If I were a tractor engineer......I would...

[SPYDERLK]

1 PA rims
2 PS cylinders mounted in back of axle
3 Fuel tank mounted in front HD like JD had(no more busted radiators)
4 2 stage clutch ( instead of electric operated PTO)
5 Ground PTO
6 3PT with down pressure
7 All gauges W/idiot lights hooked up to alarm (to alert you of a problem when you are operating backhoe or wood splitter and can't see the dash)
8 Adjustable bottom link with crank handle(instead of turnbuckle type)
9 Move operator station ahead cut fenders back on rear to give more room when hooking up implements.
10 Mount HYD pump off of crankshaft with test ports and filter remove all the garbage that hangs under tractor.

Brilliant!
What is "ground pto"?
larry

 

[kenstrac]

Brilliant!
What is "ground pto"?
larry

Ground PTO is 1 revolution of wheel=1 revolution of PTO in this mode the pto will turn in reverse if the tractor is in reverse gear.
I sucked up a 100 hp tractor chain in my rototiller once and got it out running in ground PTO in reverse,otherwise I would still be pulling it out.

 

[SideHillBill]

IMHO hanging heavy equipment on the FEL or 3PH arms is foolishness. Tractors should be designed with a standardized integral frame mounting to accept Hoes, snowplows etc. If you want frame mount now, you pay a fortune for it and it's usually good for only a limited tractor type and a limited equipment type also.

 

[Redbug]

Offer a skid plate/belly pan option. And it would pay for itself in time...

 

[Opti-Mist]

"Ground PTO" = "Ground Drive PTO" As described above.

 

[woodchuckcanuck]

About the tool box issue, this just occurred to me...why not use one of the storage/seat accessories found on atv's?

Limitations or adjustments required might include:

• It would only work for non-cabs,
• you'd have to remove the seat on the unit so that your seat can get in closer,
• you might have to make a bracket of some sort to fit the storage unit on your fenders

Anyway, just thinking out loud.

 

[ChuckinNH]

I only have a few hundred hours on "modern" tractors, and both have been smaller Kubotas so these needs are mostly addressed to them. I would like to see position control on all smaller tractors say from B size up. My new B is very sensitive to adjust upwards, and it makes it difficult to use the box blade, etc. I also would like to see usuable steering brakes. I use my tractor in the woods, and in snow a lot and find I have to be a bit of a contortionist to use the ones on the same side as the hydro pedal. I would also use / provide a way of better keeping the lower lift arms spread while backing in to attach an implement. I use a slotted stick, but there has to be a better way to install implements alone. The pinned check arms / chains on some tractors look good. I second the larger tool box, and if you work alone in the woods, a cell phone holder is not a bad plan............. though I get no reception at most spots on my land so it makes little difference. Tractors are tractors, and don't need to be made into SUV's, but they certainly should be functional at all the tasks they are expected to perform, and have some provision for the things normally needed to perform those tasks. It would take just a bit of creative engineering, and add little to the cost to use extrusions, or modified shapes in places that would make carrying those things with us a lot more handy.

 

[LoneCowboy]

the fire extinguisher I agree with.

The rest, well, I think most of it is minor. (BTW, it's not like you can hear the cell phone ring anyway, just use a bluetooth)

