steering wheel spinner knobs

[Redbug]

I would not be without one for FEL and dumping work. They make you much more efficient since one hand is spinning the steering wheel while the other hand is working the bucket joystick. I sometimes even chew bubblegum at the same time!

 

[Egon]

I grew up around adults who always called them suicide knobs and never heard them referred to in other terms

Some young fellars here have never had the pleasure of having a manual four wheel drive with no power steering wrench the steering wheels out of their hands!

 

[gemini5362]

Some young fellars here have never had the pleasure of having a manual four wheel drive with no power steering wrench the steering wheels out of their hands!

I have seen this comment several times from people in this thread. To be honest I dont know what you are talking about as far as my tractor is concerned. Maybe because it is a small tractor (kubota b6200) with 4 wheel drive and I keep it in 4 wheel drive all the time. I dont know the reason but I have never had it do that to me. I did at one point in my life have a 1972 k5 blazer 4 wheel drive with manual steering. When I hit a rock and it jerked the wheel around so fast that the thumbnail of my left hand gouged the thumb of my right hand I decided enough was enough and got a power steering unit for it. But I have never had this happen with my tractor.

 

[BlacknTan]

Damned near broke my hand in my Corvette powered '56 Chev...

No more spinners for me!

 

[Egon]

[QUOMaybe because it is a small tractor (kubota b6200) with 4 wheel drive and I keep it in 4 wheel drive all the time. TE][/quote]

You may not be using the tractor in the situations where the steering wheel spins out of control.

My B7100 is essentially the same tractor and I can assure you the wheel has spun very quickly many a time. As I hold on the steering wheel with my thumb out of the path of the spokes I haven't had the hurt hand syndrome.

Now please; I am only expressing my opinion based on my experience and how I handle those experiences. By no means should my impressions be interpreted as the only ones!

 

[patrick_g]

I would not be without one for FEL and dumping work. They make you much more efficient since one hand is spinning the steering wheel while the other hand is working the bucket joystick. I sometimes even chew bubblegum at the same time!

Is it safe to assume you don't have power steering or your power steering doesn't do enough?

I have only a little tractor operating experience. I have almost a thousand hours on my Kubota but only about 1-2 min on a cab style Montana with about 50 hp (excellent low steering effort, good PS), less than 5 min on a big clunky Belorus (PS was OK, wouldn't need a suicide knob), and maybe 5-10 min on a smaller 30hp JDeer which was easy to steer but not sure it had PS. I do considerable FEL work and I'd hate to do it without good PS. I suppose if the PS was not as good I might be led to a spinner because I too spin the wheel lock to lock a lot with one hand while working the joy stick with the other.

About Egon's comments regarding the steering wheel moving violently and being potentially dangerous... I was taught to drive a car with my thumbs on the OD of the wheel so as to not be injured if the wheel was suddenly to jerk. I think this was a carry over from earlier days. Surely recirculating ball with PS couldn't do that. Not sure about rack and pinion with PS. Any of you automotive engineering savvy guys care to comment on that? Our sedan is electric PS and it is unlikely to "motor back" at you.

Pat

 

[Redbug]

Hi Pat,

I have power steering and hydrostatic transmission on my tractor. But with a spinner added, you clutch the ball of the spinner instead of holding the steering wheel. It is a very efficient way to turn a steering wheel and fast. You can spin the wheel lock to lock probably 3 times faster. That means you can turn faster, (with one hand doing the manuvering and the other working the FEL), with only one hand. Backing up and turning is a breeze, since it is easy to clutch the ball and turn, while twisted around looking backward and the other arm hangs on and supports you.

I would say get one and try it out. I have not had the problem of the knob being wrenched from my hands. Over potholy ground, I go slow...and have not felt the need to join the tractor racing association.

 

[RobJ]

Picked up one of these on the way home yesterday at TSC. No logo, just orange. Bummer. Actually a little cheaper in my local TSC than on the web. Terrible store, long wait, one checker, and...well nevermind..

Link to the TSC page..
Search Results

 

[J_J]

I have a Kubota B7100 and a Kubota B9200, and they will bust your hand if one wheel hits a stump or something. Usually it is with out warning, About the only thing you can say is Dam* that hurts. It all has to do with the ratio of the pinion to the rack, or what ever type gearing you have. If it ever spins and slams your hand, you will never forget the occasion. I still use spinners, because they are useful. You can test the ability for the spinner to bust your hand by raise the front, and grab the tire and push or pull it to the limits, and watch the steering wheel. If it spins easy, the potential is there.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Medium and heavy duty trucks with manual steering used to be notorious for breaking your thumbs when the wheel whipped out of your hands. Usually, it was when you were doing something "off road". Driving something like this, you soon learned not to wrap your thumbs around the wheel.

I worked for a trucking company that had a cab over Brockway with manual steering that nearly killed two different drivers when they blew out a front bias ply (no radials at this time) and could not hold it.

The truck had a newly available 350HP Cummins in it. Perhaps it was heavier than the 250's and such that were common at the time.

I had a spinner in the Case 2096 4x4 I used to have. The tractor had a "high reverse", ie; very fast reverse gearing with hydraulic steering where as the steering wheel shaft went directly into a hydraulic valve to control the direction. At low RPM the steering action was very hard and trying to back up and control a piece of equipment such as a mower was difficult.

Having used that tractor in many situations, I would say it would never never yank the wheel on you. I did occasionally rip my pants or shirt by catching them on the knob bolts.

My current tractor, a Mahindra 7520 is geared a bit high but the steering is fast enough to keep up. No need for a spinner.