daTeacha
Veteran Member
/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif Like anything else, it's a two sided coin. The very long reach that makes the tractor tippy in this situation is something I figured as desirable for other chores I need to do, one of which is filling some small gullies by picking up brush piles with the grapple and dropping them into the gullies, then squashing them with down pressure from the bucket. This is followed by a layer of "used hay" from the barnyard. The reach lets me put the stuff further from the edge of the gully without venturing so far into it with the wheels. And, yeah, 6 or 8 inches is a lot in that situation. Ditto for loading a pickup. Dumping firewood into the Dakota from the side with the B7100 meant putting a piece of OSB alongside the truck and carefully nosing up to it with the bucket raised, but even then the load needed to be moved around by hand to allow even filling of the truck.
Same with the hydro. I was convinced I needed gear drive for a long time. Then I drove the hydro on the lot and found it much smoother and therefore better for delicate work such as sliding the bucket under the manure against the barn wall, placing sandstone blocks into a retaining wall, etc. Again, better for some jobs, but worse for others.
And the brakes -- Well, I still think the pedals should be on the other side. I can't think of a situation where that would be a disadvantage. I like turning brakes, and I can use that feature, sort of, in conjunction with the cruise control. It's the left brake pedal that shuts cruise off, so the right one can work as a turning brake. Further, the mechanism that shuts the cruise off is electrical, so I can disconnect it or better, put a switch on it so I can shut it off as needed and have turning brakes.
If there is some mechanical/design reason the pedals need to be on the same side as the hst pedal, the factory should include a switch with an automatic default that shuts down the cruise when the brakes are used, but can be switched to not do that, kind of like the traction control on my wife's car. It's on whenever you start it, but you can shut it off if you want to.
Same with the hydro. I was convinced I needed gear drive for a long time. Then I drove the hydro on the lot and found it much smoother and therefore better for delicate work such as sliding the bucket under the manure against the barn wall, placing sandstone blocks into a retaining wall, etc. Again, better for some jobs, but worse for others.
And the brakes -- Well, I still think the pedals should be on the other side. I can't think of a situation where that would be a disadvantage. I like turning brakes, and I can use that feature, sort of, in conjunction with the cruise control. It's the left brake pedal that shuts cruise off, so the right one can work as a turning brake. Further, the mechanism that shuts the cruise off is electrical, so I can disconnect it or better, put a switch on it so I can shut it off as needed and have turning brakes.
If there is some mechanical/design reason the pedals need to be on the same side as the hst pedal, the factory should include a switch with an automatic default that shuts down the cruise when the brakes are used, but can be switched to not do that, kind of like the traction control on my wife's car. It's on whenever you start it, but you can shut it off if you want to.