HST: how do you reverse with your foot on the brakes ?

[tungularafishcamp]

Only had my L2800 hst a few years so am pretty new to this stuff but what is this about brakes, you mean there is a brake?

 

[RobertN]

Neither my old Kubota B series, nor the NH TC I have now, moved when I release the HST pedal.

The biggest thing I found, is that I can actually use the steering brakes on the NH; the Kubota version is awful. I thought there was no use for them when I had the Kubota, but since having easy to use brakes on the NH, I have been surprised at how often I use them. In retrospect, I can see how handy they would have been on that Kubota B.

 

[TripleR]

Neither my old Kubota B series, nor the NH TC I have now, moved when I release the HST pedal.

The biggest thing I found, is that I can actually use the steering brakes on the NH; the Kubota version is awful. I thought there was no use for them when I had the Kubota, but since having easy to use brakes on the NH, I have been surprised at how often I use them. In retrospect, I can see how handy they would have been on that Kubota B.

Depending on what you are doing, they can be handy, I use them on our 8540, but don't need them on my L5030. My son uses them on the 5030 with the "Kubota Shuffle", but he is in his 30's; much easier than when in your 60's.

 

[slowzuki]

I use the steering brakes sometimes on the Kubota, its not hard with the cruise lever but it turns so sharp theres hardly any point to bother. Usually when the front end is in really bad mud while trying to turn really sharp or the front tires are in the air adding down pressure to the bucket.

I've also used them when shoving something long like a 24 ft beam on the forks, sideways in through a man door as far as you can. You back up until the rear of the tractor is near the wall of the building and the beam is at the door, cut the wheel and wheel brake to make the front end go sideways, repeat if needed in short jigs and you get the loader tight to the door with the beam inside as far as it will go.

 

[TripleR]

Yeah, going forward the cruise lever works, but reverse is another thing. Like I said, I rarely use mine, but did some experimenting when it was brought up on another thread and find I can do it.

For those who use them a lot, I can see the advantage to having them on the left. Every other tractor I drive has right foot brakes, so at my age, I prefer consistency, especially for those OH C--P moments next to a drop-off or pond or drop-off into a pond.

 

[Grandad4]

In almost ten years of all kinds of use around our place, the only application we have found where the turning brakes have been useful is for making square turns when mowing with the bush hog. For that, we set the cruise control, with the FEL off and in 2wd, of course, and the tractor operates exactly like a gear tractor.

Different users in different situations might reach a different conclusion, but for us the combination of HST, power steering and tight turning radius makes handling so easy the turning brakes are close to being unnecessary.

 

[DAY]

question from an old gear 'n' clutch guy that uses the brakes to steer when the front wheels are off the ground: When you say "set the cruise control" , is that the same as the hand throttle? or is it somehow connected to the HST, like on my car?

 

[RobertN]

Interesting. That is a direct echo of what I said with 12 years of using a nicely set up "B" series. Man, my mind sure changed.

FWIW, I would not turn down another Kubota because of the poorly designed brake layout. I did have 12 years great experience with my old tractor. And, the guy who bought it is a fellow brewer; I still get to visit it I was, looking for a L3410HST to replace the older B8200HSTD originally. When I sold the old tractor, the used market here was limited; that is how I wound up looking at the New Holland TC40D I have now.

In almost ten years of all kinds of use around our place, the only application we have found where the turning brakes have been useful is for making square turns when mowing with the bush hog. For that, we set the cruise control, with the FEL off and in 2wd, of course, and the tractor operates exactly like a gear tractor.

Different users in different situations might reach a different conclusion, but for us the combination of HST, power steering and tight turning radius makes handling so easy the turning brakes are close to being unnecessary.

 

[RobertN]

No, you set the cruise AND the hand throttle. The HST on most tractors(CUT's) lets you have variable speeds at any throttle setting(lest you lug it, and need more throttle). The cruise control, will let you effectively "lock" the HST at a specific speed.

This is true for my old Kubota HST and my newer NH HST tractor.

On my old Kubota, you set the throttle for the power required for the task at hand. Then, when you press the HST and get to the speed you want, you set the cruise. Then, your foot is free from the HST pedal and you can now work the brakes for "steering" control. It does work; it is just cludgy compared to other modern tractors.

For comparison, my current NH(and most JD's I believe; not sure of other brands) has brakes on the left, and HST on the right. Once I set the rpm for the task at hand, I can vary the steering using the individual brakes if the front is light or traction is limited. I can also vary speed by how much pedal I give the HST.

question from an old gear 'n' clutch guy that uses the brakes to steer when the front wheels are off the ground: When you say "set the cruise control" , is that the same as the hand throttle? or is it somehow connected to the HST, like on my car?

 

[crazyal]

I'm not sure why which side the brakes are on (left vs right) would be an issue with the GL tractors. The deck is flat, I don't think I would want anything with a hump. Using your left foot to operate the brakes is not hard at all. On my Case backhoe the brakes are in the middle (and no clutch).

 

[MHarryE]

Back in the old days growing up on a farm we had narrow front ends (sometimes called tricycle type even though there were 2 front tires) and it was common to use turning brakes. Then I worked for 22 years on combines and when picking corn made heavy use of turning brakes to make a 180 from picking one set of rows to going back on the other. Hydro was no problem because every combine I used had a hand propel lever. The next 21 years on construction equipment all our hydros had propel lever. My Kubotas with the pedal have not been a problem until this year. I have been discing some rough fields and all too frequently have had 1 front and 1 rear spinning in air. All I would need is a bit of turning brake on the rear that is spinning to put power to the other rear with good traction but it almost always seems to kick the cruise off. Maybe I am accidentally hitting the back side of the pedal when I reach for the turn brake. But other than that, I have never had use for any kind of brake on my hydro tractors except for parking brake.

