OP
gladehound
Veteran Member
duh - how else would the earth be!
You need balast or you will trash your front axle!!!! really?
- Thread starter gladehound
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duh - how else would the earth be!
And what's your opinion on the lever arm length ( 3 point ) that he needed to achieve his result....
Agvg
Elite Member
Well, its a complex question to answer, small tractors with an very light duty front axle will of course have more use of it in most lifting applications than a 300hp Fendt with super HD axel. But the answer is yes you reduce the wear.
Im quite sure you will se very different wear on two tractors one with a suitable ballast and one with filled tires after 5000h of loader use.
Im quite sure you will se very different wear on two tractors one with a suitable ballast and one with filled tires after 5000h of loader use.
4570Man
Super Star Member
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- Crossville, TN
- Tractor
- Kubota M59, Kubota L3800, Grasshopper 428D, Topkick dump truck, 3500 dump truck, 10 ton trailer, more lighter trailers.
I would be extremely surprised if either tractor makes it to 5,000 hours with solely loader use without major overhaul. Tractors simply aren't made for this kind of abuse. If you need 5000 hours of loader service than you should have bought a wheel loader.
4570Man
Super Star Member
- Joined
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- Crossville, TN
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- Kubota M59, Kubota L3800, Grasshopper 428D, Topkick dump truck, 3500 dump truck, 10 ton trailer, more lighter trailers.
A cube????
OP
gladehound
Veteran Member
For those with a quick attach loader, removing the bucket/ forks etc when not in use would do as much for the front axle as a 3pt weight box that is 3x to 4x heavier than the attachment removed from the FEL. Might make me pay a little more attention to having an attachment on when I don't need it. Sure would like my front axle to last as long as I have my tractor, while if I'm lucky could be 45 more years.
We have a JD model A in the family an no problem with the tricycle front end after 80 years or so. But no loader and it hasn't run a lot in the last 30 years.
We have a JD model A in the family an no problem with the tricycle front end after 80 years or so. But no loader and it hasn't run a lot in the last 30 years.
k0ua
Epic Contributor
Well, what he is saying is that as long a 4 wheels are on the ground, NO amount of 3pt weight added will remove weight from the front axle until somehow it magically pops up from the ground, and that it never does get light, just constant heavy, heavy, heavy, whoops off the ground... Which makes no sense at all. What he doesn't understand is that every ounce he puts on the 3pt removes a proportional weight from the front axle based upon the lever arm of the front loader and the lever arm of the 3pt. Obviously the longer the lever arm of the 3pt is, the more effective it will be.
k0ua
Epic Contributor
There have been a couple of guys thru the years complain about excessive wear on their front ends, that they attributed to never running any ballast, but I cannot remember who they were. But it makes sense to me, that the more weight you put on the much more complex and smaller front axle components the better chance that those smaller and more complex components stand a chance of wear or even breakage. Of course engineers make every attempt within their budgets to make their front ends as strong as they can make them.
And we have all at one time or another put all of our tractors weight on just the front axle, including any ballast and the associated load in the FEL. I have never broken one, but there is always the first time.
jenkinsph
Super Star Member
I don't think there is a problem with most of the newer tractors today as all of them seem to have heavy duty front axles. But I can easily remember when the Deere 4020 equipped with a fel could have axle problems. Some of the farmers back in the day would put a front axle from a 5020 on as a replacement. As fels have become a "must have" I don't see it as an issue today.
If you ballast your tractor for the loads anticipated it will perform better and be safer to operate.
If you ballast your tractor for the loads anticipated it will perform better and be safer to operate.
OP
gladehound
Veteran Member
The axles on CUTs do seem to be getting beefier. I remember when a JD4100 had an front axle with a published max axle weigh that was completely used up by adding a FEL. Lifting anything would exceed the axles max weight rating. The shop down the road replaced several axles on those.
You would think buyers would know by looking at them. They were tiny!
