Cruise control - downside?

[RugerSAfan]

I was using my Mother-in-laws Kubota L3130 HST and a Woods finish mower on a little less than 5 bumpy acres. Before using, I asked if it had cruise control; she said she wasn't sure, that it wasn't a feature she used. Fortunately, the nephew pointed it out.

At my age (almost 60) and a right leg injury as a teenager, I found my right leg getting uncomfortable after an hour or so on the tractor. I finally started using the cruise control on long stretches and loved it. (I use cruise control in my truck a LOT to avoid speeding tickets.)

Any downside with using cruise control on a regular basis? I have a MX5400 HST on order, will it come standard with cruise control?

 

[Nicfin36]

I had cruise control installed on my L2501 when I bought the tractor, and have used it exactly one time. That was to see if it works. However, my plans were to use it if I ever ran a cutter on the tractor.

I cannot think of any downside to it, unless you were running in precarious areas. But, it disengages with the brake if I remember correctly. So, it would not be any slower to stop than running a geared tractor.

I read that the cruise control on the MX5400 is a standard feature.

 

[cliffboyer]

Precisely why I added it to my 3301...a nice comfort when mowing to move feet & leg position when mowing.

 

[kubotafreak]

I have it on a few rigs. It is a nice feature to have. I cavate that if the terrain is rough at all, you wont be using it.

 

[mikester]

The only downside I see is not having it.

 

[shelkol]

I wish my BX had cruise. I find when plowing snow my right knee hurts cause I'm pushing the pedal hard enough to help the tractor push LOL

 

[Bmyers]

No issues that I know of. I use it when i mowing the flat larger areas. Mowing around the creek obviously requires a little more focus, so no cruise then.

 

[DustyRusty]

I wish my BX had cruise. I find when plowing snow my right knee hurts cause I'm pushing the pedal hard enough to help the tractor push LOL

Cruise control was available for the BX2200, and I purchased a kit to install it on my BX22, but never got around to it in 17 years. I move slowly. I will look for it in the garage, and if and when i find it, I will offer it for sale. I bought a new BX and it came with cruise control as a standard item.

 

[aaluck]

Have it on my L4400 and rarely use it but it is nice when you have long stretches or smooth long turns

 

[nbryan]

Downside? The inevitable - forgetting it's engaged and trying to stop the tractor the usual, habitually ingrained way. By lifting your foot off the HST pedal. When that doesn't halt progress there's a few moments of loss of control and I've happened to be in timing-sensitive stop zones when it did happen. Like approaching an obstacle while mowing, and the half-second rush to hit the brake or even worse disengage the HST by punching it with my foot in a panic, which I've also done which made things worse lol. Missed the house, gotta stop doing that s**t lol...

 

[CKNPRO]

Downside? The inevitable - forgetting it's engaged and trying to stop the tractor the usual, habitually ingrained way. By lifting your foot off the HST pedal. When that doesn't halt progress there's a few moments of loss of control and I've happened to be in timing-sensitive stop zones when it did happen. Like approaching an obstacle while mowing, and the half-second rush to hit the brake or even worse disengage the HST by punching it with my foot in a panic, which I've also done which made things worse lol. Missed the house, gotta stop doing that s**t lol...

I was about to say the downside is when you take out the fence because taking your foot off the treadle didn’t stop the tractor.....

 

[Mike9]

With the speed control engaged why would you have your foot on the treadle? I have one I need to clean up, paint and install this year.

 

[NCL4701]

With the speed control engaged why would you have your foot on the treadle? I have one I need to clean up, paint and install this year.

It does sound kind of stupid when written out but the delayed stop has been my experience and apparently that of several others. At least for me, the problem is while the tractor is in cruise, my brain tends to go into cruise as well and if something unexpected comes up, I’ve stopped the tractor with the HST so routinely, hitting the brakes is option 2, not option 1. That results in a delay of about a second or slightly less in starting to actually stop as I pick up my right foot that isn’t even on the treadle and then hit the brake with my left foot after realizing plan A didn’t work.

At least for me, cruise is for large, open, unoccupied areas and the occasional road trip. It does allow you to take your foot off the treadle, which helps quite a bit with fatigue.

Approaching a maneuver other than a sweeping turn; out of cruise and foot back on the pedal. Could be lack of competence on my part, but that’s how I use it. It is quite useful in some applications to reduce fatigue.

Glad to have it but don’t use it a ton. Mostly when mowing. If I was pulling a disc harrow or seeder or such, I can see using it for that type thing as well but I don’t do that type thing these days.

 

[nbryan]

With the speed control engaged why would you have your foot on the treadle? I have one I need to clean up, paint and install this year.

That's the thing, wherever the foot is resting when the cruise is set my unconscious reaction is to lift it anyway! It's not like it will do anything, its just an automatic reaction. The real brain kicks in right away when the expected result (stopping) doesn't happen. My mind goes on cruise control too.

 

[mikester]

If anyone hates their CC please send me your CC controls and module!

 

[kubotafreak]

These are all great real life examples of pro's and con's. OP, keep in mind some of the older and certain newer models have a "mechanical type of cruise/throttle lock. These must be used cautiously as some have pointed out. If you get into the larger/fancy models, the cruise is more like that which comes on a car. It is electronic in nature and has all the safety shut off switches.

 

[thirdroc17]

At my age (almost 60) and a right leg injury as a teenager, I found my right leg getting uncomfortable after an hour or so on the tractor. I finally started using the cruise control on long stretches and loved it. (I use cruise control in my truck a LOT to avoid speeding tickets.)

You too? I can't go anywhere close to an hour without either having to remove my foot, or drop it to the floor.

Dang auger feeders, they can be really tough on a leg.

 

[troverman]

The difference between the mechanical "friction lever" cruise control and the electronic variety is night and day. I use cruise (electronic type) when running a fertilizer spreader...I can set the flow gate and tractor speed very precisely so all areas are equally covered. With the electronic type, you can see your set speed, and tap up or down just like in your car to increase or decrease; one tap on the brake pedal or rear of HST pedal shuts it down.

 

[NCL4701]

The difference between the mechanical "friction lever" cruise control and the electronic variety is night and day. I use cruise (electronic type) when running a fertilizer spreader...I can set the flow gate and tractor speed very precisely so all areas are equally covered. With the electronic type, you can see your set speed, and tap up or down just like in your car to increase or decrease; one tap on the brake pedal or rear of HST pedal shuts it down.

Very true. If I was using my tractor for ag purposes such as spreader use where precise speed is needed I wouldn’t consider a model without electronic cruise and an OEM speedometer. That’s especially true for HST where you can’t precisely set speed with engine RPM and gear selection.

I don’t have a need for that level of ground speed precision so the mechanical lever is fine for my use. It would be unacceptable, IMO, for setting precise ground speed as required for some uses.