 

[RobertN]

It is easier to use the brakes and HST if they are on opposite sides. One foot for HST, the other for brakes. I have a flat deck too; it is just so much easier. FWIW I do not have a clutch either...

I'm not sure why which side the brakes are on (left vs right) would be an issue with the GL tractors. The deck is flat, I don't think I would want anything with a hump. Using your left foot to operate the brakes is not hard at all. On my Case backhoe the brakes are in the middle (and no clutch).

 

[TripleR]

No, you set the cruise AND the hand throttle. The HST on most tractors(CUT's) lets you have variable speeds at any throttle setting(lest you lug it, and need more throttle). The cruise control, will let you effectively "lock" the HST at a specific speed.

This is true for my old Kubota HST and my newer NH HST tractor.

On my old Kubota, you set the throttle for the power required for the task at hand. Then, when you press the HST and get to the speed you want, you set the cruise. Then, your foot is free from the HST pedal and you can now work the brakes for "steering" control. It does work; it is just cludgy compared to other modern tractors.

For comparison, my current NH(and most JD's I believe; not sure of other brands) has brakes on the left, and HST on the right. Once I set the rpm for the task at hand, I can vary the steering using the individual brakes if the front is light or traction is limited. I can also vary speed by how much pedal I give the HST.

On my Grand L, the "cruise control" is a hand lever that you can use in lieu of the HST pedal to "accelerate" and it stays where you leave it. So you can place the foot HST pedal where you want it and advance the lever to maintain that position or advance to that position using the hand lever making use of the turning brakes going forward relatively easy.

I do agree however it is easier with HST pedal and brakes on the opposite side. If I needed turning brakes, that would be my preference. I have just found in over 50 years of operating a variety of tractors with brakes on the left and right as well as straight non synchro gear, synch shuttle, hydro shuttle and HST for what I do with my CUTs, steering brakes are a non issue. As mentioned, I use them on our M8540.

As a side note, one of the men who rents our row crop land and is a good friend fixed a washout on a hillside on our property with a John Deere ehydro 4610 using a FEL and hydraulic back blade. It would have taken me twice as long unless I brought the 8540 up.

 

[TripleR]

It is easier to use the brakes and HST if they are on opposite sides. One foot for HST, the other for brakes. I have a flat deck too; it is just so much easier. FWIW I do not have a clutch either...[/QUOTE]

I sure wish Kubota would get rid of the clutch too.

 

[ChuckinNH]

No, you set the cruise AND the hand throttle. The HST on most tractors(CUT's) lets you have variable speeds at any throttle setting(lest you lug it, and need more throttle). The cruise control, will let you effectively "lock" the HST at a specific speed.

This is true for my old Kubota HST and my newer NH HST tractor.

On my old Kubota, you set the throttle for the power required for the task at hand. Then, when you press the HST and get to the speed you want, you set the cruise. Then, your foot is free from the HST pedal and you can now work the brakes for "steering" control. It does work; it is just cludgy compared to other modern tractors.

For comparison, my current NH(and most JD's I believe; not sure of other brands) has brakes on the left, and HST on the right. Once I set the rpm for the task at hand, I can vary the steering using the individual brakes if the front is light or traction is limited. I can also vary speed by how much pedal I give the HST.

The cruise on the "deluxe" B series Kubota's is different, and much nicer for using brakes, etc. With that cruise, you can push the cruise lever ahead from a stop to control your speed instead of bringing it up to speed with the HST pedal, and then locking the cruise. In tight areas you can run the tractor just using the crusie lever, and have full access to the brakes. On my road to the shed, I am there before I can get the cruise set so it is pretty useless ( short drive) when pushing snow with the loader bucket, and the bucket is steering the tractor.

 

[Grandad4]

Interesting. That is a direct echo of what I said with 12 years of using a nicely set up "B" series.

My wife sometimes says I don't change much also!

I regularly use the turning brakes on our antique Super M and used them all the time on the TO-20 and others long ago, but with our work these days they just doesn't seem necessary very often. In different circumstances though, I could see how that pedal setup could be a pain.

 

[RobertN]

I don't think they had a Deluxe option when my old B8200 was made('85/86). Maybe the HST was the Deluxe option, but otherwise it was pretty plain. For cruise, it had a locking lever on the lower dash.

I got to visit it a couple weeks ago. It was good to see an old friend

The cruise on the "deluxe" B series Kubota's is different, and much nicer for using brakes, etc.

 

[slowzuki]

Not me I love having it for gently starting big pto loads.

I sure wish Kubota would get rid of the clutch too.

 

[RobertN]

So far that has not been an issue for my NH. But, it is independent PTO, with a hydraulic clutch. It though, is more comparable to a 40hp L series though, not B series. I have only used the 6' rotary mower though; not a real big pto load.

Not me I love having it for gently starting big pto loads.

 

[TripleR]

Not me I love having it for gently starting big pto loads.


I can start my PTO gently with my lever just as I do on my BX2660 and M8540. I did it with the clutch when I first got my L5030, but now just use the lever as per page 47 of my Operator's Manual.

I see where the newer GL models have gone to a button engagement, so I am not sure how that works as to gentle engagement.

Our Case CX80 had a notch in the engagement slot where you placed the lever for a few seconds to allow the PTO to spool up before full engagement which I really liked.