I have a 1997 John Deere 550G dozer that is pedal steer. It has the deaccelerator on the far right. I have never operated a pedal steer dozer and was wondering the correct way to steer, so I will get used to the right way. Do you steer left with your left foot, and right AND the deacelerator with the right? Or, do your steering with the left foot both ways, and use the right foot for just the deacelerator?
What I would do is operate the steering with my left foot and keep my right foot for the deaccelerator . Cheers , Rob
Never have your foot too far away from the decellerator and your hand on the transmission selector. I only have run Cat and International never ran a Deere but I know a guy that really buggered up his knees running a Deere dozer pushing on the pedals.
I have only operated lever steer dozers.. and can see how, if learned correctly, using the steer pedals can be very productive.. but man, they are hard to get used too.. the last dozer I had .. was a dresser that had the deaccelerator on the left side like a clutch... and the first 40 times I operated the Deere, when I needed to slow down.. I only turned left... ha.
I have ran a Cat D3C which was pedal steer for a couple of thousand hrs. I would use my left foot to steer with and the right on the decelerator. Some times though I would steer right with my right foot when not in a tight place or a lot of changing directions, which was not very often. Much less it is what you get used to or what works best for you. Good luck.
X2 :d
Ahhh a good old John Deere 550G, the dozer that i started on. The old timer that tought me to run dozer had one thing to tell me about John Deere pedal steer dozers. Right foot decelerator, left foot, steering. No exceptions for any reason. There is to much to go wrong if you forget, and say your next to a road, building, or grade checker. You forget to use the decelerator and someones not going to be happy. They can be tough on the knees, thats for sure. Being a tall guy, i wish i could get more leg room in most any machine. The Deere will have its own little steering quirks. One side will want to steer and the other wont. Learn how to adjust your steering clutches. There is nothing more frustrating than steering with a light push of your toe on one brake and standing on the other brake to get the dozer to steer.