Looking at a Rental return Kubota L4701 - I have a few Questions

[GManBart]

congrats be sure rears are loaded to get full use from the fel

Oh brother, one of "those" topics rears it's ugly head. People say this to new tractor buyers all the time, and it's simply bad advice.

Loaded rears aren't the proper way to safely use the FEL, and avoid damaging the front axle components. Only weight on the 3pt takes weight off the front axles.

Loaded tires are for traction, while 3pt counterweight is for FEL use. Anything else is a compromise that might damage the machine (bigger machines seem less affected by this).

 

[LD1]

Loading the tires without rear weight actually increases the weight that the front axle sees when doing front loader work.

 

[All In A Days Work]

Loading the tires without rear weight actually increases the weight that the front axle sees when doing front loader work.

I plan on building a ballast box for the rear before summer. The tires are loaded by the way. I need a little schooling here, why would loading the rear tires add weight to the front axle while doing FEL work?

Have a good day everyone, I'll catch up later!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I plan on building a ballast box for the rear before summer. The tires are loaded by the way. I need a little schooling here, why would loading the rear tires add weight to the front axle while doing FEL work?

Have a good day everyone, I'll catch up later!

Let some pressure out of those tires, they are to hard, or they sure look to be anyway. Full tread width should be on the ground.

Nice machine that you ended up with,:thumbsup: more working pictures are appreciated along the way.

 

[LD1]

I plan on building a ballast box for the rear before summer. The tires are loaded by the way. I need a little schooling here, why would loading the rear tires add weight to the front axle while doing FEL work?

Have a good day everyone, I'll catch up later!

Because the front loader is strong enough to lift the back tires in the air even with them loaded. So lets break it down into an example with some nice round numbers.

Lets say the tractor WITHOUT loaded tires weighs 4000lbs with the loader.
And with ni rear weight, the loader can only lift 1000lbs before the rears lift off the ground.

So no you have the entire 4000# tractor weight + 1000# in the loader, ALL on the front tires/axle.

Now lets load the rears. Lets say it adds 800# to the tractor, and as such, can increase what the loader can lift by 500# before the rears come up.
So now we have a 4800# tractor + 1500# FEL load ALL on the front tires and axles.

So by loading the tires in this example, you just increased the front axle load from 5000# to 6300#

Same can be said with 3PH weight that is too small. You actually need enough weight to keep the rears on the ground AND take sufficient weight off the front.

 

[All In A Days Work]

Thanks, Got it, that makes sense. I appreciate the help.

 

[bucktaker]

only speaking from real life experience. Adding fluid to the rears on my tractor allowed me to lift a round bale safely and added traction. But no worries its already done

 

[LD1]

only speaking from real life experience. Adding fluid to the rears on my tractor allowed me to lift a round bale safely and added traction. But no worries its already done

Yes, fluid will help the tractor lift more. OR be more stable with a given load. I am not disagreeing that tires should be loaded. Just saying that it isnt a replacement for a proper counterweight. AND it adds more stress to the front axle.

 

[bucktaker]

I think you hit the relief on the loader before you "stress" the front axle.....thats been my experience my L5740 would get light in the rear but not come up and continue to rise. My old Massey would lift with the fel rears loaded off the ground and continue to lift until something broke or you got scared.

 

[GManBart]

I think you hit the relief on the loader before you "stress" the front axle.....thats been my experience my L5740 would get light in the rear but not come up and continue to rise. My old Massey would lift with the fel rears loaded off the ground and continue to lift until something broke or you got scared.

That's simply not how it works. Most tractors won't get close to hitting the relief before lifting the rear tires, and if the rear tires are getting light, you're loading the heck out of the front axles....loaded tires, counterweight, or nothing.

The absolute worst scenario for your front axle is the one you describe....loaded rear tires, no counterweight on the 3pt, and lifting enough with the FEL to get the rear tires light, or off the ground. That's causing the most wear, and long-term damage.

When I had my LS I tested to see how much I could lift without loaded rear tires, or any weight on the 3pt. I could lift 1,300lbs (block of steel that was weighed on a scale when it left the scrap yard) before the rear tires got light. That was roughly half of the max capacity for the FEL. With a 1,400lb counterweight I could put the forks under anything, and hit the relief with the rear tires planted solidly.

Every pound you lift on the FEL is putting a load on the front axles. Every pound you have on the 3pt takes load off the front axles. Whether the rear tires get light or not really doesn't matter (other than if they are light, it's adding more weight to the front axle).