Do you trust your parking brakes? I don't...

[Anonymous Poster]

Do you trust your parking brakes? I don\'t...

Hi,

I have a Kubota B2910 and think the mechanism for locking the parking brakes s**ks. Not sure if that is a permitted word here or not... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I can't believe that any tractor would have such a simple, weak, risky way of locking the brakes when parked. Just about any car/van/truck I have owned had a better system.

It is very difficult for me to put my trust in those brakes when I am off the tractor!

Here is the way they work.

To set the parking brake you push the brake pedals [locked together] and lift a little lever on the dash, below the instrument panel. The little lever is about an inch and a half long and takes no effort to set.

To release the brakes you simply push on the brake pedal and the brakes release.

Now in my car, to set the parking brake there is a substantial lever that you pull, with a button on it that you must push before it can be released. Push the brake foot pedal all you want and it will not release the parking brake.

If I accidentally drop something on my tractor's brake pedals...well, the brakes might release. If I slip and fall while getting off my tractor...bingo, fall briefly against the brake pedal and away she goes[possibly].

It blows me away that a working tool like a tractor would have such a poor way of ensuring that the brakes would remain set.

I am an easy going guy, but the more I think about this the more I see red... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Is this only a Kubota trait, or are all tractors like this?

 

[markie61]

Re: Do you trust your parking brakes? I don\'t...

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( To set the parking brake you push the brake pedals [locked together] and lift a little lever on the dash, below the instrument panel. The little lever is about an inch and a half long and takes no effort to set. )</font>

My NH TC40D is the same, except the little lever is under the seat by your left foot. I don't have alot of confidence in it setting properly either. The Class III Boomers have a known issue of the brake releasing due to flexing of the operator station floor.

Mark

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Do you trust your parking brakes? I don\'t...

I own a Kioti DK35 and the parking brake mechanizm operates as you describe on it. It does make one think it could be a more positive lock for releasing.

Good point Henro!

 

[dlabrie]

Re: Do you trust your parking brakes? I don\'t...

I agree with you. Also, I have driven countless times with it engaged. It is a wonder that i have any brakes left at all.

 

[tdenny]

Re: Do you trust your parking brakes? I don\'t...

Henro,

I have a JD 855 and my brake is the same except for the lever is in the dash right below the throttle. The brake is not good, but the loader set on the ground helps alot.

 

[herbenus]

Re: Do you trust your parking brakes? I don\'t...

Mine actually works. JD4200. Lever under seat sort of like a parking brake in a sports car. It holds but if I put it in gear I could drive off, though with resistance. My reliable parking brake is the fel lowered with bucket down, digging in.

 

[BillyP]

Re: Do you trust your parking brakes? I don\'t...

I have a JD 4610 and it seems to work fine. You push the brake peddles down and pull a knob on the dash. In order to release the brakes, you have to push the knob in and press on the brakes. If you don't press on the brakes after pressing the knob in, the brakes stay engage.

I know this from experimenting, not using them. I have a hydro and I don't think I've ever used the brakes or parking brake.

Billy

 

[MDNick]

Re: Do you trust your parking brakes? I don\'t...

Henro,

To a degree, I agree with you. Though for totally different reasons. That little lever you pull should not have any load at all when you pull it. It's just a cog that goes into a series of ratchet teeth. All the load is done with your foot. On my 3010, I can push REAL hard on the peddles, and get the parking break to lock up enough that it'll really bog the engine down. But your saying there isn't any load on that little lever is part of the design. The parking break will hold as good as the breaks can. It works identical to the car break, the lever you pull by hand is analogous to the break peddle, and the button is spring loaded so you don't need to pull it to set, only push to relase, again, analogous to the little lever on your tractor.

My beef with the parking breaks has to do with my ag background and the tractor my dad has. I tend to work a lot with the independent breaks, even mowing lawn. I can turn sharper and not tear up the turf with the front tire if I drage a break. A manual traney allows me to do this, my right foot isn't busy already. As such, when I use the parking break, I only get one side with the break on. That is an atrocious design. My dad's '74 David Brown (English tractor) has a system that will lock both breaks, independent of the interlock lever. The parking break lever is a 1/2" dia steel handle to the right of the seat, pull up and twist. If your foot is on only one peddle, the other one goes down, when you pull up on the lever. I do not know how it works, but there is no ratchet teeth involved, and it has worked perfectly for almost 30 years. It is an exceptional design, that locks that 56 hp tractor dead in its tracks. Now if in '74 it could be done, why can't modern tractors have an equally good system?

My other beef with my 3010 breaks is when I do step really hard on the peddles, the dash and hood move. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I think the peddle should be mounted to something much more substantial than sheet metal.

Nick

 

[JATO_RaT]

Re: Do you trust your parking brakes? I don\'t...

Mine works great with one exception, I rarely use it or need too. The International has differential braking and independent parking brake. The L48 has differential braking and uses the two pedals to lock the brakes. I so rarely use differential braking that having the brakes on the same side as the hydro was never an issue. If I mow the grass with differential braking, the grass gets ripped up. For my purposes, hydro eliminates differential braking. For orchards, farms etc., differential braking has its merits. I do like being able to step on the brakes to release the parking brake. For me to worry about accidentally releasing the parking brake rates right up there with the engine catching fire and the seat belt not releasing, I just don't worry about it. If you have these concerns, perhaps you should put the edge of the loader bucket into the ground to prevent movement and/or drop the boxscraper if you have it attached. Rat...

 

[OkieG]

Re: Do you trust your parking brakes? I don\'t...

tdenny,

As with Herbenous and BillyP the parking brake on my JD 855 works well. It the brake is set snuggly, it takes a good amount of force to release it. Accidental release is very unlikely. The brakes hold very well. If I try to drive off without releasing the brake, the tractor won't move and the transmission makes a funny sound. It must be the HST bypass valve kicking on.

Mine is a 1997 model, the last year the 55 series was made (only 450 hrs. on the meter). If your brakes are worn, some adjusting or a new set might change your mind about how well they work.

OkieG