Power Trac's Slope Mower

There is nothing new about a machine that will clear severely steep slopes of grass and fledgling trees;  trimmers and brushcutters have long drawn the sweat of operators as they slowly struggle up and down large hills with small machines.  The Power Trac 1850 was designed to do the job more quickly and comes with one particularly appealing feature-  a seat.

"We have mowed a couple of hills that you can barely walk up," says Tony Merz, highway landscape supervisor with the State Highway Department of Missouri, who bought on of the first Power Trac slopemowers available one year ago.  "it has been used in areas with probably 60 degree slopes, even more than what the machine is rated for."

The Power Trac PT-1850 is touted as the continuous 45 degree slope mower;  and the eight wheel, 2,600 pound tractor is capable of going places previously unmaintained.  "In some instances the areas had never been mowed,"  reports Merz.  "We came by once every two years to cut the sapling trees down and that was about it;  but when you get into big expanses that are 4 or 5 acres of grass,  you can't weed-whip it."

It was this ability to mow steep, rough terrain that attracted the attention of the Missouri Highway Department.  Because the traditional tractors they had been using didn't handle well on the roadside slopes, and had become dangerous with roll-over problems, they were in the market for a slope mower.  After seeing the PT-1850 at a green industry trade show,  Merz was interested enough to test it out.

Power Trac Training

"The representative for Power Trac came out to our building, and ran us through a training and certification course," recalls Merz, "and then everyone actually went out and cut some grass with it on the side of the highway.  It is fairly simple to use, but it is completely different from a tractor," explains Merz.  "It has a steering wheel and two pedals which move the machine forwards and backwards;  it is all hydraulically driven.

The PT-1850 is not a finish cutter, and Merz reports employing a technique of one pass forward and then one in reverse to finish the job.  After that "it looks great."  The standard mower is attached to the front of the machine,  and offers a 90 inch cut with three rotary blades.  An optional flail mower was considered by Merz,  but concerns with additional weight ruled it out.  The standard mower will cut down two-inch diameter trees with little trouble.

Punishing Practices

The conditions in chich Merz uses his Power Trac are, in many cases, more severe than even this machine is rated for;  yet he reports few problems.  "One thing we have noticed about this unit when we are cutting on slopes too steep, is that when we try to climb straight up the hill it is a little underpowered unless we shut the mower deck off."  The company has used two engines in the PT-1850, both 65 horsepower, and is considering other options.

Use in these extreme conditions takes its toll on any machine,  and maintenance is a real concern.  "We have had a few over-heating problems when it was used on hot summer days, and we had to stop once in a while to let the thing cool off,  but we aren't using this thing under ideal circumstances, we are just beating the thing to death," admits Merz.  How does Power Trac react when  the machine needs service after this abuse?  "They have been real good with it;  their service is excellent and they have bent over backwards to help us," praises Merz.

In Merz's opinion, the cost of the machine is offset by the fact that this unit is not simply a specialized slope mower.  "We have a 1/2-yard scoop bucket on the front, and are using that to put hardwood mulch on some of our steep hills, and just a few weeks ago, we bought a 24-inch auger for the front to dig holes for trees."  Attachments such as: a power sweeper, power rake and landscape dethatcher, post hole digger and planter drill, bar trencher, a tiller, snow blade, snow blower, winch, high pressure washer and a dozen others are also available.  Merz concludes his review of hte Power Trac PT-1850 with some hard-earned praise for the machine:  "We have really torn apart some other sit-down tractors; so if it can handle what we are doing to it... it's a decent machine."