Ballast for B2601

[LarJea]

I went down to the Kubota dealer last Monday, thinking I was going to buy a BX25D but looked at a B2301 and decided to go that route instead and ordered a B2601, while we were doing the paperwork, two B2601s showed up on their stock order truck. So anyway it got delivered yesterday with the 54 inch MMM, 54 inch bucket, pallet forks and vegetable filled tires. I'm going to have to wait for the backhoe until I get a car paid off. Going to have to get more ballast, it is to tippy the way it stands now. Most of my property is on a steep hillside. I needed to move (40) 60 lbs. bags of cement today up hill behind my house using the forks and even with only 10 bags on a pallet it wanted to tip while going sideways on a minor incline, so I decided to load the pallets on my Kubota RTV and bent the tailgate by having to drop the load suddenly to keep the tractor upright. So I'm looking at buying pallet forks for the three point hitch so I can carry ballast on the back unless anyone has a better idea. I will send pictures later.

 

[s219]

I went down to the Kubota dealer last Monday, thinking I was going to buy a BX25D but looked at a B2301 and decided to go that route instead and ordered a B2601, while we were doing the paperwork, two B2601s showed up on their stock order truck. So anyway it got delivered yesterday with the 54 inch MMM, 54 inch bucket, pallet forks and vegetable filled tires. I'm going to have to wait for the backhoe until I get a car paid off. Going to have to get more ballast, it is to tippy the way it stands now. Most of my property is on a steep hillside. I needed to move (40) 60 lbs. bags of cement today up hill behind my house using the forks and even with only 10 bags on a pallet it wanted to tip while going sideways on a minor incline, so I decided to load the pallets on my Kubota RTV and bent the tailgate by having to drop the load suddenly to keep the tractor upright. So I'm looking at buying pallet forks for the three point hitch so I can carry ballast on the back unless anyone has a better idea. I will send pictures later.

Rear ballast probably won't help with sideways balance on hills (could even make it worse depending on where the ballast sits relative to the CoG). There are a lot of situations where you just can't safely use a tractor while sideways on a hill (I have one section of my property that is unaccessible by tractor for this reason). Having a load in the front loader can reduce whatever margin you have even more (very important to keep it as low as possible).

Main point of rear ballast would be to keep the rear wheels planted and prevent the front axle from bearing all the weight with a heavy load in the front bucket, so it's more about fore/aft balance. Generally, I consider loaded rear tires to be only enough to offset the weight of the front loader, and additional ballast (could be an implement) is needed to offset the weight of the load/cargo.

All of that affects balance in the fore/aft direction, but that "plane" is 90 degrees to the plane for sideways balance considerations, so you have to think about that separately. As an example, I am properly ballasted fore/aft when moving dirt, but one time the left side of the tractor got into soft muddy material and still almost tipped. In that case, my fore/aft balance didn't matter at all.

 

[Will_C]

I think the OP should consider getting some wheel spacers-a wider track is about the only way to improve side to side stability.

Will

 

[Citydude]

I agree with Will_C. A wider stance on the rear axle is a definite need for slopes.

 

[SweBota]

Properly sized and shaped ballast will make an enormous difference also to sideway stability. An L-shaped concrete weight has it's main weight lower than the rear axle and inside the rear wheels. Please draw that force diagram and you will see that it will take a heck of a slope to get that cog outside of the rear wheels.

Filled tyres is NOT enough ballast for serious loader work in modern CUT/SCUTs where loader capacity has been increased a lot in comparison to machine weight.

/Marcus

 

[s219]

Properly sized and shaped ballast will make an enormous difference also to sideway stability. An L-shaped concrete weight has it's main weight lower than the rear axle and inside the rear wheels. Please draw that force diagram and you will see that it will take a heck of a slope to get that cog outside of the rear wheels.

We can simplify fore/aft balance into a 2D free body diagram because the tractor is nearly symmetric side to side. We can't simplify side to side balance into a free body diagram because there isn't any symmetry front to back. Best we can say is that the rear weight can help stability, but it's all relative to the rest of the 3D tractor, what's in the front loader, etc. There could be a lot of other stuff happening "into the paper" so to speak.

To be as effective a ballast side to side as it is fore/aft, rear ballast would really need to be far from the tipping point (i.e., far uphill of the downhill wheel). Centered between the wheels, sure it will help some, but it's not very far uphill of the tipping point, so it's influence is somewhat limited -- certainly a lot more limited than the fore/aft situation. Just thinking in terms of orders of magnitude, lever arms, etc, rear ballast is a heck of a lot more effective offsetting the front loader cargo in fore/aft balance than it will be in side to side balance.

