Hillside Mower Pulled Up And Down By Rope

1999 - Volume #23, Issue #6, Page #09

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After reading a story in FARM SHOW about a mower that telescopes out to the side of a tractor to mow ditches and the edges of ponds, Eugene Storla, Moscow, Idaho, called to tell us about his unusual hillside mower.
    "I've got a hillside on my place that's 30 ft. high and very steep, but I can mow it all without even working up a sweat," says Storla.
    His hillside mower consists of a "walking pole" that extends up the hill. The pole is fitted with a rope that pulls a 21-in. mower up and down the hill.
    At the base of the "walking pole", Storla mounted a rototiller û with the tines removed û on the deck of a push mower frame. The rope on the walking pole wraps around a steel drumand bearing that he mounted on the rototiller shaft.
    A 2-wheeled, A-frame "dolly" with a pulley mounts at the upper end of the walking pole. The rope runs over the pulley and down to a bracket on the mower deck which has the handle removed.
    A steel rod runs up to the dolly on the hill. After each cut, Storla simply pulls the dolly ahead 21 in. and makes another cut.
    "A lot of people stop to take photos of it. One time a city engineer happened to drive by and backed up to get a closer look. He could hardly believe it," says Storla.
    "I use the rototiller's throttle to control the rope drum speed. In heavy grass I let the mower just creep up or down real slow. If the mower gets into an extra heavy bunch of grass I put the throttle in idle and stop the mower immediately. I've mowed grass up to a foot high.
    "The hillside extends along the road for about 1/8 mile and ranges from 10 to 30 ft. high. If I have someone helping me it doesn't take much more than an hour to mow all of it. One person pulls the dolly over and the other one pushes the rototiller. It keeps the mower going up or down all the time so it really goes fast. However, most of the time I have to do all the cutting by myself which takes longer. I have to let go of the rototiller handles, grab the rod and move the dolly over 21 in., then go back and shove the rototiller ahead.
    "The walking pole telescopes out or in as needed, depending on the height of the hill. As long as the pipe is long enough, it doesn't mater how high the hill is. But you have to use a mower that uses mixed oil and gas. Otherwise the motor could burn out.
    "To make it easier to move the dolly I've considered mounting a hydraulic pump on the rototiller and running a hose from it up to a hydraulic motor on the dolly, which would be used to chain-drive one of the dolly wheels."
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Eugene Storla, 1037 Schultz Rd., Moscow, Idaho 83843 (ph 208 882-4776).

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Hillside Mower Pulled Up And Down By Rope FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 23-6-9 After reading a story in FARM SHOW about a mower that telescopes out to the side of a tractor to mow ditches and the edges of ponds, Eugene Storla, Moscow, Idaho, called to tell us about his unusual hillside mower. "I've got a hillside on my place that's 30 ft. high and very steep, but I can mow it all without even working up a sweat," says Storla. His hillside mower consists of a "walking pole" that extends up the hill. The pole is fitted with a rope that pulls a 21-in. mower up and down the hill. At the base of the "walking pole", Storla mounted a rototiller û with the tines removed û on the deck of a push mower frame. The rope on the walking pole wraps around a steel drumand bearing that he mounted on the rototiller shaft. A 2-wheeled, A-frame "dolly" with a pulley mounts at the upper end of the walking pole. The rope runs over the pulley and down to a bracket on the mower deck which has the handle removed. A steel rod runs up to the dolly on the hill. After each cut, Storla simply pulls the dolly ahead 21 in. and makes another cut. "A lot of people stop to take photos of it. One time a city engineer happened to drive by and backed up to get a closer look. He could hardly believe it," says Storla. "I use the rototiller's throttle to control the rope drum speed. In heavy grass I let the mower just creep up or down real slow. If the mower gets into an extra heavy bunch of grass I put the throttle in idle and stop the mower immediately. I've mowed grass up to a foot high. "The hillside extends along the road for about 1/8 mile and ranges from 10 to 30 ft. high. If I have someone helping me it doesn't take much more than an hour to mow all of it. One person pulls the dolly over and the other one pushes the rototiller. It keeps the mower going up or down all the time so it really goes fast. However, most of the time I have to do all the cutting by myself which takes longer. I have to let go of the rototiller handles, grab the rod and move the dolly over 21 in., then go back and shove the rototiller ahead. "The walking pole telescopes out or in as needed, depending on the height of the hill. As long as the pipe is long enough, it doesn't mater how high the hill is. But you have to use a mower that uses mixed oil and gas. Otherwise the motor could burn out. "To make it easier to move the dolly I've considered mounting a hydraulic pump on the rototiller and running a hose from it up to a hydraulic motor on the dolly, which would be used to chain-drive one of the dolly wheels." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Eugene Storla , 1037 Schultz Rd., Moscow, Idaho 83843 (ph 208 882-4776).

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