Tires 3320 w/BH fill tires?

[cruzr]

Would like to hear from 3020 series owners. I purchased a 3320 with R4 tires & 447 BH and debating whether to have the tires filled? We purchased a 5' box blade also, and plan to use that for ballast when not using the BH. My concern is, would the filled tires be to much with the BH attached for the 3320? What did you all do?

 

[gkaether]

I just took delivery on a 3320 with the 448 hoe. I chose not to fill the tires. With the hoe on for ballast it should be fine. I was also concerned about the added weight with the tires loaded.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Deere recommends both rear and tire ballast. It's OK to take it easy and try it before adding some ballast. Just be careful! You can get the setup to add ballast yourself for peanuts. If you want to add ballast later there is plenty on the subject here already, or just ask.

Have fun!!!2

 

[454shooter]

I have had a 3720 for 2 days. I have the 448 hoe and don't have the tires filled. I hauled about 30 full buckets of dirt/shale today with the backhoe on. I can tell you for sure that you will need to keep the bucket low and go slow ( I recommend A range). I got doing things quick today and there were several times that I had a back wheel off the ground and one time as I was travelling through my yard on a small down slope and raised the loader while moving to begin to dump and the left rear wheel came WAY off the ground and I was amazed it did not roll. I was looking right down at the ground and I did not have the seat belt on. The pucker factor was enormous and I certainly would have been severely injured, if not killed.
I am still debating the tire fill issue. The owners manual says a minimum of 1100 lb. 3ph ballast, filled tires AND 3 wheel weights per tire. If you are not going to mow your finished lawn, as I do with the 72" MMM, I would highly recommend the filled tires as a safety issue. I also highly recommend keeping the seatbelt on for loader work.
I do not think it will be too much with filled tires and the backhoe. If you are not going to always use the backhoe for ballast while doing loader work I can just about guarantee that you had better have a ballast box loaded with lead if you want to keep the rear tires on the ground.
I am going to not load the tires now due to the mowing issue but I may in the future (Especially if I have anymore close calls) It may not be that much of an issue on the grass anyway and it can only help the loader. I have the 300CX and I am not as impressed with the power of it as others here but having a toothbar for the first time may be most of the problem as the teeth stick into the material and the loader will not move till you back out. I have got better with it but it is not as powerful as I had expected.
Hope this helps....
Shooter

 

[HuskerInVA]

I have a 3520 with filled tires and I'm glad they are. I've been using my 7' RFM as ballast, ~800lbs and way back there too. I've still been able to lift a rear wheel if I'm not careful. The extra weight doesn't seem to be a problem while mowing either.

 

[pat32rf]

When you load your tires there is always some air which cannot be removed, this means that the added weight is ALWAYS at the bottom and at the outside which lowers your center of gravity and greatly improves stability over any 3pth box. It is not just a traction issue unless you are ALWAYS on level ground (and keep your hoe low) If you use your hoe for digging out rocks, stumps etc there is bound to come a time when you press down too hard on something and lift the back of the tractor really quick, even with the tires loaded. At that point it is nice to have a couple of hundred pounds hanging below the axle, just like a tightrope walker.....

 

[cruzr]

Thank you all, for your replies. I have been very cautious using the 300cx loader. The 447 BH is scheduled to arrive late next week. I have decided to have the tires filled when my dealer installs the BH, since we dont plan on mowing with the 3320. With less hp than the 3520 or 3720 I was concerned if the excess weight of filled tires would be a problem. After reading your experiences, it sounds like filled tires are the way to go for my use. Thanks again.