1. Better seats. esp for big guys. Suspension seats that work great for 160lb people don't work so well for us ummm, bigger folks.
2. Better way to either screen the radiator or get bigger holes so stuff actually flows thru it instead of getting stuck. Because what we're using now isn't working. Does the design team actually go out in the field? I spend at least 1/2hour per week washing out the radiator. it's a tractor, it works in dusty, dry conditions, design for it.
3. NO PLASTIC. It's a tractor, it works hard in bad conditions, weight is a plus in tractors, plastic fenders are a joke. steel!
4. stop using Chinese steel. It would be nice if some parts actually held up to the design specs. I can have most of these parts made at the local welding shop out of real steel for less than you are overcharging me for another crappy pot metal part.
5. Tractor model numbers that make sense. Even the salesmen don't understand half the time. We could always use names you know, it works well for the auto companies. There are a lot more words than 4 digit numbers. You could even combine them for a whole new effect. (sarcasm intended)
6. In addition to someone's earlier mention about filters that can be accessed. Fluid fill areas should be accessible. Whoever thinks it's a good idea to fill a tractor from the seat and pour into the hood, should be forced to actually do it. In wet or snowy conditions with muddy boots.
7. JD needs a new bucket designer. Seriously, that FEL bucket has been a joke for 30+ years and it's still a joke. It can't be that hard to make a bucket that actually works, all the other companies do it.
8. Any engineer that thinks they need a proprietary system for using quick attach on the FEL should be fired. On the spot. Defeats the entire point of universal quick attach.
9. Great joints that can be reached and are easily accessable. My NH tractors FEL's all the joints are inside and face out, so you just walk down the line, no moving this way and that to contort into it. isn't that much easier than one on the bottom, the next underneath, the next you have to uncurl the bucket entirely, etc. And stop putting great joints that face directly down into the dirt. They get ground off. It's a tractor, it works hard, it works in bad conditions......(have I mentioned this before? I really think sometimes it gets forgotten).

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Ground PTO is 1 revolution of wheel=1 revolution of PTO in this mode the pto will turn in reverse if the tractor is in reverse gear.
I sucked up a 100 hp tractor chain in my rototiller once and got it out running in ground PTO in reverse,otherwise I would still be pulling it out.

There's probably more'n just one brand that produced tractors with ground speed PTO, but the only one I'm familiar with is Massey Ferguson. Theirs's didn't turn 1 revolution (on th epto stub) for every revolution of the rear wheel. It was something like 1rpm per every 19" of ground travel. (Roughly 9 rpm per revolution of a typical 13.6 X 28 rear tire/wheel) The concept was developed to power pto driven manure spreaders. It never really caught on like Massey engineers thought it would.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

the fire extinguisher I agree with.

The rest, well, I think most of it is minor. (BTW, it's not like you can hear the cell phone ring anyway, just use a bluetooth)

1. Better seats. esp for big guys. Suspension seats that work great for 160lb people don't work so well for us ummm, bigger folks.
2. Better way to either screen the radiator or get bigger holes so stuff actually flows thru it instead of getting stuck. Because what we're using now isn't working. Does the design team actually go out in the field? I spend at least 1/2hour per week washing out the radiator. it's a tractor, it works in dusty, dry conditions, design for it.
3. NO PLASTIC. It's a tractor, it works hard in bad conditions, weight is a plus in tractors, plastic fenders are a joke. steel!
4. stop using Chinese steel. It would be nice if some parts actually held up to the design specs. I can have most of these parts made at the local welding shop out of real steel for less than you are overcharging me for another crappy pot metal part.
5. Tractor model numbers that make sense. Even the salesmen don't understand half the time. We could always use names you know, it works well for the auto companies. There are a lot more words than 4 digit numbers. You could even combine them for a whole new effect. (sarcasm intended)
6. In addition to someone's earlier mention about filters that can be accessed. Fluid fill areas should be accessible. Whoever thinks it's a good idea to fill a tractor from the seat and pour into the hood, should be forced to actually do it. In wet or snowy conditions with muddy boots.
7. JD needs a new bucket designer. Seriously, that FEL bucket has been a joke for 30+ years and it's still a joke. It can't be that hard to make a bucket that actually works, all the other companies do it.
8. Any engineer that thinks they need a proprietary system for using quick attach on the FEL should be fired. On the spot. Defeats the entire point of universal quick attach.
9. Great joints that can be reached and are easily accessable. My NH tractors FEL's all the joints are inside and face out, so you just walk down the line, no moving this way and that to contort into it. isn't that much easier than one on the bottom, the next underneath, the next you have to uncurl the bucket entirely, etc. And stop putting great joints that face directly down into the dirt. They get ground off. It's a tractor, it works hard, it works in bad conditions......(have I mentioned this before? I really think sometimes it gets forgotten).

I've been known to claim I spend time on a tractor to ESCAPE cell phones ringing.....