Load tires or not?

[escavader]

Purchasing a kubota b with a hoe .having an implement on the back is it really nessasary?my bx was ,but don't know if I needed to.and wondering if it could have led to premature pinion bearing failure (at 1900 hours)due to pushing the extra weight. Around???id like to be able to plug a rear tire if I get a hole too .
So talk me out of it,or into it
You name it I'll do it with this tractor

 

[mddorange]

Loading tires is to give it more weight for traction. If you don't need the weight, then don't do it. I have mine loaded and I keep something attached to the back all the time and I still need more weight sometimes.

 

[Ryansweatt2004]

If your primary use is lawn/light landscaping work then I might not consider loading the tires. If your doing any loader work, ground engaging work or plowing then absolutely get the tires loaded.

 

[art]

The loaded tires are nearly the cheapest rear ballast you can buy. To use the loader carrying heavy loads it might be an advantage. The lighter the tractor the longer the drive train will last. Think of a gear drive car while driving, it is far easier to change the brakes as well as cheaper then it is to replace the clutch.

 

[Wolfy]

I would not want a loader tractor without loaded tires, unless it had a backhoe mounted 100% of the time . Even with a heavy counterweight, sometimes what's in the front bucket is just too heavy and upsets your balance. Having a back tire lift off the ground is both scary and unsafe. The loaded tires will usually prevent that.

 

[Citydude]

I ran over a grounding rod and put a hole in one of my loaded rear tires. I got a little sticky from the beet juice however I got it plugged. I probably lost a 1/2 quart of it. Pack a plugging kit on your tractor if there is a chance of puncturing a tire.

 

[tman1020]

steel weight is my first choice. Can you get some nice heavy wheel weights for it? It's not the cheapest way to go but I think it's the one with the least drawbacks If you take price out of it. Most likely you should have something in the tires or wheels for best & safest performance. Do your tires spin in medium or low gears or does the tractor bounce up in back or get tippy with a good load in bucket?

 

[PhysAssist]

steel weight is my first choice. Can you get some nice heavy wheel weights for it? It's not the cheapest way to go but I think it's the one with the least drawbacks If you take price out of it. Most likely you should have something in the tires or wheels for best & safest performance. Do your tires spin in medium or low gears or does the tractor bounce up in back or get tippy with a good load in bucket?

Now, I think the most cost effective way is loading tires, and it's what the mfg seems to recommend, at least that's my local 'Bota shop's recommendation- even though they would have made more from me if they had recommended iron or steel wheel weights instead.

The hole in the tire thing is actually relatively rare, unless you work in construction sites or sharpen your bushhog blades too much.

Finally, it really only matters if you think you will often be using your loader with your backhoe off.

If you really think that that will be a really rare possibility, then leave 'em full of air, and if you find that you end up wanting the backhoe off when you use the loader (as I think you will because of how cumbersome and looong it will end up being that way), then load your tires.

Thomas

 

[whizdbiz2]

I was able to add about 160 lbs to the rear of my Mahindra just with loading the rears for about $35 from a local tire dealer. Cheaper than iron weights and makes it just about right with a rear blade or the mower on it for loader work (as long as I don't over do it).

 

[IndyIan]

Probably in a B size tractor, unloaded tires won't help smooth out the ride very much, and if you do more loader work than field work I think loaded tires really helps. I have the rears loaded and it allows me to handle 4x5 hay bales carefully without a 3pt attachment. But then this summer I did some haying with my tractor and a neighbors 65hp tractor with unloaded tires in some rough fields and the unloaded tires did absorb the bumps better, also on the road there was a big difference. If I upsize sometime for a bigger tractor, I'd get wheel weights instead of loading the tires.
I'd never load the fronts unless I never got the tractor over 4mph, the minor increase in weight for traction , probably is offset by the reduction flexiblity of the contact patch, and on the road it must ride like a brick.