Aiming to address the challenges of high labor intensity, low operational efficiency, severe tobacco leaf damage, and lack of suitable harvesting equipment in tobacco-growing areas such as Yunnan, Guizhou, and Hunan provinces, an optimized chassis for a tracked self-propelled semi-automatic tobacco harvester was designed, specifically for hilly regions. The machine featured a gantry frame that enabled simultaneous harvesting three rows of tobacco. To reduce mechanical damage to the tobacco leaves and meet the needs of stable operation at low-speed, a dual-motor independent drive system and a mechanical automatic row-following device were designed. Additionally, based on CAN bus technology, an integrated vehicle control system combing manual and remote control was developed to meet control needs in various scenarios. Stability analysis and performance testing of the machine were carried out. The results showed that the maximum speed of the harvester chassis was 5km/h with minimum turning radius of 903mm. And it could handle slopes with up to 23°, and the lateral ultimate tipping angle was 24.7°. There was no side-slip or rollover when operating on contour lines with a lateral tilt angle of 15°~20° on sloping land. Moreover, it could stop for more than 5 minutes on both upward and downward directions along longitudinal slopes ranging from 10° to 15° without any issues. During field harvesting, the machine exhibited smooth running characteristics with ample power reserves allowing free speed adjustments between 0km/h and 4.5km/h. This highlighted its strong adaptability to manual tobacco leaf harvesting operations. The average mechanical damage rate to tobacco leaves was 0.73 leaves per operation per hectare, and the average mechanical damage rate to tobacco plants was only 0.083 plants per operation per hectare. It showed that the developed tracked self-propelled semi-automatic tobacco leaf harvester chassis could meet the requirements of manual and machine-operated harvesting in narrow fields and gentle slopes, which was of significant importance for promoting the full mechanization of tobacco production.