b2650 almost rolled need front wheel spacers

rrasi · Jul 24, 2023

howdy, i have a b2650 with a LA534 front end loader. i am getting mighty tired of almost rolling this thing daily when i have my front end loader on, (with and without my bucket).
I have a belly mower, I am thinking of getting 3 inch front spacers... but then again, is 3 inches enough? I mow and dump things down on my hill all the time. should I go 4 inches? I already rolled my last machine (yeah it happens quickly)

Does a few inches on both sides really help and how do I determine what size spacers to get?
Also, why are these things so darn expensive? Who has the best deal on them?

scootr · Jul 24, 2023

I have 3" on each side and it makes a big difference. Mine are milled from high strength aluminum and they costed dearly. But I'm worth it.

jeff9366 · Jul 25, 2023

You need wheel spacers for the rear, not the front.

T-B-N ARCHIVE:

L3902 very tippy what am I missing?

I have an 2023 L3902 I got at the beginning of June. I got R1 tires w/fluid set at the middle width setting on it an FEL, rotary mower and a rototiller. My last tractor was an 25hp LS with R4 tires w/fluid FEL and a detachable factory backhoe both this tractor and the LS are the same physical...

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RjCorazza · Jul 25, 2023

There is an argument that when the front pivoting axle hits the stop, spacers will add some stability. I guess from a geometry view the axle will hit the stops sooner with the spacers.
That said, spacers on the rear, non pivoting axle, is definitely the way to go to add stability. As far as expense they aren't cheap. I put a set of Bora spacers on my zero turn that I setup for bank mowing.

Tinhack · Jul 25, 2023

RjCorazza said:
I put a set of Bora spacers on my zero turn that I setup for bank mowing.

Interesting. Have you had to replace the axle bearings yet? Seems like that would place a lot of stress on the "spindly little" drive axles on most ZTRs.

scootr · Jul 25, 2023

Brotek is what I used, 2" front and 3" rear as suggested by the man who makes them there.
The results are a noticeably less unstable machine. Expensive yes. Added stability, yes.
I have loaded rears as well.

Rock Crawler · Jul 25, 2023

rrasi said:
howdy, i have a b2650 with a LA534 front end loader. i am getting mighty tired of almost rolling this thing daily when i have my front end loader on, (with and without my bucket).
I have a belly mower, I am thinking of getting 3 inch front spacers... but then again, is 3 inches enough? I mow and dump things down on my hill all the time. should I go 4 inches? I already rolled my last machine (yeah it happens quickly)

Does a few inches on both sides really help and how do I determine what size spacers to get?
Also, why are these things so darn expensive? Who has the best deal on them?

By the time your front axle reaches its rotational limit, chances are extremely high that your rear axle and frame assembly have already passed the point of no return. Realize that the machine is already on a side slope of some degree to begin the process of turning over sideways, so now you start the process of rotating the frame over that front axle pivot. You add the starting ground angle to the ultimate rotational angle allowed in the front axle. Your going to be travelling over a great amount before the hard stop hits. The odds of it stopping at that hard stop are low at best.

The best option you have is to increase width of the rear axle/wheel assembly by any means possible, add weight to the rear wheels with fluid or bolt on wheel weights to fight the tendency to lift a rear wheel, reduce any unnecessary lift (height) to the loader arms and use operator technique and skill to reduce or eliminate the chance of rotating over.

The front axle width is more of a mental fix than a physical one due to the pivot travel. If you could add a great amount of front axle width, you would eventually get what you are looking for, but inch for inch and pound for pound added, you get exponentially more stability by working these gains on the rear axle compared to the front axle.

WranglerX · Jul 25, 2023

I went with 3 inch spacer on the REAR of my SCUT.... Made of world of difference.... Still on hillside operation its called go really slow and be aware of tractor balance all the time.... Wheel tractors are not good on sidehills ...EVER....

Yes the BROTEK are the best....

Bro-Tek

Welcome to Bro-Tek! We make some of the best tractor accessories available. Learn about our high quality offerings on our product pages, or see what fits your tractor.

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retired007 · Jul 25, 2023

rrasi said:
howdy, i have a b2650 with a LA534 front end loader. i am getting mighty tired of almost rolling this thing daily when i have my front end loader on, (with and without my bucket).
I have a belly mower, I am thinking of getting 3 inch front spacers... but then again, is 3 inches enough? I mow and dump things down on my hill all the time. should I go 4 inches? I already rolled my last machine (yeah it happens quickly)

Does a few inches on both sides really help and how do I determine what size spacers to get?
Also, why are these things so darn expensive? Who has the best deal on them?

I know that uneasy feeling. I have a TZ25da New Holland and finally decided I had to do something. Put 4" spacers on rear wheels and it helped considerably. Like different little tractor.

ROUSTABOUT · Jul 25, 2023

jeff9366 said:
You need wheel spacers for the rear, not the front.

T-B-N ARCHIVE:

L3902 very tippy what am I missing?

I have an 2023 L3902 I got at the beginning of June. I got R1 tires w/fluid set at the middle width setting on it an FEL, rotary mower and a rototiller. My last tractor was an 25hp LS with R4 tires w/fluid FEL and a detachable factory backhoe both this tractor and the LS are the same physical...

www.tractorbynet.com

VENDER:

Bro-Tek

Welcome to Bro-Tek! We make some of the best tractor accessories available. Learn about our high quality offerings on our product pages, or see what fits your tractor.

bro-tek.com

That wouldn't be because of the scientific articulation of the frontest most axle, would it ?

RjCorazza · Jul 25, 2023

Tinhack said:
Interesting. Have you had to replace the axle bearings yet? Seems like that would place a lot of stress on the "spindly little" drive axles on most ZTRs.

This is on a Kubota ZD326, which is very heavy duty. The spacers I installed are also not real extreme at 2".

ArlyA · Jul 25, 2023

Get yourslf some rear spacers. Rolling over isn't worth it.

Tinhack · Jul 25, 2023

RjCorazza said:
This is on a Kubota ZD326, which is very heavy duty. The spacers I installed are also not real extreme at 2".

You're probably right. Now that I think about it, the rear wheel lugs on the Bad Boy are about 8" deep from the edge of the tire.

ruffdog · Jul 25, 2023

Relying on the free pivoting front axle to stop a rollover is interesting. Thinking that the spacer will help by the time the tractor has already tipped enough to hit the hard stop is risky thinking. The angle that the hard stop hits is called the butt-pucker angle.

zzvyb6 · Jul 25, 2023

Only thing front spacers do is increase steering effort, no moment transferred because of the axle pivot. Tests show it makes things worse because the jolt from hitting the angle restriction causes a jerk (change in roll acceleration)). Front spacers just keep the front track in line with the rear if you are trailering..

DMW · Jul 25, 2023

The pivoting front axle makes a stability triangle the similar to a forklift. Widening the front axle will have none to little effect. Biggest gains to stability are counterweight on the tractor's 3pt, loaded tires, then spacers on the rear axle.

WranglerX · Jul 25, 2023

May want to take a squint at this...

Thomas · Jul 25, 2023

Can you add weight to front with out causing problem for loader just be on the grill.?

Rock Crawler · Jul 26, 2023

Thomas said:
Can you add weight to front with out causing problem for loader just be on the grill.?

For what reason, what would your goal be? Front axles are typically under rated or overloaded as it is with a full load in the bucket, you are required to use 3-point counterweight to reduce the front axle load to a safe level. If you look at the manual, it will specify the amount of 3 point weight required to use the machines loader. Adding additional front weight would require additional rear ballast (on the 3 point hitch, not in or on wheels) to compensate for that added weight.