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cook96cbra
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I just noticed I used the wrong "there' in the thread subject line. Should have been "thier". Sorry.
~M
~M
Anyone built there own weight box for a three point?
- Thread starter cook96cbra
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MoreCowbell
Silver Member
Here is the weight I just built. I was looking to get the center of gravity as far out back as I could so that when I use the FEL I'm getting weight off the front wheels rather than only adding weight to the back wheels which is the case with filling the rear tires.
I can just back the tractor up to it and the drawbar slides right onto the two pins in the front. I did it this way because I always have a rough time hooking the 3PT up to things (probably because I am a new tractor user)
.
I designed it using Google Sketchup and I was shooting for 500 lbs (Quikrete is about 133 lbs per cu.ft.). One deviation from the plan is that for the top link piece I used some misc lift link I found at AgriSupply. I embedded it in the concrete and it works fine.
My biggest regret is that I lined the MDF form with plastic so the MDF wouldn't breakdown from the moisture in the wet concrete. I didn't realize that it was going to look so much like a wrinkled prune . Maybe I'll name it Yoda.
I can just back the tractor up to it and the drawbar slides right onto the two pins in the front. I did it this way because I always have a rough time hooking the 3PT up to things (probably because I am a new tractor user)
.I designed it using Google Sketchup and I was shooting for 500 lbs (Quikrete is about 133 lbs per cu.ft.). One deviation from the plan is that for the top link piece I used some misc lift link I found at AgriSupply. I embedded it in the concrete and it works fine.
My biggest regret is that I lined the MDF form with plastic so the MDF wouldn't breakdown from the moisture in the wet concrete. I didn't realize that it was going to look so much like a wrinkled prune
. Maybe I'll name it Yoda.Attachments
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cook96cbra
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That's pretty cool! I like how it looks easy to hook up.
Thanks!
Thanks!
UnclePaul
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I posted this before but sense then have made an other weight block with modifications.
"A cheap way to make a ballast box is get a 30 or 55 gallon drum and a drawl bar hitch cut two holes in the drum to let the drawl bar hitch go through. depending on how much weight you want and what size drum you use. You can cut the drum down. Last you get a piece of c channel steel and drill a hole in it to fit your top link into. fasten the c channel to the drawl bar by welding or you can turn the drawl bar hitch and just bolt the c channel to it. Then just pour the concrete."
On my last weight block I add a 2" receiver insert before I poured the concrete Now I can move my trailer without taking the weight block off. Also it works great for my salt spreader in the winter time.
"A cheap way to make a ballast box is get a 30 or 55 gallon drum and a drawl bar hitch cut two holes in the drum to let the drawl bar hitch go through. depending on how much weight you want and what size drum you use. You can cut the drum down. Last you get a piece of c channel steel and drill a hole in it to fit your top link into. fasten the c channel to the drawl bar by welding or you can turn the drawl bar hitch and just bolt the c channel to it. Then just pour the concrete."
On my last weight block I add a 2" receiver insert before I poured the concrete Now I can move my trailer without taking the weight block off. Also it works great for my salt spreader in the winter time.
grnspot110
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Cyclone Jake
Bronze Member
This has always been one of my favorites:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/113471-concrete-balast-box-cure.html
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/113471-concrete-balast-box-cure.html
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cook96cbra
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HOLY CRAP! That's BIG!
Cyclone Jake
Bronze Member
In the post, he said it weighed 1300 lbs. If I built one like that, I would try to design a way to carry a few tools too. But, can't beat it for sheer mass!
galaxie428
Gold Member
I built am small box frame out of 2x2x1/4 angle (free) then took a 55 gallon drum (free) and placed it in the frame. I then filled the drum with sand (free). I have not weighed it but I think it is around 800lbs. I could have filled it with concrete but that wasn't free. I am all about FREE! The concrete would make it much heavier but I don't have any issues with it like it is.
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cook96cbra
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That's what I'm talking about, FREEEEEE!!! I was thinking a 55 gallon drum with a bar welded to it, through it and a spot to hook the top link and then filling it with water or dirt.
BTW, I'm a Ford lover and I noticed your screen name. Gotta Galaxie with a 428 in it? COOOOLLL! By looking at my screen name, see if you can figure out what '96 Ford I had at one time...
galaxie428
Gold Member
I had sort of the same idea when I thought about this but the metal on a drum is not very heavy and I didn't think it would support the weight over time. That is why I chose to build a small crate around it and just set it inside the crate. It is not pretty but it works.
Yes I do. I actually bought it from my grandma in '92. She had it since it was new.
Why did you get rid of your Cobra?
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cook96cbra
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That's cool! Have any pics? I sold it because I needed a truck. Then I bought a '94 Cobra, a '01 GT Vert, a '89 Notchback, a 66 coupe, a '94 Lightning, oh man to many to list. Now I have nothing but a fairly 96 F-150 SC 4x4 that I bought in Oklahoma. A divorce tends to wipe a guy out...
ALKY
Silver Member
I was told today that using ballast on 3 pt was abusing the tractor!!
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cook96cbra
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WHAT?!?! Come on, people have been loading tires and using boxes forevever!I was told today that using ballast on 3 pt was abusing the tractor!!
I think, like everything else, a little comon sense is needed when using a loader. Can you really overload a FEL with the original bucket on it? Seems like it would be kinda hard to do. The idea is to give the tractor better balance and not be nose heavy, that's all.
chopped
Veteran Member
I was told today that using ballast on 3 pt was abusing the tractor!!
WRONG> consult manuals and common sence.
WRONG> consult manuals and common sence.
What about using a wheelbarrow as a form for the concrete? Pop it out and you have a nice low-slung shape with rounded edges (kind of like my belly ). I think it would stand upright on the 'base' formed by the rear wall of the wheelbarrow. Might be a little easier on trees and whatnot if you're working in the woods.
). I think it would stand upright on the 'base' formed by the rear wall of the wheelbarrow. Might be a little easier on trees and whatnot if you're working in the woods.I was told today that using ballast on 3 pt was abusing the tractor!!
And who told you that?!?!
galaxie428
Gold Member
I don't right at the moment. Our hard drive on our computer crashed and we lost all of our pics. Some of them were not a big deal but we lost our honeymoon pics about two weeks after we got back. The wife was not happy!
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cook96cbra
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OHHH, ****! That sucks!
Retro
New member
Here's mine. You can see it was/is pretty simple: Old 55 gallon drum cut in half, some scrap metal lying around to weld to a draw bar (the only thing I had to purchase other than the Quikrete).
Before adding the concrete I threw in old barbell weights that were lying around and some section of chain so I could pick it up and move it around with the front loader without too much trouble.
Before adding the concrete I threw in old barbell weights that were lying around and some section of chain so I could pick it up and move it around with the front loader without too much trouble.
