Tractor Confusion

[Farmwithjunk]

Well.. I guess it goes without saying that you have to match your towed load with the braking capacity of the tow vehicle. The fact that an 8n or 3000 can't stop a 10000 pound hay trailer is by no means an error or flaw in the design of the brakes.. it's just that you are exceeding the limit by about 3x... that is a flaw/error inthe thinking of the farmer.. not the correctly working, but over taxed brake system on a cut.. etc..

I don't see it listed in many of the older manuals.. but the 2 newer tractors i have had did list their safe towed load in respect to braking, vs max towed load the drawbar could handle/ tractor get rolling..e tc.

Another braking Issue i see lots of people not using is engine braking. I have been at a stop and have seen a county mowing tractor glide up to a red light witht he op standing on the brakes, clutch pushed, and engine roaring at road rpm... vs letting the engine idle down and eat some of that speed... Go figure.. Guess he didn't own the tractor.. so he wasn't worried about it... That old .. "treat it like it was rented equipment" mentality...

Soundguy

In about every case I know of, farmers will use whatever is at hand to do whatever needs doing. Last week, I saw an old FarmAll (believe an H) pulling TWO 20' hay racks, loaded to the limit with what looked to be wet hay.

Brakes on the "old tractors" were decent, but far from enough when hooked to too big of a load. That massive load might be safely (RELATIVELY) at field speeds, but when taken out on the road..... That's why I like wet brakes/hydraulic brakes when doing "heavy chores". They need to be in good condition too, but when they are, at least the ones I'm familiar with, you have that extra stopping power needed for big loads. As much as I like the old iron, there are a few features more common to newer tractors that are hard to beat.

On engine braking; In recent years, I've taken to the habit of using the foot throttle when on the road. The simple act of pushing the brake takes the throttle down to idle. Sometimes you have your hands full with steering and shifting. No third hand to shut down the throttle. (Can you say multi-tasking....?) Bottom line. Tractors aren't really INTENDED as road vehicles. When doing such, extra precautions must be taken.

 

[Soundguy]

My owners manual for my NH7610s even states to use the foot throttle when using on the road ( thus making you go down to idle when you lift your foot to hit the brakes ).. also says to tie the brakes together.. i wonder how many people forget that one...

On the issue of wet brakes.. Most of the wet brake systemns i see are 'larger' tractors anyway.. thus.. having a higher braking capacity that a mechanical set of brakes may be 'defacto'.. that is,.. a 45hp w/ wet brakes is going to have more braking capacity than a 35hp tractor with dry brakes.. the bigger tractor is heavier and better suited for a heavier load.. brakes included.

Old iron? At least int he 70's you could get wet brakes. i'm reasonable sure my 5000 has wet brakes.

As for the farmall towing two racks of hay.. I still say it is not a machine fault if he didn't stop... He's simply pulling too much load to expect tractor brakes to stop that with that tow vehicle.. just insuficient braking available.. even if the brakes and tires are opperasting at 100% of design efficiency.. just not enought tractor weight, and pad to drum /disc surface area to make that situation safe..

Soundguy