L5740 new front tires

   / L5740 new front tires #1  

hayden

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2000
Messages
2,281
Location
VT
Tractor
Kubota L5740 cab + FEL, KX121, KX080
The front tires on my L5740 are pretty worn out, and more of a problem is that they are under rated for the loader capacity. These are R1 tires, 9.5x16 6 ply rated for 1390 lbs each. Rounding up, that's 2800 lbs for the axle. The tractor & loader weigh about 5200 lbs excluding the rear wheel loading and weights. If half of that is on the front wheels, that's already a 2600 lbs load. Then add the rated bucket load of about 1900 lbs, and the front tires are grossly over loaded. When I scoop up a load of stone, the front tires are nearly flat.

It took me more than a year to get them, but I recently replaced the front tires with BKT 8 ply tires that have a load rating of 1710 lbs each. That's another 600 lbs of capacity. I think they are still under sized, but it's a big improvement, and I couldn't find any alternate R1 tire that was bigger and that would also have the right rolling circumference to not mess up the 4WD.
 
   / L5740 new front tires #2  
Replacing worn tires = good of course. But I doubt that you have 50% of the tractor weight on the front wheels (excluding the loader, just the bare tractor.) I don't think I ever saw a tractor that put 50% of the weight on the front wheels.

A bucket of stone can be VERY heavy and surprises most people. Put more air in your front tires...

If it matters, find a truck weigh station or around here they have them at the dump where refuse hauling is weighed. Weigh with just the fronts on the platform, then with just the rears and record the data.

The guy at Tractor Data may know. Also the people at the Nerbraska National Tractor Test Facility may have that data.
 
   / L5740 new front tires #3  
I go through the load ratings on my tractors and realized quickly the only way my CUT (now a L6060) could meet front tire load ratings with something like gravel in the bucket was by using R4 tires. In my instance it’s a 2 times increase in capacity. Same thing with my medium ag tractors, Kubota M135GX which was replaced by a M7-171. I don’t know a solution - download an ag tire load table. About the way to relieve load on the fronts is heavy rear attachments strung out as far as possible. I use my rotary cutter most because the weight is so far back of the wheels.
 
   / L5740 new front tires
  • Thread Starter
#4  
I go through the load ratings on my tractors and realized quickly the only way my CUT (now a L6060) could meet front tire load ratings with something like gravel in the bucket was by using R4 tires. In my instance it’s a 2 times increase in capacity. Same thing with my medium ag tractors, Kubota M135GX which was replaced by a M7-171. I don’t know a solution - download an ag tire load table. About the way to relieve load on the fronts is heavy rear attachments strung out as far as possible. I use my rotary cutter most because the weight is so far back of the wheels.
I came to the same conclusion, i.e. R4 tires are the only ones that have the weight rating.

My 6 ply tires never blew out, but man would they be smooshed down with a heavy load. And I always run at max allowed pressure. Going to 8 ply can only help, but at the same time won't match an R4. I just find R4s to be pretty useless in all other ways, so stick with R1s.

Regarding weight distribution, I really don't know exactly how it balances out front vs back. But I think the full weight of the loader itself is on the front, and that's 1000 lbs by itself. And any payload will be all on the front, and actually more due to the cantilever effect.

Speaking of cantilevering, a thread last year about someone buying an L6060 inspired me to get rear wheel weights. My rears have always been loaded, but were light and unstable with a full bucket load. Wow, what a difference with the weights. The stability of the machine on uneven ground is soooo much better when carrying a load. I'm just sorry I waited 12 years to get them.
 
   / L5740 new front tires #5  
I think others have said but putting weight in/on your rear wheels does not affect the weight on the front wheels/axle. Putting a load on your 3pt/rear DOES reduce the load on the front axle/wheels slightly -- just look at the levers involved in a simple diagram. But, every little bit helps, plus a nice big load on your 3pt will further contribute to overall stability when using the loader.
 
   / L5740 new front tires #6  
I came to the same conclusion, i.e. R4 tires are the only ones that have the weight rating.

My 6 ply tires never blew out, but man would they be smooshed down with a heavy load. And I always run at max allowed pressure. Going to 8 ply can only help, but at the same time won't match an R4. I just find R4s to be pretty useless in all other ways, so stick with R1s.

Regarding weight distribution, I really don't know exactly how it balances out front vs back. But I think the full weight of the loader itself is on the front, and that's 1000 lbs by itself. And any payload will be all on the front, and actually more due to the cantilever effect.

Speaking of cantilevering, a thread last year about someone buying an L6060 inspired me to get rear wheel weights. My rears have always been loaded, but were light and unstable with a full bucket load. Wow, what a difference with the weights. The stability of the machine on uneven ground is soooo much better when carrying a load. I'm just sorry I waited 12 years to get them.
If you think your CUT R-1s squish, you should see my M7-171 fronts. Even though I got the largest tire available, I figured I am at 175% of capacity when I have done my heaviest lifting. I had to load a 5500 pound lathe for him. My 10,000# capacity forks are heavy by themselves, then add the lathe and my tires were squished out. And the M7 has hydraulic front suspension - I forgot about lowering that down before making the heavy lift. Computer spits out error code at me - "Idiot Driver!!! You're going to break me and then you will be sorry!"
 

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