BEST Mower for STEEP hills! Zero Turn vs Stand-on vs Walk Behind vs Push Mower

The Slope's Challenge

Our testing ground featured varying degrees of steepness: 11°, 18°, 22°, and a nail-biting 25°. My brother Stu helped me put these mowers through their paces.

Safety First

It's crucial to understand the risks involved. Toro advises against mowing anything over 15° . Seriously, do not attempt this at home! We are trained experts. Always consult your lawn mower's safety manual before operating on any slope. 

Let's start with the Toro PROLINE 36" walk-behind, equipped with what we affectionately call an "aftermarket valky call this thing the death trap 9,000 flat ground." This is a fine machine if this is what your budget has allotted, you will cut grass, you can make money.

Unfortunately, it didn't fare too well on the slope. The handling felt squirrely, and maneuvering was difficult. The tires spun out, making the whole experience feel "sketchy."

One thing that wasn't fair in this test was the fact that it's a 36, so had skinny tires had much smaller wheelbase. A 60" walk-behind with the original Toro velke might have been a better match. But ultimately, this wasn't the right application for this mower on a slope.

On the 18° slope, I had to adjust my body position slightly. The mower felt like a dang suction cup to that hill. I felt like I could put anybody I know on that slope and they could mow it and feel pretty safe.

The comfortable suspension seat and smooth ride made it feel like a Cadillac on that hill.

Next up, the Toro GrandStand 52" stand-on, powered by a 22-horsepower Kawasaki engine. This mower handled the 11° slope with ease. It felt super stable and comfortable, especially after the 36" walk-behind. I really liked how you can compensate for the slope with your legs and your body can stand up straight, and you could turn up or down the slope without any concerns.

If you're mowing slopes, a GrandStand is a great option. It was very comfortable, and I felt safe.

The Toro Z Master 6000 Series 72" zero turn rider also felt super stable and comfortable on the 11° slope. At no moment did I feel like I was in danger.

The 72" model has a wider front fork stance and a wider rear stance, creating a much wider frame and platform. Keep in mind that the rider was the widest of all the options that we tested, so logically you would think it would be the most stable on the Hills.

Finally, we tested the Toro Super Recycler 21" push mower. I was able to walk pretty easily, and the personal pace system worked great. The personal pace made the mower feel weightless, but the deck was too small.

The handle system felt really nice and functions well. This is a fine option for a slope, and it's your safest option. If you were debating between a walk-behind like this or that Proline 36 in a gated backyard with a slope, you might be as good off going this route than that route.

Let's revisit the Toro PROLINE 36" walk-behind. Keep in mind that Toro advises against mowing anything over 15°. Once we reached 18°, the danger and difficulty increased noticeably.

I even tried riding on the front to add traction (don't try this at home!). Even without the blades on this did mimic if we were to have some front weights on that machine if how it would have done and it did a lot better after I sat on there.

Without front weights, the 36" Proline is not the right choice for slopes above 11°.

Moving on to the Toro GrandStand 52" stand-on, it was still feeling good on the 18° slope. You could pretty much turn at speed and feel very comfortable.

It could pop a wheelie if you aiming uphill, and I had to hop off the platform to turn uphill at this degree. Even though it felt steep, it felt very, very stable.

The Toro Super Recycler 21" push mower worked and chugged along. It gave you good traction, and it would even go uphill just fine.

Rear-wheel drive is essential for slopes. If it was front-wheel drive wouldn't be worth a didly. What degree slope do you think you could take a push mower? 85 probably, if I had some suction cup shoes.

Important to keep in mind is Motors are not built to be run for extended times on the slope, and all the Riders have oil pumps. Typically running it at an increased degree over 15 degrees for a prolonged period of time can cause oil problems.

I struggled to even reach the 18° section with the Toro PROLINE 36" walk-behind mower. The velke was not a viable option due to lack of traction, and it look deadly.

If you're a valky man, I salute you. You're brave and strong. But you should try a GrandStand!

I was seeing how high I could go if I just stood on my Tippy toes, but not very high. The rear end slid a bit while going straight up, but it felt good when turning downhill.

At 22°, you needed to slow down significantly before turning to avoid losing control. Adding a weight kit to the front would improve performance on slopes like this.

Climbing that hill felt dangerous, don't do it. The mower handled it just fine without needing to get off the seat.

The machine felt extremely comfortable and stable. Does anyone have experiences with Vanguard engines on slopes? Let us know in the comments!

The Toro Super Recycler 21" push mower's personal pace system was working well, but the narrow 21" cutting width was a disadvantage. It was hard to be precise at that angle, and mowing with it would hurt at the end of the day.

Only use this mower if you have a slope and a small area to cut.

The Toro Z Master 6000 Series 72" zero turn rider ate it up! However, it was sketchy on the turns. It was difficult to stay online due to a lack of front-wheel traction.

I got advice from Jonathan Tucson, who says their team does not mow slopes before 11:00 AM because it's too wet. Let the sun come out and dry it out and your tires will grip much better.

The Toro GrandStand 52" stand-on was scary on the 25° slope. We almost stopped the test, but we decided to push through.

So, what's the best option for mowing slopes?

• You can't go wrong with a big, wide area zero turn (72" or 60").
• A suspension seat is a must.
• The GrandStand is a great machine for slopes.
• A wide-area proline with a duval is another option.

Consider your employees' skill levels. Use a rider for unskilled or new employees. If you need more versatility, a GrandStand is a great choice.

Here's the bottom line:

• GrandStand: You have the ability to get off of it and you have the ability to climb really steep hills
• Zmas: You can stay in the seat, you can climb the same hills and it felt a little more stable and it felt a little more stable, little more forward weight cuz you're sitting on the middle of the machine opposed to the rear

There are also custom rigs for slopes. One of our customers built a machine out of a 60" Proline with modifications.

Stu said it felt awesome, like nothing could go wrong. There was no way for that thing to slide out, and there was no moment where the tire slipped. However, that's a lot of walking. While it's perfect for slopes and had a lot of stability, it's not the best slope option for most people.

The Ventrac articulating tractor (owned by Toro) is a killer slope machine.

Key features:

• Attachments hook up in the front.
• Optional dual wheel kit.
• Mows up to 35°.
• Optional suspension seat and canopy.

Additional benefits:

• 8 wheel drive.
• Adds an edger kit you got a ton of edging to do.
• Adds a turbine blower you could blow off all their parking lots tennis courts the whole contract it'd be a killer machine.

If I were an employer and I was putting my staff on this slope, I wouldn't feel right necessarily manufacturing my own product. But if I were to have that contract I had a vent track with a duly kit and a wide area mower, they couldn't screw up, they could mow it comfortably and that machine would be more than capable and it wouldn't twist, has eight-wheel drive it would mow that faster and safer than anything else.

The ultimate best option is a Ventrac. If you're in Central Florida or anywhere in Florida and you want one, look us up at Main Street Mower . We'd love to help you out.

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