Grand L3540 Ballast Question

[PHILIP8N]

Common sense tells me that whatever you lift in the front, you would want equal weight on back. This would take load of front axle and equal distribution on tractor. Philip.

 

[Leejohn]

When I just move gravel and dry clay I only need the loaded tires on flat ground. When I get down in the creek I just fill my carry all box with gravel. If it has a lot of sand mixed in, it works better. When on the flat ground I'm not in 4X4 most of the time because I forget to put it in.

 

[Bluegill2]

When I just move gravel and dry clay I only need the loaded tires on flat ground. When I get down in the creek I just fill my carry all box with gravel. If it has a lot of sand mixed in, it works better. When on the flat ground I'm not in 4X4 most of the time because I forget to put it in.

Even on flat ground you need ballast on the 3 pt hitch, to take weight off the front axle, when using the loader. Loaded tires do nothing for that.

 

[Notforhire]

Is 900lbs too much weight to keep on the tractor when not doing any heavy FEL work? The tires are not loaded and I have the LA724 FEL with the 72" HD round back bucket with bolt on cutting edge. The FEL is always mounted.

Whats a guesstimate on how much weight I should use when scooping a full load of dirt or gravel?

Thanks

View attachment 278120

I have a L3240 with the same loader and a SSQA standard 6ft bucket. My counterweight is about 800# and works fine. I think your machine is a little longer WB, but I don't think it makes that much of a difference. However my rears are LOADED. I suggest you do the same.
As far as keeping it on all the time, I wouldn't worry about it. If the front end can handle the weight of the loader, the rear axle, which is much stronger, should be fine.
I presume you lower both when the machine is not in use.

Bill

 

[crazyal]

I have a 55 gallon drum full of cement that's on the back of the tractor whenever I don't have an attachment on the rear. If I don't and go down my driveway in 2wd the rear brakes will lock up and skid very easily. I haven't gotten around to loading the rear tires yet.

 

[Notforhire]

QUOTE=crazyal;2977356]I have a 55 gallon drum full of cement that's on the back of the tractor whenever I don't have an attachment on the rear. If I don't and go down my driveway in 2wd the rear brakes will lock up and skid very easily. I haven't gotten around to loading the rear tires yet.[/QUOTE]

Must be fun in the snow! YAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa :steeringwheel::laughing:

 

[Bluegill2]

I have a 55 gallon drum full of cement that's on the back of the tractor whenever I don't have an attachment on the rear. If I don't and go down my driveway in 2wd the rear brakes will lock up and skid very easily. I haven't gotten around to loading the rear tires yet.

Loader is a lot of weight on the front of a tractor, even empty. Some folks use 4wd to compensate but that'll wear out the front-end, or break something. You are doin it right.:thumbsup:

 

[art]

What ever you are most comfortable operating your tractor with! Your full bucket weight is just an estimate with gravel or dirt. It is best not to driving around with the rear tires in the air and many times I recommend the three base weights to the wheels and ballast on the three point for overall longeviety of the tractor. It doesn't make any difference what make or color. Just remember that the lighter the tractor the longer it will live and the lower operating costs are your rewards. Ballast for the 90% and you will do fine don't worry about two or three bucket fulls a day, take an extra trip doing it lighter and faster with out strain.

 

[PhilY]

I have the L3540 myself, but with the LA514 Loader. I would recommend loading the rear tires to start with. Mine seemed to have limited traction trying to scrape with the FEL in reverse unless in 4WD. It also needed 4WD when grading my road while pulling my 7' rear blade. Now with the 1200 pounds of ballast in total between the 2 rear R4 tires I have, I can do both these things in 2WD. Now about ballast for the FEL. Without the loaded rears, the back end would come up in a heart beat. I would recommend at least 1000lbs on the 3ph. I say this because if I only have the rear blade on at about 300lbs, it still can pick up the rear end at max weight, but rarely this happens. The main reason i think that it needs a whole lot more is going down a slight grade, about 2.5 foot drop over 30 feet, the rears don't bite enough always and slide if I have a heavy load up front even with the RB. I also wanted to mention that weight in the back will help save your front axle. Your tractor won't notice the extra weight either. I had a 1200lb pulverizer on the rear and this seemed perfect with a full FEL on all bigger slopes around my property, and it never skipped a beat for power.

I thought I would also note why weight on the rear will help save the front axle. If the load in the FEL lifts that the back end up, then the tractor/ FEL weight is on the front axle as the front axle acts as the pivot point for everything. If you put weight like beet juice in the rear tires you still have the same pivot point (front axle). This will keep the rear of the tractor down. While it may seem like doing this would take weight off the front axle, it won't because the same force that would have raised the rear end without the loaded rears is still present. However, if you add weight on the 3ph, this will create a second pivot point at the rear axle. Any weight on the 3ph will take weight off the front axle. So, why not just use 3ph ballast? The loaded rears help with traction when a rear implement is needed and they help provide side to side stability on slopes due to how low the weight sits in the tires. Hope this helps and have fun!

 

[TripleR]

One of the best explanations, I have seen from Joshbardewell:

Think of it this way.

Assume that your tractor is 50/50 weight distribution between the front and rear axles. If you were to put the tractor's front wheels and rear wheels on separate scales, both scales would read the same--half of the tractor's weight.

Now, put some weight on the dead-center of the tractor. Both scales go up by the same amount--half of whatever you just put on the tractor.

Put some weight dead on top of the front axle. Only the front scale goes up. Rear scale remains the same.

Put some weight dead on top of the rear axle. Only the rear scale goes up. Front scale remains the same.

Now, put some weight in the loader bucket. Because that is hanging out over the front axle, it is going to create a lever arm. The weight on the front axle is going to go up, and the weight on the rear axle is going to go down. If you put enough weight in the bucket, the rear axle will eventually go up in the air, right? At that point, 100% of the tractor's weight is on the front axle, and 0% of the tractor's weight is on the rear axle.

So, you can see that the more weight you put in the bucket, the more of the tractor's weight is on the front axle, and the less weight is on the rear axle, up to the point where the rear axle leaves the ground.

Same thing is true of the 3ph. Because it is hanging out behind the rear axle, the more weight you put on it, the more weight is transferred to the rear axle, and the less weight is on the front axle. Let's say you had 500 lbs of dirt in the bucket. Not only is that putting 500 lbs of weight on the front axle, but because it is tipping the tractor's weight to the front, it is also putting more of the tractor's own weight on the front axle than would be if the bucket was empty. If you continue to add weight to the 3ph, eventually, even with 500 lbs of weight in the bucket, the tractor's front axle is going to go up in the air. At that point, all of the weight is on the rear axle. Obviously, you don't want to go that far. You want to leave enough weight on the front axle to provide traction and steering, but you want to take enough weight off the axle that the bucket's load is not being entirely applied to the front axle.

By joshbardwell