Tires Why not fill front tires?

[MtnViewRanch]

So what I am saying is the only time I had a problem was when taking it down the paved road at top speed it was a safety concern.

I know that we are talking apples and oranges here, with most of the tractors being smaller. (although I don't know why it would make any difference) But just to let everybody know that having all 4 tires filled is not always a problem, I have all of mine filled 75% (just over the rims) and I travel at 20mph with no problems on my 7520. That is 12000lbs going down the road.

 

[irvingj]

OK, finally some hard data: Using an electronic commercial scale, down-presssure/weight of the snowblower, in "float" position, WITHOUT the backhoe bucket mounted, 158 lbs.

Re-installing the backhoe bucket reduced the reading on the scale to 142+/- lbs, about 15 lbs added weight to the front due to removal of the bucket. A help, but not very much....

Guess it's time to re-visit front tire fill, or just deal with the light steering when going uphill. (I currently make one pass up, then do all others downhill.)

 

[EddieWalker]

When talking about increased wear from the loaded fron tires, I'm assuming it's from the weight of the tire, not the type of material used to load them Water for weight or foam to make them solid.

It makes sense and I would agree that the bearings and ball joints would wear faster because of the increased mass that is being moved when the tires turn. I can see this in a theoreticaly discussion.

What I wonder is how long that increase in wear will take to become noticable? My guess is at ten thousand hours, you still wont notice it. It might be there, but so many other things will have worn out before then, that I believe it's a moot point. How many tires will you wear out first before the joints wear out? A dozen? Two dozen?

The real question that you need to ask yourself is if never getting another flat tire is more important then haveing a worn out bearing 1,000 hours sooner then you would anyway? If you are even alive when teh bearings wear out, or still have that tractor.

Eddie

 

[SPYDERLK]

When talking about increased wear from the loaded fron tires, I'm assuming it's from the weight of the tire, not the type of material used to load them Water for weight or foam to make them solid.

What I wonder is how long that increase in wear will take to become noticable? My guess is at ten thousand hours, you still wont notice it. It might be there, but so many other things will have worn out before then, that I believe it's a moot point. How many tires will you wear out first before the joints wear out? A dozen? Two dozen?

The real question that you need to ask yourself is if never getting another flat tire is more important then haveing a worn out bearing 1,000 hours sooner then you would anyway? If you are even alive when teh bearings wear out, or still have that tractor.

Eddie

Yup...

 

[slaveToHorses]

My JD dealer filled all 4 of my R4s when I took delivery of my 3720. He highly recommended it and I have been really pleased with the performance. I would do it again for certain.
At the time, I asked about wear. He just shook his head and laughed. He said they have seen no correlation at all. The service manager independently agreed. I have dealt with them for a long time and there have been times when they have steered me one way or the other for reliability issues, so I have no reason to suspect alterior motives...

 

[IslandTractor]

So far, the only dealer who has warned against loading front wheels, is Art. He is I believe a well established Kubota dealer in upstate NY but he has not bothered to clarify or defend his initial post. The preponderance of evidence and opinion seems to debunk the notion that any serious extra wear will occur with loaded front tires.

 

[dex3361]

I have owned several 2wd tractors and had the front wheels filled with fluid on these machines. It helped on the front end being light. I had no problems with the 2wd machine and none had a FEL. I recently purchased a 4wd L4400 Kubota HST with FEL and the dealer recommended that I should not fill the front tires. I listened to his advice and read the owner’s manual and it recommended that you do not fill the front tires with fluid. The manual explains that the fluid does not allow the tires to cushion the front end load. The weight includes the loaded front bucket and FEL which I could see having a huge impact load on the front end components. The tires are designed to be a dampener for the shock loads imposed by the combined weight of the tractor FEL, bucket and whatever you are carrying in the bucket.

 

[3RRL]

I had my fronts on my 55hp Kama filled to the top of the rims.
Those R-1's are 8.3 x 20 and hold about 13-14 gallons each. I just bought new tires for the fronts and changed out the old, but I didn't fill the new ones yet. In grading my dirt drive, going up some of the steeper grades with a loaded 7' boxblade full, I could really tell the traction difference. It was quite noticeable that the new tires (same R-1's) were slipping more than before. I'll be loading them again this weekend.

 

[DanD78]

I stopped by the grain elevator to weigh my 3320.
No cab, front and rear filled to the valve stem with Rim Guard, 300 CX loader with heavy 5' bucket
no wheel or frame weights and me off the tractor.
Nothing on the 3 point.

Rear tires 43x16-20
Front tires 27x8.5-15

Total 4980
Rear axle 2300
Front axle 2680

I estimate I put around 35~40 gallons in each rear and 10 in each front. I can tell it helped when using a truck blade on my loader arms. You can't put weights on the front of this tractor and still use the loader because they share the same bracket. I also think weight rolling on the ground is better than having it hanging on the frame. I didn't do any weights before adding the Rim Guard but you cound do the math at around 10lb per gallon and come pretty close.

I hope this helps someone

Dan

 

[RobJ]

The manual explains that the fluid does not allow the tires to cushion the front end load. The weight includes the loaded front bucket and FEL which I could see having a huge impact load on the front end components. The tires are designed to be a dampener for the shock loads imposed by the combined weight of the tractor FEL, bucket and whatever you are carrying in the bucket.

This makes sense to me.