the rider, put it away and get the trim mower, I could have cut the whole yard with the mower. I can cut the whole thing including blowing off any stray clippings in about 40 minutes. Even if the 1/4 acre you will cut were in a square of 105' on each side with no cut-ins or push-pulls, it probably would be overkill to have a rider, and no doubt such is not the case. You probably have a lot of maneuvering to do even with a walk-behind mower, which would be my main criterum. This really doesn't leave much for your rider to do. OTOH, you already own it. I might keep it if I were you. You never know what uses you might find for it. I can't advise on that because I've never owned or used a rider. Like LarryF, I'd say to take it with you and decide after a year whether to get rid of it or not.
...See More
Self-propelled Toro, Lawn Boy, Honda, or JD?
Q
Comments (13)
What about Snapper, they have 2 different walk behind mower lines now. Their top of the line seems nearly identical to mowers they were making decades ago. Everything seems old time heavy duty. Which leads to a few big positives. Reliable proven design, dependable, and when yo do need a part chances are it will be available. (A problem I had with a 10 yr old Murray, sure those generic parts are available at big retailers, as well as some parts for more recent models, but they like to keep you buying new equipment every few years.) Plus they are mostly sold at dealers who are also service shops. When you need your mower serviced, the big retailer wont be the one you bring it to. Look at many of the mowers they have discounted in their discount area. Usually the ones returned for one reason or another often with the sticker of the local repair shop that serviced the machine. Snappers other line is new and designed and priced to compete with mowers sold at the big retailers. Im not sure about the dependability, but if you are using them with different teen operators and on Camp sized property with hills and such with enough area needed mow that two mowers would be needed to cut it quickly then it may be wise to purchase from an authorized service / dealer like Snapper. And the prices online at Snapper are suggested list only. When I got my new Snapper I had moved from a flat 7000 sq ft lawn to a sloped 20,000 sq ft lawn. Considering I had 3 times the amount of lawn, I definetly wanted self propelled, mulching, and a high quality motor. So I picked the old style Snapper mulching deck with the 6hp Kawasaki engine that is used on many commercial models for $599 , $100 under list without bargaining. If I had gone with the standard B&S engine it probably would have been closer to the price of the Deere yout mentioning since the mulch only B&S Snapper is listed at $499 and your planning to get two so you could probably get a nice deal. Ariens also makes a nice mower I was considering, but the Ariens dealer wasnt as close as my local Snapper dealer. Also considering the other equpiment you have it would be even more of a reason for me to buy from a Dealer / Service shop as opposed to a big retailer.
...See More
21" self-propelled, which has most reliable drive system?
Q
Comments (12)
Check out the Toro 22156. Its expensive but worth it. I doubt if there is a finer mower. Anyway, going back to your question of differences in drives for pulling back, I can speak only of the Toro drives. The Variable Speed is best at this because it is bail-control. When you let go of the bail, the drive belt is loosened and the wheels are completely released. To drive, you can feather the bail to go as slow as you want or hold it tight for top speed. Personal Pace, while mechanically similar to Variable Speed, is not my personal favorite mainly because it tends to not release when you stop the mower and then the wheels drag when you pull it back. The procedure is to stop walking but let the mower coast ahead about 12" with the sliding handle all the way up, which releases the wheels for pull back. You can learn to do that, but there are mowing conditions in most yards where you'll have some close-quarter back-and-forth; this is where you might start disliking PP very much, because there may not be room to disengage the wheels, so you end up dragging the mower back. This is particularly unpleasant when pulling back against a slope. Also, going uphill, you feel like you're pushing the mower instead of it pulling you. Even so, many people love PP, and I have to admit it is a huge success for Toro. This drive was actually developed by Lawn-Boy before Toro bought them. I think they called it 'Automatic Drive'. The top handle slides up and down. Keeping your arms stiff, you walk forward, which puts pressure on the handle, which slides down, and through the operation of a bellcrank, tightens the drive cable, tilting back the transmission driven pulley, which tightens the drive belt, driving the mower. The belt is designed to constantly slip but belts last a very long time. Variable Speed is essentially the same except it has a conventional bail control to tighten the cable. I have one Variable Speed mower, a 10684 (2004) that has the original belt. My other mower, the original Lawn-Boy version of the Toro 22156 is a 2007 and still has its original belt too.
...See More
whaas_5a
Original Author
13 years ago
I continued to make phone calls and everyone was in agreement regarding maneuverability on the wide area walks but couldn't necessarily recomend them for slopes. Some said it was overkill for the amount of land I have.

I may still go to a few dealer/rental locations to demo some units.

Otherwise for 21/22 self propelled mower I'm going to go with one of these models. Not sure which route I should take. I have some loyalty towards Briggs products and I see some comments about the Honda engine being a gas guzzler.

Honda HRR216K5VKA
Toro 20099
tomplum
13 years ago
Safety, maneuverability and lubrication ... You'll note that the rider manuafactures don't give their blessing for too much of a slope. I haven't used the gravely, but generally like mid size walk behinds for their maneuverability. Time to try some things out. Local rental store?
tomplum
13 years ago
Hmmm, reset the tubes and it posted twice... I hadn't heard that on the Honda. The Kohler Courage is basically a Honda Clone in my book. Given my druthers, I'd buy a Honda engine 1st. On the Personal Pace drive. I love them, BUT slopes do take some getting used to. IE if you are mowing up a slope, you may have to nudge the machine ahead slightly to disengage the wheel clutches. What tees me off about Honda drives are things like cables and belts are much harder to service than they need to be. Both are great quality mowers however.
whaas_5a
Original Author
13 years ago
I'm tooling through all the reviews on the Toro and Honda I mentioned trying to find consistency on what folks don't like.

