ehydro steering brakes?

JasonMac · Feb 16, 2007

I use my steering brakes a lot! My front tires are off the ground most of the time when I'm peeling packed down snow. You do have to press the brake very firmly, and you have to really give it a good step on the hydro for it to work effectively.

Matthew_H · Feb 27, 2007

dirtworksequip said:
Mathew, if you look at your brake pedals and there is a piece of metal the is on a pin so that you can swing it up and that seperates the two pedals so they can be worked seperately. Hence stepping on one or the other and locking up one wheel cause the tractor to skid steer and turn sharper.

O.K., been a while since I've checked this thread. I guess the 3203, economy model, doesn't have steering brakes. There is only one brake pedal, no split pedals. Hasn't posed a problem yet though, so i wion't worry about it.
Thanks

AKfish · Feb 28, 2007

Whoa... I guess not having split brake controls is possible on a tractor. But that's not any configuration that I've ever seen --- even on old antique tractors.

Maybe some other 3203 owner's or a dealer could clue me in why Deere would engineer such a thing on a new model tractor!?!

AKfish

Sweats62 · Mar 2, 2007

I can see where split brakes can be invaluable for ag uses but we've long since entered a day and age where Mr Joe property owner had found a use for something more substantial than a garden tractor for property management without needing an ag machine. Isn't that what drove the market for the CUT in the first place? I will readily admit I could be dead wrong on this account but it seems to me that features like split brakes might not be critical for utility applications. DISCLAIMER: I haven't operated an ag tractor in over thirty years and even then had only limited experience using split brakes.

kennyd · Mar 3, 2007

Sweats,
The split brakes are real handy when there is little traction, like plowing snow or driving through mud, while not "critical" to have, I find I use them quite frequently.
They aren't just for turning on a dime at the end of a crop row.

Oh, And WELCOME to TBN

radman1 · Mar 3, 2007

Used the split brakes yesterday on JD 3720 moving snow with blade. Deep snow was redirecting tractor into the snow banks. I was wishing I had the 40x0 series but the tractor did ok. Brakes worked fine and actually very helpful if I responed quickly to prevent getting pulled into the snow. I have a Landpride 4096 8' blade which is a lot more blade than tractor can handle but works great unless deep snow.

AKfish · Mar 4, 2007

Just came in the house after cleaning the horse corral. I've got a JD 7' rear blade with an ice cutting blade from a road maintainer (grader) and 150lbs of railroad steel on top for weight.
It gets pretty chilly up here and those horse nuggets are hard enough to be used as deadly weapons! Been cold up here for 2 solid weeks (-12 this morning) and the corral is frozen, frozen. So, it takes some work to chip and scrape all that fertilizer loose.
Nonetheless, even with chains all around and in 4x4, the front end wanders around on the hard packed snow and ice. Steering control is not very precise... to say the least.
So, when I clear along the steel fence panels, I coax the tractor around the circle with a bit of nudging on the inside brake.
I can only imagine what shape my corral might be in after a few winters of having a brake setup that might be considered "unidirectional".

AKfish

JB4310 · Mar 4, 2007

Seems like everyone is using the skid steer method for the same thing, to get extra control when clearing snow and ice, that's the only time I really need mine, it's not gonna spin you around like a bobcat but it does help, for major adjustments you have to do what toolguy said, stop reverse with wheels cut until you're pointing in the right direction and proceed, with ehydro it's effortless.
I don't think ehydro would effect how your brake steering would work as opposed to other transmission options, but some one else will know more about the inner workings.