Buying Advice Ballast Box vs Wheel Weights vs Filled Tires

[ovrszd]

My point was on a tractor there is no suspension... so the entire tractor is unprung weight. Only where there is a suspension is there "sprung" and "unsprung" weight. Where there is no suspension, there is only unsprung weight. My other point was that unsprung weight is a term not invented by nor used specifically by Jeep owners.... which this comment kind of suggested: "... that creates what we call in the Jeep world "unsprung weight" " I say this not to be a jerk, but to help others who may be trying to understand some of this. Often these threads take a life of their own...

Also, I would say adding weight to the rear mechanicals is not an issue. That is the working end of the tractor. A couple thousand pounds of dead weight does not begin to compare the forces from say a ground engaging implement.

I bow to your obvious superior intelligence. So it doesn't matter where you add the weight since it's all the same on a tractor because it has no springs. Stack it on the hood if you can get it to stay there.....

 

[RoadHogg]

My point was on a tractor there is no suspension... so the entire tractor is unprung weight. Only where there is a suspension is there "sprung" and "unsprung" weight. Where there is no suspension, there is only unsprung weight. My other point was that unsprung weight is a term not invented by nor used specifically by Jeep owners.... which this comment kind of suggested: "... that creates what we call in the Jeep world "unsprung weight" " I say this not to be a jerk, but to help others who may be trying to understand some of this. Often these threads take a life of their own...

Also, I would say adding weight to the rear mechanicals is not an issue. That is the working end of the tractor. A couple thousand pounds of dead weight does not begin to compare the forces from say a ground engaging implement.

I don't think ovrszd was saying that the term "unsprung weight" was a Jeep term at all, he is just familiar with the term from that context.

You are right, a tractor that has no suspension is ALL unsprung weight. Most tractors have at least one walking axle so there is again some room for debate. However, the correlation between the term used for a Jeep and what the point is about lowering centre of gravity seems to have been lost in the debate.

Regardless if a tractor is all or mostly or partially "unsprung weight" placing weight in or on the wheels/tires is the lowest practical place to add weight in order to afford the lowest centre of gravity for the unit overall. Keeping centre of gravity low is key to stability as has been pointed out earlier, especially when you're adding weight by lifting a load in your FEL. Carry that load a little too high and your centre of gravity goes upward dramatically...this is VERY unsafe.

And yes, WHERE you add weight is critical in terms of stability control. If all you are looking for is an unstable tractor with great traction then by all means, stack weight on top of the hood. I believe the key is to provide traction weight by at LEAST not making the tractor MORE unstable and if possible make it even MORE stable by way of lowering the centre of gravity.

 

[rjkobbeman]

I bow to your obvious superior intelligence. So it doesn't matter where you add the weight since it's all the same on a tractor because it has no springs. Stack it on the hood if you can get it to stay there.....

A little sensitive are we? I see you don't like anyone clarifying points...

Who said it does not matter where the weight goes? In an earlier post I even said that if a ballast box is up too high it can really change the center of gravity.

If you read the entire post you would realize we agree more than you think.

 

[TripleR]

Roger on that TR. I kept it on initially because I was unsure of how things would feel on 'the hills', and wanted to keep the bucket low. I have 3 very small 'hills' (more like ramps) that I have to mow, but they are fairly steep, and I don't cross mow, only straight up and straight down. I will have some time this coming weekend to take the FEL off and check out the difference in feel. I reckon some front weights are in the future sooner than I thought...


Big Al

I have some similar situations on my properties and like you, when mowing these hills have my FEL on for counterweight. I tried them without and

The old saying, "Just because it can be done doesn't mean it should be done". I will also be adding weights to the front of my tractors as soon as I figure out which route to go.

My son is a pretty good welder and fabricator, so this winter, we will be looking at some way to add some railroad track sections if we can figure it out. As a last resort, I will buy factory weights.

We use a pull type bush hog, Woods DS1260, on our M8540, so we haven't had any issues with weight transfer on it, but we have only had it a few months and leave the FEL on much of the time as a "feeler".

 

[Diavolicchio]

I just got an e-mail from the dealer about the specifics of getting loaded rear tires when I buy the tractor. Here's what he said:

"We load tires with a product called Rim Guard. It is made out of Beet Juice and other natural products and is environmentally friendly. It weighs 10.7 pounds per gallon and does not freeze. To load the R4 Industrial tires would add 430 pounds to the back of your tractor and cost $157.00. We load tires at cost not making any profit on it because we feel a tractor is safer with the rear tires loaded."​

I've decided to go the route of the loaded tires and the B8160 ballast box. Yes, it's gonna be a mess if those tires get a puncture and start bleeding beet juice all over the place, but for an additional $157 for both rear tires, it just seems ridiculous to pass it up. Plus, the dealership is just 4 miles away if I ever have a problem.

Update: I just discovered that Rim Guard is made from an agricultural byproduct of sugar beets (white flesh), not red beets. So no bloody stain if you ever get a leak.


John

 

[RoadHogg]

I just got an e-mail from the dealer about the specifics of getting loaded rear tires from them. Here's what he said:

"We load tires with a product called Rim Guard. It is made out of Beet Juice and other natural products and is environmentally friendly. It weighs 10.7 pounds per gallon and does not freeze. To load the R4 Industrial tires would add 430 pounds to the back of your tractor and cost $157.00. We load tires at cost not making any profit on it because we feel a tractor is safer with the rear tires loaded."​

I've decided to go the route of the loaded tires and the ballast box. Yes, it's gonna be a mess if those tires get a puncture and start bleeding beet juice all over the place, but for an additional $157 for both rear tires, it just seems ridiculous to pass it up.


John

I'd love to have the tires on my BX25 loaded too. I've had the tractor about 4 days and found a nail in one rear yesterday. I plugged it myself in about 5 minutes. I guess it would have been a different story had there been fluid in them. It's still a tough call.

 

[TripleR]

I just got an e-mail from the dealer about the specifics of getting loaded rear tires when I buy the tractor. Here's what he said:

"We load tires with a product called Rim Guard. It is made out of Beet Juice and other natural products and is environmentally friendly. It weighs 10.7 pounds per gallon and does not freeze. To load the R4 Industrial tires would add 430 pounds to the back of your tractor and cost $157.00. We load tires at cost not making any profit on it because we feel a tractor is safer with the rear tires loaded."​

I've decided to go the route of the loaded tires and the B8160 ballast box. Yes, it's gonna be a mess if those tires get a puncture and start bleeding beet juice all over the place, but for an additional $157 for both rear tires, it just seems ridiculous to pass it up.


John

With Rim Guard, it will be a "mess", but it won't hurt your lawn or anything else. It sure seems like a good deal financially. There was only a $5 difference on my BX between loaded and wheel weights, so I went with weights.

 

[RoadHogg]

With Rim Guard, it will be a "mess", but it won't hurt your lawn or anything else. It sure seems like a good deal financially. There was only a $5 difference on my BX between loaded and wheel weights, so I went with weights.

How heavy are the wheel weights?

 

[crazyal]

ovrszd I get what you're saying. Even though there are not springs like a Jeep would have weight in your tires or mounted on the wheels is weight that the axles and bearing will not see where as weight on the 3pt hitch is transferred through the rear diff, through the bearings, and the axle flanges to the wheels.

 

[TripleR]

How heavy are the wheel weights?

I honestly don't know, but my dealer said they were "about the same as fluid".