XJ2025 Liquid ballast.

[jdom84]

I just finished up filling all 4 tires on my little xj2025 tractor and just thought I would share if anyone cares to know...

the front tires hold 5.75 gallons each and the rears hold 17-18 gallons each.

Total weight ~ 400lbs

 

[CMV]

Nice. Been watching your new videos this morning.

Mine came with rears filled but not the front. What is benefit of doing the front too? The extra ~100 lbs do much?

My fronts seem a lot less resilient than the rears. Already have 2 plugs in a front tire..... makes me think fluid in those might be a lot more trouble vs the benefit?

I liked the little red straw air vent idea too. That was pretty slick.

 

[CMV]

Unrelated to your video....but sort of along same line...also wonder about the wheel spacers. The added stability would be nice, but does that come at some cost too? More stress on axles or some other issue that would be a tradeoff? I could still fit on my trailer just fine and pull 5' implements. I think back-dragging the bucket might be only time I notice the extra width?

 

[jeff9366]

As the front axle pivots, unlike the solid rear axle, loading front tires is not recommended, especially if you have a Loader installed. Also, power steering is not engineered to power loaded front tires out of holes and other low spots.

I trust you filled tires 75% full and not 100% full, so you still have pneumatic suspension. Also, traction is less with 100% load, as rear tires cannot conform to ground contour as well.

 

[jdom84]

As the front axle pivots, unlike the solid rear axle, loading front tires is not recommended, especially if you have a Loader installed. Also, power steering is not engineered to power loaded front tires out of holes and other low spots.

I trust you filled tires 75% full and not 100% full, so you still have pneumatic suspension. Also, traction is less good with 100% load, as rear tires cannot conform to ground contour as well.

Yeah about 75%, filled to the valve stem... then let any extra out before filling with 15 lbs of air. I wasn't going to fill my front tire at first, but the tractor is so light, it just spins out on the snow when plowing and the extra 100lbs seems to have helped a bit. I think if I notice issues with the loaded front tires ill just take it out.

 

[jdom84]

Unrelated to your video....but sort of along same line...also wonder about the wheel spacers. The added stability would be nice, but does that come at some cost too? More stress on axles or some other issue that would be a tradeoff? I could still fit on my trailer just fine and pull 5' implements. I think back-dragging the bucket might be only time I notice the extra width?

because the tire ballast is actually in the tires, I don't think there would be much extra force on the axles with spacers. A ballast box or heavy implement is going to add more stress to the axles. The backhoe attachment has to be the heaviest and weigh close to 1000 lbs(?)... and I would imagine with a rear lift cap of 1400# the axles are strong enough to hold more than that. I'm sure there is some mathematical equation one could do to figure out how much extra stress the spacers add, but I'm not smart enough to know it

The last time I loaded my tractor on my trailer, I remember seeing all 4 wheels were touching the ramps at the same time and the front tires are already much closer in then the rears. I would think if I added 6 more inches to the rear tires, I would have issues with the wheels lining up to the ramps. But my trailer is a dump trailer, not a dove tail or equipment trailer and that could be my issue.

 

[tomplum]

Hmmm. Hadn't thought about loading the fronts being detrimental before.

 

[CMV]

I didn't mean ballast + spacers - just spacers in general. I can see where that ADD is confusing since wheel spacers just came out of left field

Filled tires or not, do the spacers have a downside?

My trailer is a typical landscape/utility type. Had the place I bought it weld some extra reinforcement to the expanded metal ramp gate & then add a hefty spring so I didn't have to lift all that weight. Not ideal, but is what I had. @ 16' it is almost big enough. Tractor + bush hog will only fit if I drop the FEL bucket in the bed of truck and let the loader arms go past the front rail a little bit. Since the rear gate/ramp has to close, no wiggle room to cheat a little hanging off the rear. This trailer but with extra angle iron welded in to make ramp stronger.

I would think if I added 6 more inches to the rear tires, I would have issues with the wheels lining up to the ramps.

Dumb question - you would only use spacers on rears? Not all 4 wheels? Would the fronts being a little wider add any stability too? Or is front going to pivot the same regardless so you'd only move the rears out?

 

[jeff9366]

Consider the two rear wheels as the wide base of a triangle. Consider the front wheels as the apex of a triangle. (More or less).

Most lateral stability comes from increasing the space between the rear wheels.



It is important to insure the dealer's mechanic sets your rear wheels as wide as possible when assembling your tractor. Almost all tractors arrive at the dealer with chassis and wheels separate. Some post here about tractor instability then find their wheels could be spaced 6" to 10" wider. Make sure the dealer knows your desire. Make sure the mechanic know how to accomplish the widest spread. Check before accepting delivery. (Potential spreads are usually listed in the Operator's Manual.)

Usually the widest tire spread can be accomplished with R1/ag tires, not R4/industrial tires.

 

[jdom84]

Hmmm. Hadn't thought about loading the fronts being detrimental before.

Yeah... didn't think about any issues with it either but at 5 gallons each... probably not that big of a deal as 400lbs of fluid into the front tires of a Larger tractor. Rental shops foam fill all 4 tires all the time, but then again they only keep them for 1000 hours or so.

Dumb question - you would only use spacers on rears? Not all 4 wheels? Would the fronts being a little wider add any stability too? Or is front going to pivot the same regardless so you'd only move the rears out?

I really don't think if I'm qualified to answer these questions about spacers.. I have never used them, but I haven't read anything bad on them yet. One thing to keep in mind, adding length to a pivot will increase the travel. There is a thread on a user having a broken axle on the XJ but I think his diff lock malfunctioned.

Consider the two rear wheels as the wide base of a triangle. Consider the front wheels as the apex of a triangle. (More or less).

Most lateral stability comes from increasing the space between the rear wheels.



It is important to insure the dealer's mechanic sets your rear wheels as wide as possible when assembling your tractor. Almost all tractors arrive at the dealer with chassis and wheels separate. Some post here about tractor instability then find their wheels could be spaced 6" to 10" wider. Make sure the dealer knows your desire. Make sure the mechanic know how to accomplish the widest spread. Check before accepting delivery. (Potential spreads are usually listed in the Operator's Manual.)

Usually the widest tire spread can be accomplished with R1/ag tires, not R4/industrial tires.

This is really good info Jeff but In this case, the wheels on our little XJ tractors have welded centers and they seem like they are right in the middle of the rim. I don't think you can turn these around, or can you? I didn't find anything in the manual on it