Bashing

[SteveM]

One point about safety switches

I have an old B-series, with no seat or PTO safety switches. I love it. Recently I got stuck in the mud a 1/2 mile from the house. Rather than walk back to get the jeep, and risk getting that stuck, I was able to put the 'bota in 1st 'creeper' gear, hop off, and rock the spinning tractor with a tree limb. The machine freed itself and slowly crawled out of the bog. I stood on the edge and waited for it to clear the mud, hopped on and away I went...very slick. So now I am thinking that I could mow the lawn this way - get her going in a low gear, hop off, putt a few golf balls around, catch the tractor at the far end of the lawn to turn around....just kidding.

Anyhow, any farmer will tell you that there are times when you dont want all those finicky safety switches.

 

[TheChamp]

Re: One point about safety switches

One more point I just remembered about the JD Guys bashing the BX2200. This time it's the Treadle peddle. They were pretty long winded about how awful the Treadle peddle is, and that you can't put your foot on the break at the same time - quote "unless you are growing 2 legs out of your right side". So what is the consensus on the Treadle peddle? Is it easy to use, hard to get used to, a pain in the rear? Is the 2 peddle system that JD (pardon the pun) peddles that much better?

 

[Tom_Trees]

Re: One point about safety switches

<font color=blue>about how awful the Treadle peddle is, and that you can't put your foot on the break at the same time</font color=blue>

Well, you've only got the one brake pedal, which works on both rear wheels at once, so you won't be brake-stearing. So just why would you want to use the brake and the accelerator at the same time?/w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

As for the treadle peddle -- rock your foot forward, you go forward; rock your foot backward, you go backward. relax your foot, or take it off the peddle, and you stop (centers to neutral). You use the brake if you're on a slope.

Check through some of the other posts -- you'll see reference to three kinds of people: those that admit to running the BX with the brake locked; those who've driven the BX with the brake locked but won't admit it; and those who are thinking "this thing's doggin' a lot today".

Tom

 

[Jeff396]

Re: One point about safety switches

I can't think of many instances where I even need to use the brake. The stopping power by simply taking your foot off the pedel is much greater than I expected even when on a slope. I suppose if I had gotten a tractor equipped the other way first I would be complaining too.

Jeff

 

[Charliebrn]

Re: One point about safety switches

I used to have a cub, two pedals, one forward and one reverse. Now i have the "treadle" pedal. Took me about a week to get used to it, and now wouldn't have it any other way. Two pedals are fine as long as you dont have a lot of going back and forth, but using the FEL, it's constant motion. That "treadle" pedal sure comes in handy.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: One point about safety switches

I can think of many situations where I want a foot on the brake and the accelerator/direction pedal. For instance, when inching up to the side of my truck while dangling something hanging by a chain from the front end loader. I like having my foot on the brake at that moment. Can't do it if both pedals are on the same side. As for turning brakes, I never used mine that much. The locked wheel just digs in and you now own a skid stear. Tears up everything under the locked wheel. It is handy for the end of a field or a really tight turn, but I have usually been able to just back up and make a 3 or 4 point turn.

<font color=green> MossRoad </font color=green>

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by MossRoad on 12/12/01 07:34 AM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[wdn]

How can Deere salesmen say they have the best product when it isn't even a John Deere product they are selling? It's a Yanmar with a different paint job. JD is more of a marketing organization than a manufacturer these days.

How can JD ever hope to compete with Kubota on value or innovation if they are selling a rebadged Yanmar at a big markup?

The same with thier snowblowers, the JD is just a rebadged Ariens.

 

[TresCrows]

Here, let me get in on some more bashing--what fun---the treadle pedal or boomerang pedal as I call it is actually quite handy. It does take some getting used too but most people will come to like it ---a lot. When working in close to other things like your house or car or anything you do not want to hit just keep your foot on the pedal and heel and toe it. The tractor will stop effectively--immediantly rocking back on the pedal. Normal use put your heel on the deck and the ball of your foot on the pedal and forward push down and back swing your toe under the pedal and lift up ---to really get a good push on the pedal in reverse when the hydro is under load just rotate your foot back and place the heel on the aft section and press down. It is very versatile, much more so than the two pedal arrangement.
Why is it that both Kubota dealers here are super friendly, invite you in and let you ride their tractors, treat you like one of the family and act like a bunch of good ole'farmer boys having fun with tractors, never even mention the "green" word? Go to the JD dealer here and if they even come out to talk to you the first thing out of their mouth is something like "you ought to be glad you came here instead of the Kubota dealer--those Kubotas are made in Japan ya know (this to someone who drove in with a Toyota) and realy do not compare to a real JD". It is true that JD makes some great machines--they just need to develop a competitive attitude and instill that in their dealers--talk your product and not the competitors and let the customer decide. When all this first started with me I did go to a JD dealer first, they acted like slick car salesman and rained down hellfire on Kubota--I figured with all that poison and fire I better go see what the comotion is all about--now I know.
You know what--it wasn't their tractors I did not like, they actually have some great products--it was their pompus attitude--I remembered a similar attitude when I bought my first Chevy (and my last), it is not a fond memory. J

 

[Knight9]

Interesting observations JR. My experience was somewhat similiar here. The JD dealer was very derogatory when talking about Kubota. The thing that really go me though was the price difference. I know that some of you don't have the diffential that we do in our area, and probably in some areas JD might even be cheaper...but around here there were several thousand dollars difference between the colors for equivalent machinery. The JD guys refused to move and kept talking about resale value and accessability to parts and service. When I pointed out that you couldn't buy a used compact in our area of any color as they are all snapped up very quickly for good $$$....they had no response. How is "added resale value" worth $2500 more on the initial cost when all it means is I'd have to sell it for $2500 more than the used Kubota down the road to make up my money??

In any event, I think JD makes a great product. I also think Kubota, New Holland, Massey, etc do also. Please don't suggest to me that one is worth $2500 more just because it is green, or orange if that was the situation.

Kevin

 

[rwdunky]

HERE IS MY ONLY EXPERIENCE WITH A DEERE DEALER. 22 YEARS AGO MY FATHER WANTED TO BUY HIS FIRST TRACTOR. WENT TO A DEERE DEALER AND FOUND ONE HE LIKED, ASKED TO TRY IT OUT FOR A FEW DAYS. DEERE DEALER STATED DO NOT DEMO TRACTORS. WE THEN WENT TO KUBOTA DEALER AND NEXT DAY HAD A DEMO B7100. KUBOTA DEALER LET US USE IT FOR A WEEK. 8 KUBOTAS LATER WE STILL TELL THIS STORY.