Steering Brakes,,, A Necessity,, Or A Nicety?? (41HP, 3000 Lb Tractor)

[CADplans]

I want to buy a larger tractor for mowing,,, and found one without steering brakes.
I did not know they even made a tractor in the 3,000 pound range without steering brakes..

So, if I get it,, what do I do, just keep adding front end weights until it will turn?
My main hope,, is to mow with a 72" rear finish mower.

The tractor is 4WD, and has R4 tires,,, 10 inch wide R4's on the front,,,
they should steer if I get the right weight on the front.

I do have some slopes and hills,, typically, I use brakes for steering,
but, that is using a much smaller SCUT,,,

Will this tractor work? OR, do I need to keep looking,,,??

 

[jeff9366]

Rear Finish Mowers are relatively light compared to Bush Hogs of the same size.

I do not see a problem but I cannot interpret your SOME SLOPES AND HILLS from my desk.

Very few correspondents on TBN make brake assisted turns ~~ probably no more than 5%.

Have you considered a 72" Zero Turn mower, rather than a tractor? Much lower center-of-gravity, faster, equal or better cut quality, no looking to the rear, turns 360 degrees in place.

LINK TO TBN ARCHIVE: https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=tractor+finish+mower+vs+zero+turn+site:tractorbynet.com&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

 

[Turbys_1700]

I used a 3300# 1720 New Holland 1720 FWA with a Woods PRD 7200 for 7 years and on some of my more severe side slopes it had a tendency to pull the rear end of the tractor down hill. The tractor would handle it but I knew it was back there. The mower weighed 660#. I never utilized the brakes to turn. I first did have front weights but later installed a front end loaded so the front was loaded. What is the tractor model?

 

[CADplans]

Thanks for the replies!!:thumbsup:

The land that is being mowed it really just old farm land,,
it has never been smoothed properly, so I do not want to use a ZT mower.
I think it would be too rough on a ZT,,,

The tractor I looked at is a JD 4105,,
it is like the entry level CUT,, bare bones tractor.
No cruise control, no steering brakes,,
two speed hydro, rather than three,,, etc,,,

 

[k0ua]

Opinions are like *******, everyone has one. Here is mine. I am in that 5% that use steering brakes quite a bit. BUT I have never used them when mowing, only when doing dirt work and pushing snow. Therefore I don't think they are all that important for your mowing work. I never liked the tearing up of turf that using steering brakes would entail.

 

[LRover]

Having steering brakes was something I considered necessary when buying my tractor. I like having the steering brakes in tight places or, if I get a wheel spinning on one side, I can put that brake on to transfer traction to the other wheel. Some HST tractors have their brake peddles on the same side as the motion peddles which didn't make much sense to me. I ended up with a tractor with steering brakes on the left side and the motion peddles on the right. Works well for me. Good luck on your search.

 

[CADplans]

Rear Finish Mowers are relatively light compared to Bush Hogs of the same size.

I do not see a problem but I cannot interpret your SOME SLOPES AND HILLS from my desk.

Very few correspondents on TBN make brake assisted turns ~~ probably no more than 5%.
]

This pic is typical of my slopes that I have used steering brakes on in the past,,

It may not seem steep, but, if you mow that with the Cub Cadet in the pic,,,
you have to go up and down the slope, rather than across.

I have a Gravely riding GT that mowed the grass in the pic,,
the steering brakes are pretty much a necessity,, but,,,,
the tractors I have used are 2WD and MUCH smaller than the 4105.

 

[ovrszd]

Opinions are like *******, everyone has one. Here is mine. I am in that 5% that use steering brakes quite a bit. BUT I have never used them when mowing, only when doing dirt work and pushing snow. Therefore I don't think they are all that important for your mowing work. I never liked the tearing up of turf that using steering brakes would entail.

I'm with this group. I use the heck out of my steering brakes. My little JD doesn't have them. I consider that one of JD's largest failings on that model.....

 

[Gary Fowler]

I wouldn't buy a tractor without steering brakes, PERIOD.

 

[MossRoad]

When I had an AG tractor and used it for brush hogging, I never used the turning brakes. The only time I used them was very infrequently while box blading and maybe in a tight situation with the FEL once in a while. But as others have mentioned, when mowing, you want to keep the ground as flat as possible, and turning brakes tend to leave a pile of dirt on the locked tire side, which defeats the purpose of keeping flat ground. I'd say if you're main task is going to be mowing, you'll probably not miss the turning brakes. If you're going to be row cropping and turning furrows, well, then they might be handy for tight turns. Some folks use them when doing snow removal, but in all seriousness, I'll bet I didn't use them 10 times in 10 years for my uses.