Ballast Box vs Filled Tires?

[c-and-a]

I have gotten two opinions on this subject - fill the tires, then no bother with on/off of ballast box, storage of the box, etc - basically idiot-proof...

The other, why do you want to carry the additional weight in the tires if you don't need to, especially when mowing...?

Anyone thoughts?

Thanx,
Curt

 

[Sully2]

I have gotten two opinions on this subject - fill the tires, then no bother with on/off of ballast box, storage of the box, etc - basically idiot-proof...
The other, why do you want to carry the additional weight in the tires if you don't need to, especially when mowing...?
Anyone thoughts?
Thanx,
Curt

As you state...2 different schools of thought on that subject. Personally..I DID NOT have my rear tires filled ( and my owners manual says NEVER fill the front tires..??) and I either use a ballast box.or some impliment just as heavy to offset the FEL when Im using it

FOR MY APPLICATION(s)..weighted rear tires would do nothing FOR ME and in some MIGHT be a dis-advantage. One reason I bought the "industrial tires" as compared to "AG's" is so that I dont tear up ( what little grass I have..lol) the yard anymore than is required.

I feel at some times my BB might need more weight in it ( there is just so much volumn and thats it!!) but thats only when I "shake down" a heaping FEL bucketful of soil...as I "bounce"??..the bucket to make sure a lot isnt going to roll off the heaped load...you can feel the "lightness" in the rear end...other than that...no problems.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Sully2 gave you a good answer, but allow for some expansion of it.

To use the FULL capacity of a FEL, check your loader's manual. Many will suggest you need to fluid fill AND carry a weight box. The greater the loader's capacity the more likely this is to be the case, regardless of the weight of the tractor.

If you want to mow the lawn, and are less concerned about eeking out every ounce of lift capacity of the loader, then I would say use a weight box without fluid fill.

A weight box also uses the rear wheels as a balance point and allows for more leverage by holding the weight farther back. Realize that a FEL with a full bucket is using the front tires as a fulcrum point and trying to lift the rear of the tractor so by holding the weight well behind the tractor the weight box provides a better counterbalance than fluid fill since fluid fill is closer to the the load and does not provide the same type of offsetting force. Fluid fill is nice to have, makes the tractor more compact, and is suitable for many lifting tasks, but is not enough if you really are going to push any of the higher capacity loaders. It is probably fine for the lower capacity loaders.

If you want to eek out every last ounce of lift capacity of your loader, then follow the requirements in the loader's manual. . . probably both fluid and weight.

I have fluid fill and a heavy box blade on one of my tractors. I use a weight box or implement on the the other tractor since it also has a MMM and I use it for mowing and general work.

You didn't say what you want to use the tractor for so it is hard to give a specific answer. It is a common myth that a HEAVY tractor has more lift capacity on the FEL. It is a common myth that a HEAVY tractor needs less ballast. When dealing with Front End Loaders, the whole name of the game is BALANCE.

 

[c-and-a]

Thanx folks - I knew I would get some good feedback...

Sorry for not detailing what I am doing - more mowing than lifting, and I do not anticipate stressing the lift capacity...

I think I am leaning towards a BB...thanx again!

 

[rbarker]

Thanx folks - I knew I would get some good feedback...

Sorry for not detailing what I am doing - more mowing than lifting, and I do not anticipate stressing the lift capacity...

I think I am leaning towards a BB...thanx again!

I got the weight box instead of filling the tires. Turns out that I usually have some attachment on the back like the rake or rear blade when using the loader so the weight box doesn't get much use. One thing to consider, if you need the extra weight for stability when mowing the weight box won't help because it's a 3ph attachment that will go up and down with the mmm. With the deck down the box could drag on the ground making a mess out of your finely groomed lawn. I've never felt like I needed the tires filled for my application, ymmv!

