Dual tires and bending axles

[MountainBuck]

I've been babying my 4500p with duals fairly well but now I'm starting to do some harder work with it such as filling the bucket with cut wood or pulling some trash out of a ditch, etc.

Even so I can't imagine that I've added much more that 200 - 300 lbs total that was distributed over the axles. Way within the specs.

However, last time I was on a bit of uneven land when I pulled an old wooden box out of a ditch (maybe 70 lbs) and noticed that the inside of right side rear wheel was not in much contact with the ground due to a divot in the ground.

That got me wondering about the possibility of bending that axle.

I asked the dealer and he told me that there was issues a long time ago but they increased the diameter of the axles and apparently it isn't an issue any more.

So is this something I should stop worrying about ? Or maybe the question should be 'is the tractor powerful enough to bend the axles or will the lift cylinders be overwhelmed and dump through the over pressure before any damage could be done?'

 

[TNMark1]

A few things I've learned....

There is a reason the scoop is the size it is... If you fill it with gravel, thats all it will lift and slowly too... The factory knew that and I'm sure the axles are strong enough not to bend... Fill it with wood, not an issue... Only real issue there is DO NOT RAM THINGS WITH THE SCOOP, there I'm sure you can bend the mount and lift.... Scoop with it and scrape things and nothing gets hurt... Ram a tree stump to try and loosen it.... That would be a problem...

Back to bent axles.. I've been told they are stronger too. The Ventrac is a MUCH improved version of the Steiner. My brother has a Steiner and the way the outer wheels attach to the inner wheels is VERY strong (no comparison). So a bend between the wheels would not be an issue.. The only thing that could bend is the inner axle (between wheel and frame)...

The only way you could bend it (in my opinion) is getting into a "V" ditch... For that matter anyplace where you are riding on the outer wheels and inner wheels are in the air... That would put a lot of leverage on the axles and you could bend them... If I recall, if you read the manual, you will see it in there somewhere. In short, you always want to have all 8 wheels on the ground and if any are in the air, they should be outer wheels

The tires are soft and like sports car tires they "flat spot" when the tractor sits a couple weeks. Drive it a bit and they soften up in a couple minutes and the ride smooths out....

Keep the wheels on the ground and you are not going to have a problem.....

 

[Raw Dodge]

I think you are worrying needlessly,first off I don't know anyone who has bent an axle...Our old Steiner is a 1989 model we snapped 3 axle housings in th first 3 years we had it ,we beat it hard used it with the loader and dug out sand traps with it,it was a lease and it was grossly overworked daily. We never broke or bent an axle .From what I'm told the late 4200s and all th 4500s have much heavier axle housings and axles than anything before it. I only have the medium axles on my 4231 and I just use it how I want I've never had a problem,I don't abuse it but I mow with duals and use th slip scoop once in a awhile with duals ,just enjoy your Ventrac and stay on top of routine maintenance and daily inspections so you catch any problems early before thy get big and expensive.

 

[prs]

I use the heavy contour mower on max slopes and "V" ditch with the inner tires air born at times. No trouble yet, I never gave it a thought. I do keep the outer tires inflated a couple of pounds less than the inner ones.

prs