Wheel spacers

[halfBaked2024]

I ordered my first tractor (TYM T574H) yesterday and am wondering if anyone dealing with hilly terrain has put spacers on to enhance stability. If so, what size?

My dealer seems reluctant to recommend them, but I’d like to have them put on before they fill the tires if I decide to pull the trigger.

 

[rScotty]

Wheel spacers aren't real popular - but I don't know why not. People who have them seem to like them. Maybe it is because they are expensive and unlike adjustable width rear rims they are hard to change.

Also good spacers are expensive. They need to be dead accurate and have the exact proper fastenings so that the wheels stand up to the increased load. For that reason, on a new tractor I'd want the spacers to be a factory approved option - or better yet, a factory optional part. Even so, your dealer might be understandably reluctant to recommend both wheel spacers and loading the tires since both increase the load on the wheel fastenings.

If you go for spacers, most people use the +2" instead of anything larger.

If you have to chose only one, you'll need to decide if you want improved traction in sloppy dirt and snow - which means either loading the tires or adding wheel weights or chains.
Or if you what you want is mostly side hill stability - which is what spacers or wider tires do the best of all.

In my opinion, a far better option than spacers is to order your tractor with upgraded rear wheel rims that have width adjustment. Most larger tractors 50 hp and up will have adjustable wheels as an option or the dealer may have specify it. Tractors used for ag pretty much have to have adjustable width.

luck,
rScotty

 

[RjCorazza]

As rScotty points out, nothing beats a wider stance for hill stability.
I don't have spacers on my tractor, mostly because most of my implements are sized to the OEM width and I don't want the tractor any wider. I did put 2" spacers on my backup zero turn to use on banks. They make a significant difference.

 

[halfBaked2024]

Thanks for the feedback, @rScotty and @RjCorazza - this forum has such helpful folks on it!

I am trying to quantify the benefit on different spacer widths and am working on the maths. All I see on the forums is “It’s so much better!”, but no-one has any tangible information like, “On a 15% cross slope, with 2” spacers, it will take X more amount of force to tip the tractor. With 6” spacers, it will take Y amount.” I know I’m weird, but knowing the numbers eases my lack of confidence.

I had them ballast the fronts and rears, giving me about 350# up front and 1,400# more in the rear - no brainer there. And I get that this helps incrementally keeping a lower center of gravity. But, how much is actually gained from 2” spacers? I see the 6% increase in width adding to the leveraged length. But monetary outlay being similar, is it worth risking the perceived mechanical strain on the axles and getting 6” for 18% increase in leverage length?

I know a dork like me has done the calculations, I just can’t find it. If I end up creating it, I will share it. This is the closest thing I found and plan on starting here:

My impatient self is saying, “Well, heck man… just get the 4” set then.”

 

[DarkBlack]

I definitely wouldn’t put wheel spacers on my front wheels

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm surprised that your tractor doesn't have options on your rims to make the wheels wider. On my Massey, I have 4 different ways to mount my rims to make them wider. I maxed them out so they are four inches wider on each side, and for me, that was significant.

What does our Owners Manual say about widening your wheels?

 

[scootr]

My 52 hp MX Kubota did not have adjustable wheels. I put 3" spacers on the rear and 2" spacers on the front per the spacer manufacturers recommendation. It made a big improvement in the way it feels on hills. I don't have any numbers just the very real pucker factor. Buy the best quality spacers you can afford. I paid around $700 for mine and would do it again.

 

[rScotty]

I definitely wouldn’t put wheel spacers on my front wheels

I wouldn't either - not without more measurements. Nor would I load the fronts. The front axle pivots in the middle, so it's a whole different situation than the rears. Adding front wheel spacers will keep the axle on the ground, but it won't prevent the body of the tractor from tilting.

 

[scootr]

I wouldn't either - not without more measurements. Nor would I load the fronts. The front axle pivots in the middle, so it's a whole different situation than the rears. Adding front wheel spacers will keep the axle on the ground, but it won't prevent the body of the tractor from tilting.

We've had this discussion many times here. I believe spaced front tires do help with stability. The front axle pivots until it hits the stops. If the tires are spaced out they hit the stops sooner. Of course, to each their own.

 

[DarkBlack]

If the tires are spaced out they hit the stops sooner.

I don’t envision that being the case. In my mind, your front tires could be 6 feet apart or 6 miles apart. In either case , the rigid tractor body and rear end will still have to rotate the same number of degrees, and lift the high side rear tire off the ground the same distance in either case, to cause contact of the fixed front axle pivot limit stops.

 

[DarkBlack]

I wouldn't either - not without more measurements. Nor would I load the fronts. The front axle pivots in the middle, so it's a whole different situation than the rears. Adding front wheel spacers will keep the axle on the ground, but it won't prevent the body of the tractor from tilting.

Yup. Axle spacers on the front of a 4 wheel drive tractor adds significant stress to the final drive/steering assembly, by moving the force outwards of the supporting bearing/oil seal joint. You’re creating a cantilevered joint, which would be additional stressed on bumps and flat ground anytime you have a load in the loader. It also magnifies any caster in the steering design.
I’m sure plenty get away without ever developing oil leaks and such, but I wouldn’t do it myself.

 

[WranglerX]

Have a MF GC 1715, (Sub compact) added 3 inch wheel spacers on rear and would do it again in a heartbeat, it made tractor so much more stable..... I only have about 1-2 acres of level ground on my 10 acre plot and the spacers were very much needed to make tractor more stable....

There is so many arguments for/against spacer that it only makes for confusion, it you feel it would help you (by asking question here) just get them and do it....

