Ballast Loaded Tires - any down sides?

[caspar3259]

Thanks for all the comments. The tractor I'm looking at is a Kubota L3800, so HP in the mid-30's and weight around 2600 (w/o attachments, I presume). Most likely R4 tires.

The main work will be clearing snow and maintaining driveway & road. Some leveling and tree/stump removal. No lawn work. Attachments are likely to be FEL, backhoe, box blade, maybe rear snow blower, maybe front blade. I still work at my desk job, so it will be a weekend warrior most of the time.

 

[JDgreen227]

The good and the bad,
Good
Liquid is the cheapest system. Cheaper then cast iron wheel weights.
It is often used to counter balance the tractors same as cast or by using three point hitch weight.
Often used for loader tractors.

The Bad
While doing field work work, testing was done with radial tires(they will give less traction) then with comparable cast weights. Never tested but I don't see why it would be different.
With the facts of above ag tractors get 2,000 hours on loaded tires they will double the tire life to use cast ballast.
You carry it all the time so it reduces drive train life and increases day to day fuel use.
When you get a flat it costs more to fix.
When and if you would like to go light, you might have to call someone to help remove it.
After you have had a flat, you might never get the tractor the same weight from side to side. You will loose some fluid everytime.

If you choose to go with cast wheel weights, you only buy them once.

I wonder sometimes how many owners with the cast wheel weights bother to remove them when not needed...I put a set on my '89 318 when it was new, and they have never been removed, except when I replaced the rear tires. And they are only 50 pounds each.

 

[TripleR]

I wonder sometimes how many owners with the cast wheel weights bother to remove them when not needed...I put a set on my '89 318 when it was new, and they have never been removed, except when I replaced the rear tires. And they are only 50 pounds each.

Nope, never touched mine either.

 

[JDgreen227]

Thanks for all the comments. The tractor I'm looking at is a Kubota L3800, so HP in the mid-30's and weight around 2600 (w/o attachments, I presume). Most likely R4 tires.

The main work will be clearing snow and maintaining driveway & road. Some leveling and tree/stump removal. No lawn work. Attachments are likely to be FEL, backhoe, box blade, maybe rear snow blower, maybe front blade. I still work at my desk job, so it will be a weekend warrior most of the time.

I would think your base tractor, with near 35 hp, would weigh a lot more than 2600 as my JD 4210 weighs 2675 base with MFWD and the hp is only 28 gross. Also, is your property hilly or flat? I have always wondered if loaded rear tires or cast weights make a difference is stability on slopes...I don't have enough slopes here to worry about the stability issue unless you count the roadfront culverts out front.

Can anybody tell us if weighted tires or cast weights are an asset when on slopes? Thanks.

 

[slowzuki]

His Kubota is one of the lighter 35 hp models, the Grand L's are the ones that are heavy.

Weight can help with hill climbing/descending traction in grass, especially with R1 or R4 tires. Turfs not so much.

Sidehilling they help a bit, but not near as much as setting your tires out wider/widest.

I would think your base tractor, with near 35 hp, would weigh a lot more than 2600 as my JD 4210 weighs 2675 base with MFWD and the hp is only 28 gross. Also, is your property hilly or flat? I have always wondered if loaded rear tires or cast weights make a difference is stability on slopes...I don't have enough slopes here to worry about the stability issue unless you count the roadfront culverts out front.

Can anybody tell us if weighted tires or cast weights are an asset when on slopes? Thanks.

 

[art]

I wonder sometimes how many owners with the cast wheel weights bother to remove them when not needed...I put a set on my '89 318 when it was new, and they have never been removed, except when I replaced the rear tires. And they are only 50 pounds each.

There are very few that do! The plus is you can plug the tire without liquid and you don't have to worry about loosing it!!!! From what I saw with the loaded tires vs cast wheel weights was that it only took about 2/3rds the weight of the liquid when cast was used!

To use a three point ballast is optimum! Then you ues the rear axle as a pivot point lowering the lbs on the front axle. Although most tractors built today have some form of power steering or power assist there are some that can't turn the wheel with a bucket full without moving the tractor. We find that it has nothing to do with the pump size just the way that the parts are assembled!

To be selling the different brands we do as well as being able to try the trade-ins we have found many variants of design that are not as good as others. We often can find that the larger systems might not be able to be feathered as well although some smaller systems turn up lacking when placing big demands on the system. We have seen it for years systems that don't match up with what they are claimed to be and that won't change in my lifetime or my grand childrens! It sure is fun to compare!!!

 

[JDgreen227]

Back when I first joined TBN about 2003, there was a thread going around in one of the forums that was about a company that made bolt-on brackets for tractor rear wheels that allowed you to install cast-iron barbell weights on the brackets...going to do a search for that here.

 

[k0ua]

I would think your base tractor, with near 35 hp, would weigh a lot more than 2600 as my JD 4210 weighs 2675 base with MFWD and the hp is only 28 gross. Also, is your property hilly or flat? I have always wondered if loaded rear tires or cast weights make a difference is stability on slopes...I don't have enough slopes here to worry about the stability issue unless you count the roadfront culverts out front.

Can anybody tell us if weighted tires or cast weights are an asset when on slopes? Thanks.

Loaded tires make a tremendous positive difference on slopes. I can't speak to the cast wheel weights. I would not be without the loaded tires on my L3400HST. but then again I live on the slope.. If you want any flat ground here, (except for a little on the lawn), you would have to buy it and have it trucked in. when you mow on the slope, your 3pt ballast box is now off the tractor, and does you no good, you need the loaded tires. really helps.

James K0UA

 

[wolc123]

It sounds like you have a clear cut slam dunk in favor of loaded tires with no lawn work and snow plowing. If you go with R1's, you wont even need chains for moving lots of snow. Th R1's will also increase the traction force the tractor can develop for stump pulling, etc., by at least 30% over R4's, and by about 70% in mud. For snow plowing in particular, it is difficult to have too much weight on the tractor. I use a JD 4120 with loaded rear R1's and a heavily ballasted back blade in addition to the front loader. That thing will push mountains of snow uphill, foreward with the loader or backward with the blade even though it dont have any chains on the tires. That is a real plus when you are working on nice blacktop driveways. As already mentioned, the loaded tires offer a stability advantage over cast weights by keeping the center of gravity lower. In 40 years of running tractors with loaded rear tires, I have had exactly one flat so the increased cost of tire repairs has not affected me much.

 

[Chilly807]

As far as the added cost of tire repairs, it's not as much as some would think.

I recently had a rear tire on my L3400 (same size as your L3800) drained, broken down to check for a leak and remounted, refilled. With a new tube installed, the whole bill was less than $100 including labour. That's not steep by any standards.

If you do go with liquid ballast, I would recommend installing tubes in the filled tires. No matter what fluid is going in them, it's peace of mind that the rims won't corrode prematurely. Mine has calcium chloride, which is highly corrosive to steel if it's not in a tube.

I think you'll find the tractor more stable with filled rears, no question there. The L series is light to begin with, added weight on that end is beneficial for almost any work except mowing.

If you're going to move any amount of snow, you'll probably need chains, even with R1's and 4wd. Granted I have more snow to deal with here, but I soon put the chains on once we get any amount to speak of.

Sean