Ballast Filling Tires

JAE 3400 · Jul 23, 2009

Well I had been sitting on the fence about getting my tires filled. After searching the forum on the subject and reading many posts I decided to do it. I found a tire dealer in N.W. Pa. They had Rim Guard for $2.50 a gal so I hauled it over there. They put 25 gal. in each wheel total cost $132.00 giving me about 535 lbs. of ballast. So after some mowing,FEL work and pulling out some small trees about three hours worth I must say it made a world of difference. The tractor seems much more stable and planted to the ground. If anybody else is on the fence I can highly recommend getting it done.

Goog · Jul 23, 2009

Best thing I ever did to my L3400 also. The difference in the ride is quite noticeable. I just bought the kit from Napa and filled with water. My tractor lives indoors and our NW Winters are not that bad.
I would also recommend filling tires to any fence sitters. Brian

veresjwv · Jul 24, 2009

I agree, had my L3400 tires filled from the dealer when I purchased it. The only way to go with the FEL. For me a no brainer! Joe

traderrik · Aug 2, 2009

The rear tires on my 4740 are filled, but the manual states that the front tires should not be filled. Anyone know why? The dealer said he would have no problem doing it - he even offered to use solid foam.

Even with max air pressure, the front tires are more than half flat when I have a full pallet of feed on the forks - so as I've been told in here, I run the risk of tire and rim separation. Consequently, I don't operate with a full pallet, but that's a p.i.a.

dex3361 · Aug 2, 2009

traderrik said:
The rear tires on my 4740 are filled, but the manual states that the front tires should not be filled. Anyone know why? The dealer said he would have no problem doing it - he even offered to use solid foam.

Even with max air pressure, the front tires are more than half flat when I have a full pallet of feed on the forks - so as I've been told in here, I run the risk of tire and rim separation. Consequently, I don't operate with a full pallet, but that's a p.i.a.

If you fill the front tires they will not properly dampen the shock imposed on the front axle from the weight of the FEL. I have read that it is OK to fill with foam but i dont know for sure.