Grading 2210 front blade and ballast box

ctc1111 · Feb 9, 2005

Hey everyone, I have a 2210 with the FEL, front blade, and the ballast box. i've been moving a lot of snow with the FEL and i realized that i needed the ballast box becuase i'd scoop the snow and then the tractor would go forward and the back wheels would lift off the ground. We here in north east mass have a snow storm comming and i need to put the plow on the tractor and i'm wondering if i should leave the balast box on for that or take it off. By the way it is about half full of 6 by 6 patio blocks, and i do have the weights in the wheels. I just don't want anything tipping over on me when i take teh FEL off. Thanks for your consideration

Collin Corso

2005 2210,FEL,54 Blade,Ballast box

Ledgemere Farm · Feb 9, 2005

My brother has a 2210 with the snowblower. I think he has been running it without the ballast box on (against my advice). It will probably work OK with it off, but the extra ballast will help for sure and you won't tip over.

Dutch445 · Feb 9, 2005

CTC,
Welcome, and congrats on your new green machine!

As far as the ballast box goes, the more weight the better, and with that box full of weight you should find your tractor to be more stable, especially with the loader full of snow. It may even improve the performance with the front blade, by helping with traction. If you leave the ballast box low, you should never have a problem with too much weight in it.

Are you using chains on the tractor also?

ctc1111 · Feb 9, 2005

Thanks for the advice. I was just worried that i would tip forward becuase the loader weights more than the plow and i have the wheel weights as well. I do have the tire chains but i don't have them on. I did but it seemed as though i lost traction with them on like they were more slippery with them on because there wasn't as much surface on the ground as there would be if they weren't on there and so i poped a tire and i had to take it off and plug it up so i ended up once i got the tire chain on after an hour of fighting it, it was on backwards so i took the other one off as well. I think it works fine without them. They would be good if i had the rear mounted plow and i was driveing though the snow but were i drive has been plowed and is clear of snow. How come you wanted to know?Also Monday night i was moving piles of snow around a 50 space parking lot and i noticed that when i would turn while scooping up snow the steering didn't work good it would just slide while the wheel was turned if the loader was down and the loader was only in the float position so i took some bricks out and it worked a little better.

Collin Corso

JDFANATIC · Feb 9, 2005

Colin,

I use my 2210 with the blower and no ballast box, my rear tires however, are loaded. Even with a pretty severe slope, I haven't had any traction issues, although I have been using 4WD. I did plow one storm with the loader, and again with the loaded tires, I had no issues.

Dutch445 · Feb 9, 2005

It sounds like you are working on blacktop, in a paved parking lot... you probably will be just as well without the chains. Most of my customers are on rural driveways, hilly, with just gravel or stone for a driveway, and chains help a lot.

You are right about the extra weight, when your loader is in float on the ground. The more weight you have behind the rear of the tractor, the less steering response you will have. Deere thinks that's a good thing, so that when your loader is up in the air with a load on it, you aren't exerting excessive loads on the front axle.. but I can see where you wouldn't like the steering tendancys from it. Another option certainly would be to load the tires, but it doens't sound like you are traction challenged on that flat pavement, so you are probably fine doing just as you are.

Enjoy!
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keeney · Feb 9, 2005

Be careful about too much ballast on the rear as well.

On my 4100, with my 900 lb ballast block on the rear, with no front attachments, it gets very light in the front. The front blade does not weigh anything close to what the FEL does.

I go with just rear wheel weights with the front blade.

With the snowblower on the front, I think the manual says to add just the wheel weights.

- Rick

Maxfli · Feb 10, 2005

I'm with JDFanatic. I have a 2210, 210 loader and rears are filled, no balast box. I have had no problems with any loader work yet. A few truck loads of dirt, snow and some really heavy stumps left over when they cleared my lot. Traction has never been an issue, I am using 4 Wheel Drive on paved drive though.

ctc1111 · Feb 11, 2005

Ya the loaded tires with the loader always works fine for me around my property and my neighbors driveways and what not. But my mother owns a 60 space parking lot. I plow it with the truck. But then the tenants of her building complain about the minimized parking so i have to go back a few days after a storm and move the massive snow piles. By then they're all hard and icey so when ever i scooped into the pile it would take a lot for the tractor to break the ice and let me scoop the pile up. So i think thats why the back of the tractor would keep lifting up. Thanks for all the help everyone!

Collin Corso