 

[LarJea]

Thanks for all the responses. This is my first small tractor and it looks like I have a lot of learning to do, by the way what does CUT/SCUT stand for, pretty sure it means small tractor? Ok I will check into some wheel spacers along with more ballast weight in the form of 3 point hitch pallet forks. Also was going to post some pictures but looks like I will need my daughters assistance.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

I wouldn't lift much of anything without some ballast on the back. Mains reasons are weight distribution and breaking. If possible, I would add wheel spacers and a ballast box with the weight down low, both will help a bunch. Just make sure the spacers are compatible with your mower deck. Check clearance to the rear anti scalp wheel in particular. Might not be able to space out the front wheels because of the drive over deck.

 

[LarJea]

I wouldn't lift much of anything without some ballast on the back. Mains reasons are weight distribution and breaking. If possible, I would add wheel spacers and a ballast box with the weight down low, both will help a bunch. Just make sure the spacers are compatible with your mower deck. Check clearance to the rear anti scalp wheel in particular. Might not be able to space out the front wheels because of the drive over deck.

That was the first thing I noticed when picking up a heavy pallet of cement on uneven ground, the tire on the high side would start to come off the ground, followed by tipping to the low side. Also seen some nice looking 2 1/2inch spacers on e-bay, does that sound like the size I need?

 

[Citydude]

That was the first thing I noticed when picking up a heavy pallet of cement on uneven ground, the tire on the high side would start to come off the ground, followed by tipping to the low side. Also seen some nice looking 2 1/2inch spacers on e-bay, does that sound like the size I need?

As long as you don't space your wheels wider than your mower deck and loader bucket, any size will work.

 

[LarJea]

As long as you don't space your wheels wider than your mower deck and loader bucket, any size will work.

As far as the 54 inch mower on my B2601 is concerned, the wheels on the mower are just ahead and further out of the back wheels, so looks like anyway, that 2 inch spacers would put the rear tractor wheel/tire edges around a inch or so behind the mower tires. Hopefully that's not to close. I am contacting Bo-Tec now on spacer price and thinking about buying the $335.+ $30. shipping ones on e-bay, but hoping to find some cheaper ones that come with studs. What kind of spacers is that in the picture you posted?

 

[rswyan]

Thanks for all the responses. This is my first small tractor and it looks like I have a lot of learning to do ...

It's good that you recognize this ... don't ever sell that idea short.

You can get yourself in a whole pile of trouble - including the dead kind - if you do.

Traversing sideways across an incline with a (substantial) load in the bucket ain't something that's a real good idea.

Even just a slight depression in the terrain on the low side could be enough to radically alter your balance and push things past the tipping point (pun intended)

 

[chucky79]

CUT = Compact Utility Tractor
SCUT = Sub Compact Utility Tractor

Didn't see anyone else answer that yet. Im a year in and still on the learning curve with my BX. Mowed my hillside and she made my butt pucker so I loaded the rear tires which made a huge difference. I really want the next size in b2301 like u got but have been told by multiple people to stick with the BX for my hill. Considering its primarily a mower I plan on listening.

 

[LarJea]

CUT = Compact Utility Tractor
SCUT = Sub Compact Utility Tractor

Didn't see anyone else answer that yet. Im a year in and still on the learning curve with my BX. Mowed my hillside and she made my butt pucker so I loaded the rear tires which made a huge difference. I really want the next size in b2301 like u got but have been told by multiple people to stick with the BX for my hill. Considering its primarily a mower I plan on listening.

Thanks for the Cut/Scut definition. I would have got the BX too if I was going to mostly mow hillsides. In fact, I would have got one anyway had the B2601 not come along. So far, hillside mowing is working out and expect to get better when my rear wheel spacers show up.

 

[russellm]

post a picture of it on your hill when you get a chance

 

[LarJea]

I actually have taken pictures of the Kubota on the hill. Waiting for one of the kids to come by and show me how to post.

 

[russellm]

In the quick reply, select the "insert image" icon (third from right), then select choose file button from the popup (make sure "from computer" tab is selected), then after you select the image, you choose "upload files"

 

[varmint]

Whoever has that water view is a lucky person! I added wheel spacers (1.75") to my L3400 just because that was the size I could get a great deal on, and they seemed "right" without being so big that I might run into un-foreseen issues. I sense more stability, even though I seldom operate on anything called a slope unless I am headed straight down or up. Easy first step, IMHO.

 

[Citydude]

As far as the 54 inch mower on my B2601 is concerned, the wheels on the mower are just ahead and further out of the back wheels, so looks like anyway, that 2 inch spacers would put the rear tractor wheel/tire edges around a inch or so behind the mower tires. Hopefully that's not to close. I am contacting Bo-Tec now on spacer price and thinking about buying the $335.+ $30. shipping ones on e-bay, but hoping to find some cheaper ones that come with studs. What kind of spacers is that in the picture you posted?

They are Bo-Tec 4" spacers. 200 hours on them and no issues. I contract mow right of ways with a lot of slope work. They are well worth the money. Make sure you torque the bolts to specs and put red lock-tight on them.

 

[AxleHub]

Oops . . Someone already covered what I was going to say.