|
Mon, Jun 4, 12 at 16:16
| Here it is..I bought my very first riding mower a Yardworks 16.5hp, 42" deck and it works beautifully, very happy with it but there's a 'little something'. Since I acquired the beast in question, my friend has been doing my lawn and has been enjoying doing it because on top of doing all the lawn that needs to be done, he has started mowing in the field. He just loves being on it and doing this kind of job. Problem is...this friend will be soon leaving and I'll be the one doing the work.
For the first time yesterday I tried it in the driveway and noticed I couldn't bring the brake pedal all the way down so my friend adjusted the seat for me and still I can't bring the brake pedal down all the way. What I have to do is sit at the edge of my seat in order to extend my leg long enough to bring the pedal down and when I do this, the motor shuts off..security device because the seat goes forward. I was told this morning by a rep at Yardworks that they build 8 different models..TroyBild and others and the seats are designed for people 5'6" and taller. It will be uncomfortable for me to use it. I tried and everyone told me, including my friend, how much relaxing and nice it is just to ride on it, that I have a nice property and it's pleasant and I will absolutely love it. Not the case. I'm scared to go on it... I have slopes. I really need a riding mower because it's a 3 hour job (my friend) so probably more than 4 for me. I would need those platform shoes that used to be in fashion in the late 70's. Do you think by strapping a piece of wood on the brake pedal would work? Thanks, Anicee |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by bill_kapaun Z8 Orygun (My Page) on Mon, Jun 4, 12 at 17:16
| Try it. Maybe a wedge shaped piece would work better? |
|
| Why not have a friend make a block of hardwood, and screw it to the clutch pedal!?: A piece of 4x4 might do. Or maybe 6x6. No need to panic! They have done things like that for other folks with short legs! RJ |
|
| I did a google type search for "foot pedal extenders" and found numerous examples of many devices that are made specifically to extend automobile foot pedals for short folks. I was not too impressed with most of the prices stuck on many of them but I guess they can claim to be filling needs in a "niche market" and therefore write themselves license to charge what that feel like. Many of the pedal extenders looked sturdy and well made though high priced. Do your own search and think about your options. |
|
- Posted by wheely_boy 5 Cleve (My Page) on Tue, Jun 5, 12 at 5:42
| The way I see it is you either use the pedal extenders or you place a 50# bag of sand on the seat and sit on that. |
|
| Thank you for your comments. I didn't express myself properly when I used the word pedal for the brakes. It's more a horizontal cylinder and it is on the left. But just the same I'll check pedal extenders. Anicee p.s.: I'm a woman but I'm certain there are short men out there having those problems. Poor guys!! |
|
| Go to an auto supply and buy a "suicide knob". They are made for car steering wheels, about 2.5" high and cheap. It will clamp right on most brake pedals. |
|
| Thank you Wertach. I did a google image search on those 'suicide knob' but my clutch/brake has the shape of a cylinder, it's positioned horizontally. I don't know if it could work but if it did, it would solve my problem. Thanks, Anicee |
|
| I'm really having a hard time with the suicide knob suggestion as a solution. Now that anicee has described the shape of the "pedal" as being tubular, all I'm coming up with is something that could slide over the OEM tube to significantly increase the overall diameter of it in order for her foot to reach it. Imagine something about as big in diameter as the fat end of a baseball bat......but with a center hole that fits the OEM tubular pedal, and just long enough to cover the length of the foot pedal tube. Without an actual tractor (or good close up photos) to measure from, it is difficult to work out a viable solution. |
|
| I'm French so my use of words was not exact. Thank you Mownie. I'll take a picture of the 'thing' in question and will post it. Anicee |
|
Here are 2 pics of my clutch/brake 'pedal'...I need to find something secure to affix on it in order for me to be able to bring it all the way down, feel comfortable on my brand new lawn tractor and have fun like everyone seems to be having when they're doing their lawn.   Anicee |
|
| Merci anicee. Looking at the photos caused me to wonder about the brake pedal linkage, specifically if there is a threaded adjusting rod incorporated in the linkage to permit adjusting of the pedal height. Normally, there is some type of adjustment provision that can be made to compensate for wear in the brake discs. Adjusting that linkage on some brands will actually raise the brake pedal higher. If this can be done on your machine perhaps you can get the dealer or agent to adjust that so the pedal moves closer to your foot. Looking at the gaps and spaces related to the pedal and its shape seem to imply that there is ample room for the brake pedal to be raised higher. Of course if the brake pedal is locked DOWN (parking brake) in the pictures......all that room I think I see might be just an illusion. |
|
| If it were mine, I'd remove the rubber covering and then weld a rectangular piece of 1/4" steel to the clutch rod. Then you can easily add a wooden block to that. This would be my only choice if the pedal height cannot be adjusted. It would look ugly, but there are muffler clamps that could be used to fasten another piece of pipe to the existing pedal. Problem is that everything would tend to be loose in short order and the pedal would become sloppy. Long before foot pedals became common on the drive side of riders, I made my own invention. The idea came from an industrial machine at work.
|
|
| anicee - an inexpensive(<$10) fix that might work - go to a lowes or hardware store - purchase a short length (one or two feet) of schedule 40 4" diameter plastic CPVC pipe along with two end caps (same material/size). Also get the right plastic pipe cleaner and glue. Squarely cut a length off the pipe with a hack saw or such - dress the ends to remove burrs/etc and dry fit the two cap ends to make a 4 inch diameter cylinder slightly shorter than the width of the ribbed rubber cover on the pedal. Carefully measure the outside diameter of the ribbed rubber pedal cover. Drill a thru hole in the center of the two end caps to a size mebbe 1/16 inch smaller than the the ribbed rubber pedal cover outside diameter. The idea is to create a tight "interference" fit between your home-made cylinder and the pedal cover diameters so that once tapped on using a hammer and a piece of scrap plastic tubing, the plastic tube will stay firmly in place. Once the plastic tube assembly is successfully dry-fitted and looks like it will fit tightly to the ribbed rubber pedal cover, glue the two end caps together on the tube and let cure for an hour before doing any hammering. If you you really want to embellish the cylinder, cut a pretrimmed piece of wet/dry sandpaper (coarse grit) - glue it to the plastic tube outside diameter grit side out to give you a less slippery surface for your foot to contact. If the company rep gave you good info, the resulting 2 inch pedal extension should work for you. Good luck - and perhaps other contributers on this forum can improve on above. |
|
| In rcbe's suggested "extender" a more durable way to get the non slip surface onto the plastic cylinder would be to purchase a piece of "anti-skid tape" which is made specifically for covering slick surfaces to provide a grip for shoes. I have recently begun seeing the anti-skid tape showing up in auto parts stores available in small sheets of various sizes. With that stuff you just peel the backing sheet off the self adhesive and apply the tape to the targeted surface. And it lasts a long time. |
|
| With the cylinder over the pedal suggestions, my only cautious thoughts are that the cylinder might or will eventually become loose and act as a wheel and my foot might roll right off the brake pedal. |
|
| I want to thank you all for your suggestions. I was talking about my problem with my neighbour who's a farmer and he told me "I'll fix it for you." Maybe he'll come up with something similar as one of your suggestions. I don't know exactly what he'll do but once the problem is resolved, will take a picture and show it to you. Again...a big merci! Anicee |
|
| Two pipe straps, four screws, one short piece of 2X4. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Tractors Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.