There is this for proof of concept (sort of skip over the wheel weights and focus on spacers)....

And about spacers....Sure the ones below are expensive , but why risk your tractor and your life on cheap junk car stuff (Amazon/Ebay) ....

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

 

[halfBaked2024]

I wouldn't either - not without more measurements. Nor would I load the fronts. The front axle pivots in the middle, so it's a whole different situation than the rears. Adding front wheel spacers will keep the axle on the ground, but it won't prevent the body of the tractor from tilting.

@DarkBlack and @rScotty - good points here. I was thinking about actual operation and can’t see where I’d have a bucket very high in the air, so in a tipping situation where I had a second or two and my wits about me, I could always drop the bucket and rapidly get another 4” of cantilevered width up front planted on the ground. However, I don’t see the harm in having 350# up front because I never see the tractor getting out of 4L for most of the first part of its life here (no mowing or regular ag production work). I literally have a year or two of dirt work ahead of me. #weekendWarrior

 

[halfBaked2024]

Have a MF GC 1715, (Sub compact) added 3 inch wheel spacers on rear and would do it again in a heartbeat, it made tractor so much more stable..... I only have about 1-2 acres of level ground on my 10 acre plot and the spacers were very much needed to make tractor more stable....

There is so many arguments for/against spacer that it only makes for confusion, it you feel it would help you (by asking question here) just get them and do it....

There is this for proof of concept (sort of skip over the wheel weights and focus on spacers)....

And about spacers....Sure the ones below are expensive , but why risk your tractor and your life on cheap junk car stuff (Amazon/Ebay) ....

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

Thanks! I watched this before posting… it really shows the physics advantage of those spacers in a relative sense.

Pulling force to tip tractor:
185.5# No spacers, no weight
213.7# No spacers, weights
241.0# 3” spacers, no weights
280.7# 3” spacers, weights

I would also offer that, not only the cost of the spacers, but the cost of long term wear and tear and subsequent replacement of seals and even parts due to the added mechanical stress of spacers is probably worth the safety net.

 

[Williy]

IMHO putting spacers on the front wheels would be putting
undue stress on the wheel bearings if you use a bucket

willy

 

[rScotty]

@DarkBlack and @rScotty - good points here. I was thinking about actual operation and can’t see where I’d have a bucket very high in the air, so in a tipping situation where I had a second or two and my wits about me, I could always drop the bucket and rapidly get another 4” of cantilevered width up front planted on the ground. However, I don’t see the harm in having 350# up front because I never see the tractor getting out of 4L for most of the first part of its life here (no mowing or regular ag production work). I literally have a year or two of dirt work ahead of me. #weekendWarrior

If there were an easy answer to the mechanics of tipping we wouldn't have the debate.
And any math model would have to include some of the more difficult real world effects like
the angle change due to tire flex and also momentum shifts when the tractor begins to slip sideways. Those things aren't minor, the are both more common than tipping, and weight up front affects both.

Short answer is that we don't know. About all we agree on is that some additional weight helps - as long as it is below an unknown amount that encourages side slope slipping and tire flex. Some additional width also helps, and has a larger effect on the rear than the fronts.

Tractors made specifically for side hill use sometimes have turf type duallies front and rear.
Does that help?

All the popular comparts and utility tractors have a part time 4wd, so try to avoid expensive drive shaft windup failures by not carrying FEL buckets with weight in 4wd... and never on side hills.
However, always DO use 4wd when decending a hill; that way the rear brakes also brake the front wheels. In 2wd the rear brakes only brake the rear tires and that can lead to a runaway - which is something that most who have done it once are reluctant to do again. Sure is exciting when it happens though...
rScotty

 

[halfBaked2024]

always DO use 4wd when decending a hill

Great advice and fortunately, I learned this in a much safer environment: when I owned it, my Polaris 850 ATV even had a 4WD descent mode where it would engine brake and clutch to control descent. Worked magnificently out here, but that machine was also a fraction of the weight of a T574H.

I consider that Sportsman ATV Polaris’ last good toiling machine. Their accountants unfortunately completely ruined the “rattletrap” Ranger lineup.

 

[halfBaked2024]

Some additional width also helps

I went ahead and rolled the dice on 3” rear spacers from Bro-tek using @WranglerX ’s link. $450 delivered and dealer agreed to put them on for me.

We’ll see how it goes, but I’m still going to do the maths when I find the time.

 

[Citydude]

I went ahead and rolled the dice on 3” rear spacers from Bro-tek using @WranglerX ’s link. $450 delivered and dealer agreed to put them on for me.

We’ll see how it goes, but I’m still going to do the maths when I find the time.

Good choice. I put Bro-tek 6" spacers on an L3400 with loaded rear tires that I used mowing right of ways. Stuck to the hill like a tick. It had 600 hours with no issues when I sold it.

 

[halfBaked2024]

Short answer is that we don't know.

I agree it’s a complex thing to model and tractor-specific with many different models and setups to consider. But… (using my best James T. Kirk voice here ) there is knowledge to be uncovered in even the simplest mathematical approach.

It seems to me that width has a relatively profound effect from the results in that Dad’s YouTube video. 3” spacers on my tractor is only a 9% increase in the leverage length (versus more in his test setup with the narrower tractor), but it sounds like the “feels like” factor is still pretty high on this forum.

But, I want know more, like… is 1” increase in weight is equivalent to the addition of 75# of weight on the 3-point on my tractor? Totally made up numbers there, but my left brain finds that compelling.

My wife stopped listening to all this a long time ago (as they do)… I appreciate you guys sticking with me and guiding me.