Best way to add weight.

[Dashe]

I plan on getting a CTC FEL for my X720 for removing snow, logs in the woods, placing mulch etc. I got a cargo carrier for Harbor Freight with a 500 lb capacity. I also got the 2" to 1 1/4" adapter so that I could bolt the carrier to my tractor. I now have (4) 5 gallon pallets full of sand as weight. I use a rope hoist to place on the carrier. I use the carrier for hauling water too and for other tasks. Paid $50 for the carrier and $12 for the adapter. I was thinking of loading the wheels but it seems to me, it would be hard on the lawn. Could use the sand if I got stuck.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I didn't say I was looking for a cheap way where I don't care how it affects my equipment. If you aren't going to do something right, with quality in mind, don't even bother to start.

There is a right way, and a wrong way, to do every single thing on the face of this planet. Nothing bothers me more than cheap people who don't care to do their research, or to try and protect their investment. I spent $10,000 on a garden tractor, you won't see me filling my tires with water. I look after everything I own, and in turn, it looks after me.

Thanks for the clarification. You will do better to get on with using the tractor rather than worrying about what might go wrong in many years due to an imperfect choice. Im sure the tractor will have a long life punctuated by anxiety; longevity much like a tractor that is merely used and maintained moderately well.
larry

 

[JDTank]

Buy a Tractor.2 machines -1 small and 1 bigger for the heavy jobs like Jenks does.

Wish I could.

Right now my debt load is at the maximum. I have a very fancy Silverado pickup truck I still owe 3 years on yet. I have this X740 I just bought 4 months ago, and credit card debt. Up until a few years ago, I have never had credit card debt. When you lose your job unexpectedly, and cannot find a new one in a hurry, things add up!

So, needless to say, there is nothing I can do for a few years. Do I desperatly need a big tractor? Yes. Could I afford it? Not even 10% of it!

I figure in 4 years time I will be completely debt free. I will be 29 than, so, luckily I am young enough to dig myself out of this. The funny part is, as soon as I dig out, I will be right back in for a tractor haha! One payment is easier than 3 though.

 

[ovrszd]

Wish I could.

Right now my debt load is at the maximum. I have a very fancy Silverado pickup truck I still owe 3 years on yet. I have this X740 I just bought 4 months ago, and credit card debt. Up until a few years ago, I have never had credit card debt. When you lose your job unexpectedly, and cannot find a new one in a hurry, things add up!

So, needless to say, there is nothing I can do for a few years. Do I desperatly need a big tractor? Yes. Could I afford it? Not even 10% of it!

I figure in 4 years time I will be completely debt free. I will be 29 than, so, luckily I am young enough to dig myself out of this. The funny part is, as soon as I dig out, I will be right back in for a tractor haha! One payment is easier than 3 though.

I think you've received a LOT of good advice here to address your problem. Some of it you were slightly offended by. That disclosed your age before you revealed it in this post. This post has also disclosed your views on what is and is not financially feasable when you disclosed your current financial crisis in which you went further in debt to purchase an expensive lawn tractor. Hopefully thru all this you can find a solution to your problem. Good luck with that.

 

[jenkinsph]

I think you've received a LOT of good advice here to address your problem. Some of it you were slightly offended by. That disclosed your age before you revealed it in this post. This post has also disclosed your views on what is and is not financially feasable when you disclosed your current financial crisis in which you went further in debt to purchase an expensive lawn tractor. Hopefully thru all this you can find a solution to your problem. Good luck with that.

It can be tough out there in todays economy for sure, hope he can get thru this alright. IIRC JD tank bought an x748 4x4 mower a year ago (approximately) then sold it or transferred this to his FIL, then awhile later bought this x740. Now he needs more traction such as the x748 would have provided for blade work. Obviously he would have been better off to have kept the 748 instead of trading down from an equipment/capability stand point. At the same time money doesn't grow on trees and we all have to do what we can with what we have.

If it were me and I was doing the majority of the work on both mine and my FIL lawns I would use the x748 for the blade work if possible. Short of that I would add the rear weight bracket or make one that would handle 300 lbs or so. I would wan't to be able to easily remove/replace them to keep the mower light for most mowing. I would not add wheel weights to a mower that has to deal with soft ground most of the time.

 

[murphy1244]

Now hopefully that's a option, use your FIL's tractor.

 

[bigtiller]

I went through this when I was using this size of garden tractor. I added antifreeze to the tires and never saw much difference in traction. I got the same results when I put on wheel weights on the next tractor when I traded for a new one.

Tire chains made a LARGE difference. I'd say spend the $100 for JD chains, put them on as tight as possible and do the blade work. You may decide you don't need any extra weight.

 

[JDTank]

Now hopefully that's a option, use your FIL's tractor.

It was, up until about 4 months ago. They recently moved west of us, and are now about 1.5 hours away, one way. I do not really want to make a 3 hour round trip, just to borrow the same machine I have minus the AWD. For that, I will just load the machine with weight and add tire chains like bigtiller said.

I do not have a verbal sensor, I tell things like they are. Some of you don't like me, that is fine by me. I don't need you for anything. Take what you like and leave the rest.

Why did I sell the X748, only to buy an X740 a little later on? Simple, money. I had JUST purchased the X748, and boom, 2 weeks later, laid off, and find out my oldest sister has a life threatening auto-immune disease. My whole family has had to pull together to try and afford the medication she needs every month. It came down to 2 options for me. Be selfish, keep my machine, and hope I find a new job before money runs out, which goes FAST as you all know. The second option was to desperately unload the machine/payment, and try to help my family. So, I let the machine go. A little more than a year later and things are better. I am moving up in the job I have been at now for 8 months, and should be getting another raise in about 4 months time if all goes well. My sister has finally received Government funding to pay for her medications, so the family no longer has to.

I knew I loved my X7, and wanted another. I opted for the X740 because the maintenance is much easier than the AWD X7's, and the payment was significantly cheaper. I over-extended myself with the X748SE the first time, and the payment put me into a spot I was uncomfortable with. Overall, I still have way less debt than most people, and by the time I am 29, I will have all the toys and a garage full of tools, paid for and owned outright. I think that's nothing to sneeze at.

 

[Nooodles]

Where you lookin for me earlier? I wasn't around yesterday. Was at home sick with the squirts

 

[Mechanized ME]

I didn't say I was looking for a cheap way where I don't care how it affects my equipment. If you aren't going to do something right, with quality in mind, don't even bother to start.

There is a right way, and a wrong way, to do every single thing on the face of this planet. Nothing bothers me more than cheap people who don't care to do their research, or to try and protect their investment. I spent $10,000 on a garden tractor, you won't see me filling my tires with water. I look after everything I own, and in turn, it looks after me.

I really like my click-n-go weigh bracket and the 6 suitcase weights that I have for my X700, and they work really well with the JD tractor shovel I have without the use of chains! Now for snow blowing I will run both, and for mowing I want to be as light as possible and remove the weights 41 lbs. at a time!