Any Ideas for a Cheap Compact Rear 3 Pt Counterweight?

[jeff9366]

Learning to SEARCH will allow you to access information instantly.

Here are 676 T-B-N threads with the word BALLAST in the TITLE:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/search.php?searchid=2797334

Perhaps 200/676 will be relevant to your information quest.

VOILA!

We also have OPs who are on the road during the week, sometimes for weeks in succession. When these Road Warriors finally return home some want actionable information NOW, as Monday it will be "BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN".

Such was my life for 30 years out of my 37 years of civilian employment. During my additional six years in the Navy I was gone, period.

 

[RNeumann]

If you don't want anything on the 3pt because of maneuverability it would seem that making something for the 3pt would also be impractical. The easiest and cheapest is rear tire ballast. A pump and adapter is well under $100. The second option is a BB. They add a good amount of weight, have been around a long time and can be found used. They have the added advantage of actually being useful when attached- unlike water or concrete or an old engine block.
You can also order an extra cheese burger and dessert- at least that ballast tastes good. Haha

 

[cat fever]

Concrete is hads down gonna be the cheapest.

If you have suitcase weights laying around, that would be nice and easy to modify and simple to build. But if you dont have them, around here weights go for $1 a pound. So to get the ~1500#+ that you need, thats gonna be $1500+.

That same 1500# would only require 25 60# sacks of ready mix at ~$2.50 ea. And that would make ~12-13 cubic foot.

A 30" x 30" x 30" form, would take ~31 bags and get you to ~1800#. And if you have the scraps of lumber for the form and the steel to run through for pins, should cost less than $100.

For a MX, and a compact weight, 1500+ would be what I would want. I have a 1000# weight barrel made for my old L3400. While its better than nothing, it isnt sufficient enough to use the loader to the max. IE: I can still pick the back tires up.

I like the idea of forming a counter weight; any size/configuration you want. However, I think the 55 gallon drum is the easiest. I still need to get something for my own tractor. Many times I've been wishing for weight in the rear when doing FEL work.

 

[LD1]

Yes the 55 gal drum is one of the easier ways to do concrete, but a 55 gal drum completely full is only ~1200#. And isnt a very good shape for most weight in the least area.

With the most tractors that are cat 1 or cat 2, 30" is about the practical limit for width before the angle/curve of the 3PH arms start to get in the way. By squaring it off instead of going round, you are making the best use of the area and still keeping it compact. And no need for something that gets too tall and becomes top heavy when unhooked.

Building plywood box with scraps, and putting some framework and pins to hook up in there also made from scraps, you can test fit, make sure everything works and wont inter-fear with hitch operation. Then spend a few hours filling with concrete and you are out under $100.

Also worth a mention....some people cast some various sizes of PVC in the concrete for places to hold a shovel, rake, chainsaw, etc.

Lots of ideas out there.

 

[cat fever]

LD,
You have convinced me to make my own and form it with plywood. Now if I could find the time and ambition I'd get started right away.:laughing:

 

[fried1765]

I agree, there is room for both. I personally like the discussion, depending on the topic, because new ideas come up regularly and there might have been improvements. Then we jump on people for bumping an old thread if they follow on that one and jump on them for starting a new one instead of searching. This is a discussion board, it is fine to point people toward other topics on the subject, but if you don't want to join in... move on. I dislike seeing the immediate response of "you should have searched first" like each thread is personally costing them money and they are upset about it.

The gent who posted that critique often posts very harsh/demeaning/cutting comments.

 

[countrybumpkin]

LD, You have convinced me to make my own and form it with plywood. Now if I could find the time and ambition I'd get started right away.:laughing:

I did a form and framed up a hitch inside with a 2" receiver even. It's been working out great. It's 1300-1400 lbs.

 

[Sysop]

I sometimes see threads running and jump on reading them and learn some things I never even knew I didn't know or realized I should want to know. Glad people on this forum keep asking questions instead of just doing a search. A search usually only helps one person where a thread can help hundreds and thousands. The search feature is also good to have if your in a hurry and know what your specific need/question is. I use both with 98% use being reading current posted/running threads in the Kubota Forums.

Agreed, but you have a small subset of users that the entirety of their life is setting on boards like this. They have nothing else to do and "get tired" of rehashing the same subjects over and over, so they resort to telling people to SEARCH rather than providing some reasonable and meaningful assistance. They go by many names, losers, trolls, other things that aren't good to say in a family-friendly forum such as this. They try to make themselves feel important by belittling folk, basically telling them "you don't even know how to search for what you want". When the reality of it is, it just makes them out to be one of the names listed or implied above.

I sort of think of it as calling a customer support line on the phone. Most folk want to bypass all of the menu prompts and hitting a dozen buttons just to talk to a person. Same thing here, most folk don't want to fiddle with the options and extra/useless info a search will turn up. They would prefer to explain a situation and pose a related question to real people that can read the situation and formulate an intelligent and relevant response to the question. Not so hard to understand...

 

[bcp]

I just looked at the top of the page.

It says "FORUMS"

It doesn't say "RESEARCH LIBRARY"



Bruce

 

[cat fever]

I did a form and framed up a hitch inside with a 2" receiver even. It's been working out great. It's 1300-1400 lbs.

That's very nice. Could you make another one and bring it to Utah? I'd barbecue ya a steak! :licking:

Seriously, I'll be making something very similar this summer.