I was wondering if anyone had any experience with skid steers on slopes mowing or working in general? We would like to replace our compact tractor with a tracked skid with brush mower to open up our options. Obvious concern would be how steep of angle is to steep for the machine. I would say most of the work would be 35-45 degrees or less.
35-45 degrees is pretty steep for a skid (or compact track loader), but I suppose it could still be done... how big of an area are you trying to mow?
45 degrees is a 1:1 slope. That's pretty steep for a skidsteer. I doubt it would tip over. More likely just keep sliding down the hill. I would be damned uncomfortable to run too. I have brushed pretty steep ground with my S185 with steel tracks over the tires and that's the big problem. Pretty hard to tip one over with the brushcutter of the ground.
I bet a skid has a better time sticking to a slope than a tractor. I have a ctl and a mower and it will stick in the ditches at home way better than our kubota tractor
18 degrees is a 3-1 slope or 33%. A SSL will not climb a 1:1 and that angle would most likely starve your oil pump in continuous use anyway. Read your operator's manual or call your local dealer. You can't in any way compare the stability or slope operating capability of a SSL to a CTL.
Well there are several places we would use it. One is a condo complex which is pretty small but has close to 45 deg angles around the edge of the property. Some of the others are mostly flat but wet in places where we have lost a wheeled skid already. All are under 3 acres. We have done a few grown over access roads around mountainous areas but they were previously cut with a dozer and the slopes weren't really bad as long as you stayed on the cut path. We had tried it with a 236 Cat in the fall and the machine ended sliding around in the wet leaves. Yes, sliding sideways down a hill sideways in a skid is damn uncomfortable! I wonder what the max angel for a CTL is on a dry hill side? What size CTL are you runnig? Our tractor is due to be replaced and if we can replace it with a CTL that would do the same work plus more we would be ahead of the game....I think...I say only about 10% of our jobs require a brush cutter. Obviously the skid will out perform the tractor loader wise hands down, so that would be a no brainier.
I didn't mean to come across as too harsh, but I was thinking about the safety factor. I think you may be better off looking at a CTL.
Even a 3-1 would be super uncomfortable. The one we tried was less then that. I'll have to get with a rep and see what the max angel without starving it would be. I'm not comparing the wheeled machine to a track machine. I'd just like to know if a CTL would out perform the tractor with a brush cutter. The slopes are what really bothers me. Speed really isn't an issue with the size of places we would be doing.
Sounds to me that you need a mower on a mini excavator to mow a hill that steep.
I don't think a skid on those slopes makes much sense at all. There's very few SSLs I can think of that'd be able to run an attachment while clawing up that steep of an angle. CTLs... I wouldn't run a CTL (or SSL) *across* a 45 degree slope. If the slope is short, you may be able to get away with running up/down it, but that also means a lot of turning at the top and bottom of the hill. As digdeep said, there's also an issue with oil starvation. Most manufacturers recommend avoiding prolonged operation at greater than a 2:1 slope (varies, of course, by manufacturer). Even if the machine seems planted going up and down, killing an engine probably isn't worth it. If you want to try it out, look at ASV and Deere machines. They tend to be have better weight distribution than Cat, Case, or Takeuchi (all of which are rear-heavy). If machine operation at slopes of greater than 45° are permitted, demo it and see how it feels in the seat of your pants. My personally, I'd be scared s#$(less.
Rep said they don't recommend more then 3:1 with the track machines. He said they will do more but the engine will starve for oil and smoke it. The newer series 3 machines have a redesigned pick-up and oiling system to help prevent that. With that said, I know what I'm looking at.
Was he just speaking for his Case machines?