tractors in the wrong direction

[nomad]

No no, not tractors, tractor drivers sitting wrong, backward.

When I saw the picture given in "3 way dump trailer" and looked at the driver looking his behind, with a 180 degree turned head - I remembered the old pain in my neck while I was driving much to plow a land, to unload a trailer, etc. So, I thought this could be another topic here -

Don't you think somethings with the tractor designs are wrong? I have always thought before somethings must have been wrong. Anyway - aren't most of works by tractors and their drivers being done at the back? So, why no design to consider their necks of tractor drivers? I'm serious. I have a quick solution; driver seat, steering wheel, etc should be in the backward direction so that our tractor driver can do the work without feeling any neck pain when they operating their attachments. Seriously... tractors have wrong designs. They are going in the correct direction, but their drivers are going in the wrong direction.

 

[CTyler]

Yea but then you have to turn around to see where your going. More often than not I'm looking forward.

Perhaps a seat on the implement with a remote controll. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[LoganWildman]

How about putting the controls, ie steering wheel, shifter, and hydraulic controls on a seat that can rotate 180 deg. side to side. that way, you aren't straining the neck.

 

[JASTN70D]

Would a set of mirror's be to high tech.? /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[jimg]

NH does address this to a degree w/ the swivelling seat...Im sure others do as well. I forget the exact numbers but the seat swivels something like 15 or 20 degrees right and left of straight ahead. Ive tryed it out and it works OK. Im not sure most folks would want to pay the cost of a swiveling seat and instrument panel.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Fortunately, Deere is in the process of "reinventing the tractor" I am sure they are consulting with nomad.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[nomad]

JSDK55, no, set of mirror's not a high tech - but, seeing aged ourselves in the mirror will make us feel old tech.

Swivelling tractor seat which can swivel only 15-20 deg.? I don't think these will be helpful. (just turned my body 15-20 deg and it's not enough at all.) But this swivelling degree of the seat can be increased, I guess. What is its approx. selling price of such seat?

Rockyridgefarm, Deere has not thought about our necks for decades and now, why should they run their green-ish minds? Just because I questioned this old classical problem here? However, if they need my help, here am I on TBN /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif for their questions in this thread.

 

[jimg]

No clue what the seat itself costs. They sell it as part of the tractor. From what I can figure its not a retrofit type deal...either your NH tractor was designed for this type of seat or it wasnt. If it wasnt then the part wont fit. When I tryed this type of seat out I though it was much more comfortable than twisting my neck/body only...in fact surprisingly so. Long term maybe it would be less than OK. You should give it a try before you discount it.

 

[nomad]

So, it's not being sold as a replacement seat for other tractors. I think such a seat can be made with a simple mechanism, an addition of rotatable bottom plate. This small mechanism can be added to the bottom of any seat if made properly universal.

 

[RobS]

I'll argue that tractor seats point in the direction of most frequent use AND in the direction of most potential safety issues. It's also the best orientation for FEL and any other front/mid mount implements. By having implement hook ups at each end of the tractor, there are bound to be compromises. The swivel seat on the NH is an elegant solution in my opinion.

Ever sit in a large Cat earthmover. The seat is at a permanent angle. The operator can still see to the front but the nature of the machine requires a fair amount of his/her attention to the rear. It's still a compromise but the manufacturer at least considered the operator to a degree.

Remember the GM vehicles with Heads Up Displays several years back? (maybe still available?). Patterned after the displays in fighter jets. Trouble is, in a fighter jet the operators attention is primarily focussed on the instrumentation and much less so on the visual surroundings. Quite the opposite in a car. The driver needs to pay strict attention to the visual surroundings with only an occasional need to assess the instruments. HUD does not address the needs of an automobile driver (IMHO).

Huge Leap Here...

Tractors (ag anyway) aren't in the wrong direction, they are working in a poor environment. The soil prep and planting is currently done in place with multiple trips through the field. This is inefficient as evidenced by the modern day combine. One trip through the field harvests the crop so why can't one trip through the field plant it as well? A large, combine-like machine would cut the soil and bring it INTO the machine to be processed. Soil would be assessed, ammended, fertilized and planted all in a continuous process within the machine. Out the back flows the processed and planted soil. Carts deliver the amendments, fertilizers and seed to the "planting combine" just as carts take the harvested seed away from the harvesting combine. Operator sits facing the front just like in a harvest combine.

There, that should keep you busy for a while Nomad /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif