Deere CUT mods for 'No Feet' Operation

[rockyridgefarm]

Hi - long time no see!

My buddy is wanting a CUT for his acreage. Since he does not use his feet (due to an accident) he is thinking of a 'No Feet' operation modification.

On HST models, it looks as if we could place a pot on the DSCV handle to handle fore and back. We could add a switch to operate the FEL grapple ( a must have!). Over on the left we could set a hand lever to operate the brakes.

Add iMatch and that auto pto hook up thingy, and he ahould be pretty well fixed up.

Any ideas?

BTW I pointed him to PowerTrac, but he is still thinking he wants a regular CUT.

He was over a while back and got stuck driving mine. Now he is really in the gotta have a tractor mode....

 

[thatguy]

years ago I mowed lawns on an large estate/farm using Kubota compacts (or maybe even sub compacts) - The manager had a wooden leg and the dealership modified the pedal so he could operate it with his hands instead using an extension mounted to the pedal.. I cant remember the details (right or left, or how the pedal functioned)..

Since JD uses two pedals for HST (at least on the 2320) im not sure how it could be modified.. I would think a single pedal would be needed to add a hand control..

good luck

Brian

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Yeah, Kubotas pedals are valves with plumbing. Deere's pedals are 'dimmer switch' type pots. So you could just rewire to a new 'fader' on the handle. It really should be a straight forward mod. Now the brake would be like the 'Bota mod.

 

[kennyd]

Hello Mike, good to see you posting again!

There was a member with a JD that had modified it for hands only operation, but I could not find the post

But do a search for "wheelchair" and you will find some good post's, especially from the member "DrDan"


I hope you stick around, the 4310 club has completely fallen apart!

 

[JerryG]

Mike,
You might get up with Steve Carver. He has set-up several tractors like that. I believe he said here a time or two that he would help with information for others that need to do such modifications.

 

[RogerH]

Mike: A few years ago I saw a display of a 4610 or 4710 tractor modified very similar to what you described at the Indiana State Fair. The owner of the company had the use of his hands, but not legs. He also had it equipped with a lift to transfer from his wheel chair to the tractor seat. He was very pleased with the way it operated. I cannot remember the name of the company, but the man did mention a close relationship with the "Breaking New Ground" program which is based out of Purdue University. They have a web site with contact information and might be able to provide a reference. They also have a lot of other information to help farmers with various injuries and disabilities.

 

[ragkar]

I just checked my JD2320 and found that lifting the 'go forwards' foot pedal will cause the tractor to drive backwards. So putting a long handle on that pedal will enable hand control of the tractor motion. The 2320 also has a cruise control.

Lifting the reverse pedal doesn't cause anything to happen.

I checked again and the forwards-pedal is bolted onto 3/4" tubing by two bolts. If you didn't want to be fancy, drill two holes in a two foot length of angle iron and replace the pedal with that.
But I would replace the aforementioned tubing (one bolt) with a 2.5 foot piece of tubing and put a rubber bicycle handle on that.

The situation for the brakes is very similar.

With these mods, the throttle, motion, loader, 3pt, brakes, and of course the steering are hand operated. And of course the BH is already a foot-free operation though it might be awkward getting up there.

 

[HappyCPE]

Add iMatch and that auto pto hook up thingy, and he ahould be pretty well fixed up.

What's the auto PTO thingy? The PTO is the main reason I have to go to confession every week....

 

[ragkar]

Considering the ease in converting the 2320 to hand controls, I'm thinking that the JD design people did it deliberately and that there's probably a conversion kit available from JD.

 

[kennyd]

What's the auto PTO thingy? The PTO is the main reason I have to go to confession every week....

Click HERE, there is a hole thread about it