learning to drive a 16 speed

drjdb · Mar 9, 2001

Having read many helpful discussions on this board for several months, we recently took the plunge and bought a used L2650DT. It's being delivered on the weekend, and I look forward to it's arrival with a mixture of joy and trepidation. Although I'm comfortable driving a standard 4-on-the-floor car, I've never driven a tractor before, and certainly nothing with 16 speeds.

What should I know before putting it in gear, letting my foot of the clutch, and trying to avoid putting a dent in the side of the house or running over my dog? It's coming with an owner's manual, but tips from those with experience would be appreciated.

dave

Harv · Mar 9, 2001

Welcome, Dave! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I bought my very first tractor (an L2500DT) last September, and I had similar anxieties.

You'll get over the fear of blasting off across the field real quick if you do what my delivery guy had me do. Just put it in low range and first gear. Go ahead and rev 'er up, pop the clutch and prepare to be amazed! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

That's exactly what I did, and although it was a thrill just to feel the tractor moving under me, the fact that it took like what seemed minutes to go about 3 feet calmed me down just fine. Your dog could outrun it walking backwards, and even your house has a fighting chance of getting out out of the way. And the best thing, I thought, was that when I took my foot off the gas, I came to an immediate stop without even hitting the brakes.

It's probably not a bad idea to stay in low range for the first hour or two while you get the feel for the steering and hydraulics. Did you get a FEL? Any implements? Keep us posted, and if you don't have one already, start shopping for a digital camera. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Thomas · Mar 9, 2001

drjdb,
Welcome to TBN and Congratulation on your new tractor.

Find an open space and practice little,and in no time the basic operation will become second nature.

Enjoy and stay safe.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird · Mar 9, 2001

Dave, Harv's advice is good, and I'm not familiar with that tractor, but most older tractors do not have a synchromesh transmission, so that means that you have to STOP to change gears. A tractor has enough power to take off from a stop in any gear unless you're pulling a heavy load.

Bird

Jag · Mar 9, 2001

Welcome to the board... I also have a L2650DT-7 that picked up used, it had only 170 hours, now have about 300 more... Yours is a 4wd (DT) or two (F), way to go. You are going to love the little tractor and what all it can do, it amazes me all the time. Do not be scared you should only have 8 gears, four on column right side. Shuttle shift on left (forward-reverse), and high-lo range on the left side of seat. The first four are real slow and do good working in tight places and pushing things around if you have a frontend loader (FEL). In hight range, I have used a brush hog in H1 if not working in trees, also H2 when mowing open field with lots of room and the grass is not too high... H3 and H4 are highway gears, the are synchro.
L1 top speed is just less than 1mph, now that is max PRM... top speed in H4 in right at 14 mph... Ok RPM's max is 2600 mine has never seen it, rated PTO is at 2340. Most of time I am working mine at 1800 to 2200, you will find the speed you like. Minimun is about 800-900 RPM, crank and warm-up at 1000-1200, just moving it around 1200-1800 rpm.. That about covers the basics... This tractor used very little fuel about 1/2 to 3/4 gal per hour at the above rpms. Now a funny story you should like. When I picked mine up I had the guy load it on the trailer I had borrowed and drove it home with out incendent. (make sure you fill it up on the way in). Started to unload it and the first try out I was a little off, pulled back up and started to try again, and could not get the tractor to move. Messed with for a while all the my dad was watching..... I had bumped the hi-lo range lever with my left elbow into neutral... My father-in-law got the best laugh out of it he has been a heavy equipment operator for fourty years, said it happens all the time to old pro's who move equipment that they are not familiar with........ sorry to be so long.. If you have any questions just email me...

Harv · Mar 9, 2001

Dave -

Glad Bird mentioned the gear shifting -- I'd forgotten about that. It was totally counter-intuitive to me to come to a complete stop before shifting, and the idea of starting from a standstill in a higher gear took some real getting used to. Fact is, it works real smooth no matter what gear you're in. If you're like me, you'll grind a few gears before you start remembering to stop first, but it's one of those noises that teaches you real fast.

Another thing that came to mind as I remember my maiden voyage was my first experience with "tilt". My confidence was high (I think I was using second gear by now) when the right side of the tractor encountered a slight depression in the soil. The whole thing listed to that side, maybe 3 degrees, and I 'bout crapped my pants! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif (Sorry for the imagery, but you'll see what I mean when you have the same experience.) Riding so high off the ground, out in the open, makes even a slight tilt feel like you're going over.

You'll get used to that, of course, but if your property has any hills at all, you might want to call ol' Rick at R&B Manufacturing and order a tiltmeter or two. You will also realize why so many of us say, "always wear your seatbelt"!

You're in for some fun times, Dave, and don't be surprised if you get some actual work done in the process. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

gerard · Mar 9, 2001

ditto what everyone else said along with the "congrats". One thing I would check is how your wheels are set. If like the 2500 there are 4 different ways of setting the rear wheel widths. Unless you have some reason to have a narrow width set make sure they are as wide as possible. It's day and night on sideways slope stability. (Unless you have some pressing desire to emulate Harv's scatolgical tipping description!!!!! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

drjdb · Mar 9, 2001

Thanks for all the tips. I would never have guessed that I was always supposed to stop the tractor when changing gears. Starting out in L1 sounds like a good plan - unfortunately the only level and even ground is near the house - but if letting my foot off the gas stops the tractor, then I should be safe from scraping up my siding.

We have 5 acres on the Sunshine Coast ( have to take a ferry from Vancouver BC to get here ). It's mostly wooded, but we have an acre cleared within which our house sits. Doesn't snow much here, but in a normal year we get LOTS of rain. I want the tractor for maintaining the driveway ( heavy rain does nasty things to an unpaved and poorly graded road ), landscaping, and keeping the blackberries, alders, etc. in check.

The property is on a 10 degree slope with lots of small hummocks - left over from when we had a big machine in to clear and grub 8 years ago. Some of the old stumps are from trees 3' in diameter logged at the turn of the century, but still not rotted ( love that red cedar ). It made quite a hole when they were removed, and the backfilling was somewhat uneven. The largest two stumps were so big the excavator couldn't lift them, so he kind of pushed/rolled the over to the side of the clearing, and there they still sit among the blackberries. From what you've said, driving over the hummocks will take some getting used to - I'll do it slowly.

I made sure the dealer swapped the rear wheels around so that the wheelbase was maximized ( although I thought there were only 2 options - narrow and wide, not 4 - can someone explain what the other two are?). I have a new FEL and 5' box blade, and plan to get a brush cutter later on once the leveling has been done with the box blade. I opted not to get calcium put in the tires - I read the discussion on it, and decided I probably had enough weight on the back with the box blade, and could do without the associated expense and rust problems.

Sorry Harv, but have no digital camera - I usually resort to scanning my prints, but that inevitably means several weeks go by between taking the pictures and having them on my computer.

dave

GlueGuy · Mar 9, 2001

Dave,

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you.

<font color=blue>(although I thought there were only 2 options - narrow and wide, not 4 - can someone explain what the other two are?)</font color=blue>

Before one of the other smart alecks gets to this one, I'll tell you what they are:

1 - Narrow
2 - Not so Narrow
3 - Not so Wide
4 - Wide

/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The GlueGuy

gbd · Mar 9, 2001

Dave,

Congrats on the tractor, I'm sure you'll have as much fun as the rest of us.

As for the 4 tread widths the center disks can be unbolted from the rims and turned around without turning the rims, gives 4 positions, hope that made sense.

Gerald