Remote slope mower test run
The time has come to test our, Goat 22T slope mower on real alpine terrain in the foothills of the Dents-du-Midi. It is still early in the season and the snow has just melted. It was still very cold and the grass has not had time to recover from the winter snow.
We have set the mowing deck on its highest setting, as we only want to test and gain experience with the capabilities of the Goat 22T. I must admit it is very exciting and fun to be using the radio control and powering the Goat 22T up and down the mountain side.
Below you will find some video of our first real user experience using the remote mower. I was still getting the hang of the radio control so the motion does not flow very well. I am sure I will get better after an hour or two of use. As you will see the access to the alpine meadow is difficult so it was also a good test for the mower’s agility. Please take a look at how we transported the mower to this point, it may save you needing to buy a trailer for transportation.
Understanding the radio control
I have not used a radio control before and I wish I had attached the included neck strap as it would of allowed me to take photos and record video at the same time.
Using the left joystick to start the engine was straight forward. Starting with the joy stick in the centered position just move the joystick to the right. Let go once the engine is started. To turn off move the left joystick to the up position or turn the power off.
Now the fun part using the right joystick to control the movement of the remote mower. It was very intuitive up, down, left or right. Just need to remember to be easy on the controls.
There is also one other control, which controls the speed of the RC mower. That is the R/D switch, which is the high/low speed for the electric drive of the tracks. I found that on the low speed setting with the switch pushed down I could walk at the same pace or a little bit faster than the mower. Once I set it to high speed / torque I was too fast for me to keep up, without starting to jog.
Once on the alpine steep slope I found that I needed to use the high speed / torque setting on the steepest parts.
Safety tip
I found that it was best to switch to low speed setting when directing the mower downhill. I surprised myself with the mower coming down the hill directly at me. I almost ran myself over, because I got caught up in the moment and was too excited to think rationally. It could of been a candidate for the for the Ig Noble Prize. So remember to position yourself at safe vantage point to the side of the mower and use the low speed setting when descending the hillside.
To make the engine start control easier to handle I will probably make an adjustment to the left joystick control to take the ratchet out. I would prefer the joystick to center automatically. But that is for another blog post, which I will link here.
Overall impression
Now that I have some experience, I can see that the Goat 22T can handle the steep slopes we are testing on. I need more experience to test the different angles that this slope mower can be safely operated on. This will allow me to work out the best way to tackle mowing the grass once it has grown to a length that needs cutting.
Until next time, happy mowing. If you want to test out this mower in Switzerland just let me know. More information here.