Kustomized Ballast Box

   / Kustomized Ballast Box #1  

slaveToHorses

Gold Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2004
Messages
446
Location
Oregon
Tractor
JD 2355, JD 3720, JD LX280
Just finished customizing my new John Deere ballast box.
Wanted to make it a little more usefull for hauling my typical grounds maintenance tools so before filling it with concrete I added some hooks and eyes and three 4" tubes to hold chains and tools.

Here is the original box. At this point all I have done is seal it up.
 

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   / Kustomized Ballast Box
  • Thread Starter
#2  
Here I have added removable eyes at the corners and a cleat at the back.
Sometimes I just need somewhere convenient to tie off a line.
 

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#3  
This one is after glueing in the tubes. I used a polyurethane glue. There are drain holes at the bottom of the tubes. The two outside tubes are canted back about 15 degrees. Those are for rakes and shovels. The middle one is longer and straight up. I will use that for the pole saw.
I also welded some 5/8" grab hooks on the back. I can hang chains off the hooks or in any of the tubes.
 

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#4  
Concrete poured. 7 80lb bags. I had guessed 8. It probably would have taken the full 8 without the tubes.
 

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#5  
Concrete sealed and painted
 

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   / Kustomized Ballast Box #6  
Awesome!. How much does it weigh now?
 
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  • Thread Starter
#7  
Well, that's a good question. Unfortunately I don't have a good answer. I do know it is WAY heavier than when I got it! :D
 
   / Kustomized Ballast Box #9  
ronjhall said:
Nice project. Wish I had put some of the tubes in my ballast box before pouring the concrete.

This is the value of TBN. We need a post called POST YOUR PICTURES OF BALLAST so everyone can post their pic and those of use who want to buy or build can see a lot of ideas in one post.

I see the eye bolts in four corners. Another idea would be a single loop in the center for lifting the box with a chain.

An axle and two wheels right over the CG could make it easy to move. The axle heigth could be such that only one inch or so of wheel protrudes below the bottom for stability.

Very nice job. Thanks for sharing.
 
   / Kustomized Ballast Box #10  
slaveToHorses said:
Well, that's a good question. Unfortunately I don't have a good answer. I do know it is WAY heavier than when I got it! :D

Relatively easy to figure out. The estimated weight of the box when you started, plus 560 pounds of quickcrete, plus the weight of the tubing and accessories you added. :)
 
 
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