New L2501 Owner

[Steppenwolfe]

The economy Ls aren't really safe lifting heavy on the loader without loaded tires. Even if you have heavy ballast on the 3pt.

It took me a while to learn my former L3200 had a loader that could write cheques the rest of the machine couldn't cash. Every machine has a weak point. In this case it's a lack of weight & ballast.

The back of the barn has a pair of pallet fork sized holes because a gate (200lbs?) On the pallet forks while in 2wd was to much. Proper ballast, or loaded tires or being in 4wd would have been fine. Back end came off the ground moving "1200lbs" square bales. Had a rotary cutter on with 100-200lbs of junk stacked on the back for extra ballast. Forget if that was before or after I got the tires loaded. Think it was after.

Its

The "pucker factor" on that must have pegged the meter...

 

[jweedz]

The economy Ls aren't really safe lifting heavy on the loader without loaded tires. Even if you have heavy ballast on the 3pt.

It took me a while to learn my former L3200 had a loader that could write cheques the rest of the machine couldn't cash. Every machine has a weak point. In this case it's a lack of weight & ballast.

The back of the barn has a pair of pallet fork sized holes because a gate (200lbs?) On the pallet forks while in 2wd was to much. Proper ballast, or loaded tires or being in 4wd would have been fine. Back end came off the ground moving "1200lbs" square bales. Had a rotary cutter on with 100-200lbs of junk stacked on the back for extra ballast. Forget if that was before or after I got the tires loaded. Think it was after.

Its

The rears are loaded, but I've definitely noticed it's light. I can't imagine operating without at least loaded tires. Even with just the front blade on and nothing on the 3 point I could feel the rear wasn't planted nearly as firm, probably since the weight of the blade is held out further up front. Going to need to keep that in mind come winter during the wet heavy snows. A few hundred pounds of snow stuck to the blade is going to make for quite an eye opening experience! As Steppenwolfe mentioned, wheel weights may be in the cards before then.

 

[old and tired]

...A few hundred pounds of snow stuck to the blade...

Google "tire grooving"... if you have snow, this will help!

 

[Fallon]

It will lift a lot. I helped a friend move 40ish of those bales. One just happened to be a little heavier & I bounced on a slight dent in the yard. Thankfully the bale fell before the machine rolled.

I put chains on the front R4s for snow & they did ok. R4s are non-adjustable & there is no clearance between the tire sidewalls & fenders for chains on the rear unless you get wheel spacers. R1s are adjustable to get that clearance.

 

[Mat4644]

3 pt ballast extended a little out and low to the ground is much more effective than the same weight in filled tires and wheel weights. There is a ballast thread with many good examples. Make it quick hitch compatable.

 

[Fallon]

3 pt ballast extended a little out and low to the ground is much more effective than the same weight in filled tires and wheel weights. There is a ballast thread with many good examples. Make it quick hitch compatable.

Leverage. The further back the weight, the more effective it is at unloading the front axle. Unfortunately the more awkward its is. Rotary cutters make great ballast, but nobody likes em due to the decreased maneuverability & increased chance of banging into something. A couple bales or bags of something on the back of a rotary cutter by the tail wheel beats most ballast boxes.

Loaded rear tires or wheel weights make the back end heavier increasing traction & decreasing the chances of the back end coming off the ground. But it does nothing to unload the front axle. It actually means you can put more force on the front axle. All things considered, you want more weight on the beefy simple stable rear axle than on the expensive, complex & smaller front. A tractor is just like a teter toter. If you have a fat kid on the front, you want a fatter kid on the back. Adding weight to the pivot in the middle doesnt directly affect the ends much (although that analogy breaks down a bit with 2 axles).