Steering brakes for a Gravely L?

[Tenn_Blue]

I have an old Gravely L. While the "normal" tractor (Deere 2320) does most of the work, there are places where the Gravely would fit better. Some of my hills and trails are too steep for the 4 wheel tractor.

But it would be nice if the Gravely had steering brakes - It would take less manhandling to keep it on course.

Evidently there were brakes available for some of the 5xxx series machines? Never seen any myself or know where they came from though.

Has anybody adapted brakes sets to the L's? If so, I would like to hear about it... I want to work up something, but no use reinventing the wheel...

 

[gravelymay]

Hey
Where in East Tenn
Thanks in South East Tn.
Bruce g

 

[Samandothers]

I know what you mean by the steering brakes. The L's are great tractors for certain work where big units don't fit. They do take some man handling and 'hip' steering etc to get them where you need them, particularly on inclines. I'll watch with interest on what you hear back here. I have never heard of steering brakes for an L, should be interesting.

 

[jdboy4410]

never seen anyone adapt the steering brakes to the L models,my buddy has a 1997 model with a 14hp robin suburu engine and it has them.he said at first he didn't like it,felt cumbersome to him,but now that he is used to it,it just about turns it into a one handed operation.he did say that it is great for mowing,but when he attaches a snow thrower,he has to take the assemble off as it interferes with tire chains.i have seen the steering set up on the 5000 series too,but only in pics.never see one for sale anywhere.i can see where there would be some advantage to it though ,,,,,,,,,,

 

[js5020]

I've only heard about "home brewed" steer brakes on the older tractors never saw any though, my guess with the L model being a bit lighter and using the smaller attachments they weren't a big concern to the operator. Even with a 12 Kohler I dont see the necessity, however if I were using a 50 deck or a 32 blower I might have a different opinion.

 

[Tenn_Blue]

As a followup to those watching this thread, I haven't found anything yet that would adapt easily to the model l.

Course, we have been a little busy in Tenn the past month or so with the weather. My nearest neighbor lost part of his roof to a "microburst" windstorm a few weeks ago, and my big field has been underwater with all the rain. :confused2:

I may try and fabricate a set of band brakes like were used on a lot of older cars and tractors. I could build a round hub extension for each wheel, mount a backing plate on the axle, and run the brakes off the plate. The band would cinch around the extension shaft to provide steering and parking brakes.

Another option I had considered was to adapt a small disk brake setup, like from a gocart, onto each wheel.

When I get a chance, will make a couple mock-ups and post some pictures. This is still in the design stages, so if you have any ideas you would like to share, lets hear them!!!!

 

[Tenn_Blue]

Previous post should say "mount the backing plate on the axle HOUSING" not just on the axle.....

This all got started when I was working on a friend's exmark walk behind mower. It's not a field mower, but a finishing mower (he has a lawn service). Anyway, it has brakes on each wheel - I was playing with it in the yard (riding a standing sulky is not as easy as they make it look...:ashamed, and it was nice to be able to steer the thing around with the brakes. Got me thinking that something similar would be great on the Gravely, especially on hills to be able to steer up the hill or around obstructions.

The exmark has belt drive for each wheel. Applying the brake slacks the drive belt and actuates the brake as well. So this system would not work on the Gravely...

 

[2manyrocks]

p.24 shows how Gravely put brakes on the professional series.
http://www.oldgravelys.net/pdf/Prof_2_Wheel_Trac_IPL_1087.pdf

 

[looknlearn]

On a German two wheel tractor forum I am a member of I saw what looked like motorcycle disk brakes put on a tractor. I know a picture is worth a thousand words but I can't find it.


Just an alternate suggestion.

 

[Tenn_Blue]

Thanks 2manyrocks for the link. I had seen that before somewhere, but couldn't find the link. That would be the perfect setup, but I can't find the gravely parts, and would be difficult to adapt to the L - backing plate mount area is different. If I could find a readily available source for the drums and hardware, I could fab the backing plates - then just figure out how to mount them on the axle housings. May try to adapt a simple drum setup off an older dirt bike front wheel. I have a big lathe so could machine the drums from solid stock if needed.

Looknlearn, that was my first thought if I had to fab it - disk brakes are fairly easy to adapt, but the overall height of the rotor becomes an issue - my wheels are fairly short (low profile). Most of the easily available (cheap bone yard motorcycle ones...) are too tall. Thats why I was looking at gocart rotors - they are smaller diameter...

Thanks for the input though guys!