 

[FamilyFarm]

You have received good advice. Don't forget that box blades (like other implements) come in many weights. For my L5030, I really should have a 1000+ lb. BB if using as a ballast for heavier FEL loads. The $$ for a BB that size didn't make sense as I only need a med-duty BB for maintaining my driveway. I did need a heavy rotary cutter, so I spent the $$ on that. If I do really heavy loader work, I will put the cutter on and have 1150 lbs. hanging "way out" the back to balance the FEL. I'll just have to be careful because of the size of the cutter - make sure not to wipe out something with it!
My 689 lb BB is plenty for most FEL use, but if I was often doing heavy FEL work, I would need a better system. I do not have the tires filled at this point. I may do that primarily because of hills on my property, not so much to balance the FEL for heavy lifting.
Terry

 

[Volfandt]

Well paint me in the filled tires corner

I primarily mow and the FEL & BH is generally dismounted. I use the FEL quite a bit more than the BH.

The ease of mounting/dismounting the FEL and/or BH makes it so that I just pull up and add them when I need them then drop them when I'm done.
In my situation, when I work the FEL I don't have to worry about adding the BH or weight box or any other implement to offset the FEL as the filled tires do a good enough job of doing so. I've not encountered any problems w/digging nor transporting with a fully loaded FEL.

As for mowing, the BX doesn't seem to mash down the grass too bad and the grass recovers and looks pretty good by the next day.

There is a disclaimer in my owners manual that indicates that the filled tires should be "drained' whenever the BH is mounted. Now this isn't practical so what I've done is lessen the amount of fill in the tires to approx 3/5ths full. This leaves an airspace to allow for expansion for when the additional weight of the BH is added yet still adds enough counter balance for FEL work. So far I've not had any problems living on the edge like this

Theres been good advice given on useing a weightbox or boxblade, good luck

Volfandt

 

[Goog]

I just filled my tires this weekend on my L3400. What a difference. I bought the adapter kit from Napa and filled them with a garden hose at the 12:00 position then added 20 psi air to my R4's. Wish I had done this months ago. I normally leave my 5' box scraper on the back which is pretty heavy but the filled tires took almost all of the bounce out of the tractor. The reason I filled the tires is because I have been moving large round bales of grass hay and it felt pretty light in the back end. Now much more secure feeling. Also when I have my post hole auger on I don't have to worry so much about bucket capacity because the auger has so little weight. I still may build my own ballast box someday but for now this works for me. Brian

 

[JLoaf]

I filled my rear turf tires half full (as opposed to 3/4 full) on my B2710. I figured this added about 160#/tire.
This took a lot of bounce out of the tractor and it feels much more stable on bumpy and uneven ground. And improves traction in some situations.

On my L3830, I use a 550# box blade. Last year I added about 400# of suitcase weights to the box blade for additional ballast and this was a great improvement - and pretty cheap. I can easily and quickly remove the additional weights if I need to. This also helps with traction when pushing with my FEL.

 

[3RRL]

Filled tires are great. They added weight and much traction as well as stability and less "bounce" for a more "solid feel" in general. For general light duty loader work they work just fine. I filled all 4 tires.

Bob Skurka makes the best point illustrating the difference of a ballast vs loaded tires in this paragraph ...

A weight box also uses the rear wheels as a balance point and allows for more leverage by holding the weight farther back. Realize that a FEL with a full bucket is using the front tires as a fulcrum point and trying to lift the rear of the tractor so by holding the weight well behind the tractor the weight box provides a better counterbalance than fluid fill since fluid fill is closer to the the load and does not provide the same type of offsetting force. Fluid fill is nice to have, makes the tractor more compact, and is suitable for many lifting tasks, but is not enough if you really are going to push any of the higher capacity loaders. It is probably fine for the lower capacity loaders.

...that being a matter of balance in relation to the axles. That's why the tractor feels like the rear end wants to tip up with a full heavy bucket. I always mount my 1,000lb. boxblade when doing loader work. Plus I use it in conjunction with full bucket and drag dirt at the same time.