Weight is bad

[SPYDERLK]

We know that the CNH information is really targeted towards the AG tractors. So with that said, how many of us actually alter the weight on our utility tractors to match what task that we will be doing at a certain time? Do the guys that have cast iron weights actually add or remove them depending on what they will be doing that day and then change them again later that or the next day?

I have a bigger tractor than most here, but I for one do not. We have been told to use cast in place of fluid. What if you can't get enough cast iron on. I have twice the wheel weights on than what is recommended. No way was that enough weight, so I filled all 4 of my tires as recommended in my owners manual. Oh what a difference. Yes I am sure that for some of the things that I do that weight is over kill, but for sure when I am disking or doing other heavy dirt work, it is just right. As has been said before, there are charts to show you what the tire should look like and how much slippage you should have and my tractor meets that criteria at certain times. There is no way for me that it is ever practical to alter the weight to match a lighter duty function and then add the weight back on for heavy duty tasks. The tasks change to frequently, that is why I got a utility tractor.

So, why dont you use water in the tires? Adjustments are easy and fairly quick. No lifting.
larry

 

[N80]

So, why dont you use water in the tires? Adjustments are easy and fairly quick. No lifting.
larry

Agreed. It might be easier than removing and replacing wheel weights. Not too pleasant in the winter.

 

[N80]

i run my loaded tire tractors over my lawn and I don't have dead streaks in it yet...

soundguy

Me too. No dead grass......but, the ags do leave a bit of a herring bone pattern....looks like a tweed jacket.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Agreed. It might be easier than removing and replacing wheel weights. Not too pleasant in the winter.

SC should be ok even w no shelter Id think. I do drain mine sometime in Dec after it starts freezing up pretty thick at night.
larry

 

[Reg]

The original post did say;
"The basic consensus is that beyond a reasonable amount, weight is bad as it does nothing but burn fuel, wear tires, increase compaction, easier to get stuck, and make the tractor more sluggish."
and yes, I go along with that.

For many of us it IS impractical to add or remove weight for each task to get IDEAL ballasting.
For someone doing dedicated tasks that are going to consume 100 hours or more of seat time it makes more sense to go to a bit more trouble to get things closer to "right".

That isn't to say that I don't put a mower or box blade on the back when I'm running empty turf tires in the summer and have something hefty to get off the truck with the pallet forks.
On the other hand I don't take the loader off as often as I could for most field tasks.
It might be fuel inefficient to leave it on, but if I'm dragging something through the ground and I get a bite with the implement and with the loaded tires... I just don't like a light front end.

The adjustments are large and crude, but I do pay some attention to "not too much, but not too little".

Now, if there was a nice belly tank with separate front, middle and rear compartments and a common fill hose with switching - plus level gauges for each compartment.
I just MIGHT balance and ballast more accurately and just dump the water at the end of the day if frost was expected.
I know, the ground clearance issue.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

No way was that enough weight, so I filled all 4 of my tires as recommended in my owners manual. Oh what a difference.

So, why dont you use water in the tires? Adjustments are easy and fairly quick. No lifting.
larry

Uhhh, all four of my tires are liquid filled plus eight wheel weights and I have yet another set of four weights that need to be put on. I don't think that I can go any heavier without putting concrete in the tires.

Larry, why did you think that I did not have filled tires?

 

[SPYDERLK]

Larry, why did you think that I did not have filled tires?

Well... duh, you said something about difficulty in making adjustments so I thot you might have them filled with something inconvenient. What made you think I thot you didnt have them filled? That was in the quote even, and we have the same tractor so I am attuned.
larry

 

[Soundguy]

I think soundguy has the right idea but only if you can get by without 4wd. There just aint any good, old, < 50 hp 4wd's out there. If you live in a low, swampy area like myself and do a significant ammount of tillage and loader work, 2wd just does not get it done and the money you save on the tractor is wasted in time and fuel. I do have (3) old 2wds that I use when conditions allow but I would never again be without a modern 4wd.

There will obviously be some situations where 4wd will make work easier.. perhaps in extreme cases. almost mandaory. That said. in the days before 4wd.. guess what.. 2wd did all the work that may have meant dueal rears and steering with brakes and making a mess of a feed lot though.

It's all a matter of application.

soundguy

 

[slowzuki]

Soundguy I know you're a fan of big 2wd's, but in my experience with chore sized tractors, 50-100 hp, you can't ballast and chain a 2wd to do anything near the 4wd. In the past, we just didn't do things or they got done by hand. Now this is from a muddy hilly area.

Lack of 4wd is one reason horses persisted so long in our area. Times of the year you just didn't get anything done without horses or 4wd.

 

[Egon]

Lack of 4wd is one reason horses persisted so long in our area.

This occurred in other areas as well.

It seems as though a lot of changes all happened at the same time in the agricultural area. FWD appeared with higher HP tractors with loaders and then the large bales were made which only these tractors could handle in adverse conditions. PTO driven drawbar pull grain choppers also arrived on the scene. Everything seemed to be upscaled at the same time. In the area from out West that I come from most of these tractors would have been well above 100 HP.

New much larger heated shops and electricity also seemed to arrive at this time. Sorta a complete revolution that made the large farm tractors of just a few years previously basically obsolete for the duties and equipment that had evolved almost overnight or so it seemed.