For some reason Home Depot says the Toro is good for flat areas with obstacles and the Honda is good for sloped areas with obstacles, yet neither mfg makes this claim.

When you say nudge the machine, are you saying you have to give it a little extra jolt to get it going up the slope?

I remember the Snapper self propelled unit I had with front wheel drive...holy jeez was that thing terrible. The wheels would just spin and I ended up putting forth more effort pushing this tank rather than using a standard light weight mower.

I think the experience with that Snapper has me skeptical.
roadbike
13 years ago
You are dealing with lawnmower salsemen who have one goal in mind - maximizing their commission.

For a .33 acre lawn just get a Toro Super Recycler or the Honda equivalent with a splash lubricated motor. Either one will have plenty of pulling power and a strong transmission that will mow your lawn for decades. I like the Toro Personal Pace drive for it's rugged simple design and easy to use controls.

There is no need to spend extra for a commercial lawn mower or one with a so-called pressure lubricated engine for mowing on a hill. Splash lubricated engines are designed to run well on a wide variety of terrains and they have proven to be a very reliable cost-effective lawnmower powerplant. The Toro or Honda motor should run for 3 decades or more with only normal maintenance.
whaas_5a
Original Author
13 years ago
Do you think the Toro or Honda would be better for stop and pull action? (ie for mowering in and around things)
tomplum
13 years ago
I certainly like the controls of a Personal Pace better than the Honda. The nudge comes in when the operator backs off the drive handle, it must roll ahead just a touch for the wheel clutches to release.
roadbike
13 years ago
I would pick the Toro Super Recycler, because I find the controls to be intuitively easy to use. Realize that there are two series of Toro mower. The Recycler, which is sold by Home Depot, etc., and the Super Recycler sold by dealers. Although the rear wheel drive Recycler series are certainly good mechines in my opinion the Super Recycler machines are worth the extra $100.00 or so.
whaas_5a
Original Author
13 years ago
I almost want to get the Toro just because of the BS stunt Honda pulls with the same mower @ Home Depot ($399) vs. the dealer channel ($479). They add the "K5" for the dealers yet they are the same spec. Do they do this to confuse the consumers? I confirmed the spec with Honda.

They should at least have the decency to have a viable dealer channel strategy.

What are the true advantages of the Super Recycler vs the Recycler?

1) 5 vs. 3 year warranty
2) Free blade sharpening for 5 years
3) ?
4) ?
tomplum
13 years ago
Super Recyclers are sturdier, have better drive axle componants plus have lubeable wheel attachment arms to start with. Side by side, it is easy to see the better value in the SR vs the "tin lizzy". The points you mentioned are appealing, but the truth is you will likely not ever use the warranty. It's good to have but... Shops I know include sharpening in the preventive maintenance package- so if you have your maintenance done it may not be extra anyways.
whaas_5a
Original Author
13 years ago
You have been extremely helpful. Thansk for the feedback.

One last question. I haven't read any Honda reviews regarding its ability to climb slopes but I've found a couple negative reviews regarding the Toro and slopes.

You always have to take reivews with a grain of salt BUT I'm skeptical because Home Depot does list the Honda for hilly terrain and they list Toro for flat terrain. At that point I start to question it.
roadbike
13 years ago
I have a steep hill on one side of the house. The Super Recycler has no problem asending the hill with a full bag of grass. The only time you could encounter a problem climbing a hill would be if the drive was out of adjustment. But that will happen with any lawn mower.

The Super Recycler is a much better mower for the reasons tomplum mentioned. It is designed to run for 3 decades with only normal maintenance. What you will find with less expensive box store models is that after several years controls will start to break, transmissiotn will have problems, wheels will loosen, etc.

If you decide to go with a box store mower be sure to get one with rear and not front wheel drive.
Greensideup77
13 years ago
Here's just a suggestion. Not all ground is best suited for lawn grass as a cover due to man hours and cost to maintain and just plain physical difficulty. Is it possible to use another form of ground cover that is best suited for your climate? I would reccomend Asian Jasimen or a low growing juniper to cover the ground and save you tons of money and work. Both are easy to maintain.
wendell_hollt_gmail_com
12 years ago
After three years my Toro is junk. Never again.
whaas_5a
Original Author
12 years ago
I ended up getting a Snapper with rear wheel drive. I don't have the model off hand but it works like a dream.

The dealer I went to said I'd be fighting with the push pull of the Toro on the slopes and didn't recommend it. I actually went to him to buy it.

He pointed out this newer model of a Snapper that had the smoothest push pull action of any mower I tried.

The 8.75 HP is overkill BUT it mulches like nothing I've seen before. I also really like the top side self propelled palm lever.
gorper99
12 years ago
I got the Toro Recycler in 1999.Only things I have done are tune ups and oil changes.PP drive looks the same as on the Super R.Only difference is the cast deck(which is not worth the extra $150.00.Mine is 12 years old and has no rust at all.

Rider or Self Propelled Walk for Slopes

Comments (18)

rustyj14

tomplum

Related Discussions

whaas_5a
Original Author

tomplum

tomplum

whaas_5a
Original Author

roadbike

whaas_5a
Original Author

tomplum

roadbike

whaas_5a
Original Author

tomplum

whaas_5a
Original Author

roadbike

Greensideup77

wendell_hollt_gmail_com

whaas_5a
Original Author

gorper99

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Rider or Self Propelled Walk for Slopes

Comments (18)

Related Discussions

whaas_5aOriginal Author

whaas_5aOriginal Author

whaas_5aOriginal Author

whaas_5aOriginal Author

whaas_5aOriginal Author

whaas_5aOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

whaas_5a
Original Author

whaas_5a
Original Author

whaas_5a
Original Author

whaas_5a
Original Author

whaas_5a
Original Author

whaas_5a
Original Author