Ballast to prevent overloading of front axle

   / Ballast to prevent overloading of front axle #11  
For years I went along without rear ballast, just loaded tires. I got a ballast box about 4 years ago and it helps a lot. Loaded tires don’t load the front axle at all nor the rear axle. Rear ballast will take quite a bit of weight off the front axle when doing end loader work.
 
   / Ballast to prevent overloading of front axle #12  
This is debated a fair bit. If the front axle is considered to be the fulcrum rear ballast does nothing to reduce the front axle load.
I agree rear tire/axle ballast doesn't lower FEL weight on frt axle BUT weight on 3 pt hitch definitely lowers weight applied to frt axle/tires. Several yrs back I took my Kubota M7040/FEL/rear bale fork & 2 rd bales to a public scale. i weighed my tractor with & without a bale on 3 pt. I located the tractor weighting info shown below. According to my research frt axle WITHOUT 3 pt counter balance exerts 610 more #s on scale.

My M7040 & LA1353 loader with cast rear wheels weighs 7670#s
Same tractor/loader with bale on frt & rear 9630#s
Frt bale weighs 1090#s
rear bale weighs 870#s
Frt axle with bale on frt and bale on the rear 5380#s
Frt axle with bale on frt no rd bale on the rear 5990#s
 
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   / Ballast to prevent overloading of front axle #13  
I have RimGuard loaded rear tires. And a 1010# Rhino rear blade on the 3-point. I don't have the rear blade back there to SAVE the front axle. It's there so I can maintain rear tire traction when lifting loads with the grapple. The front axle is designed to carry a max specific load - I never get anywhere near that limit.
 
   / Ballast to prevent overloading of front axle #14  
So you say, but why?
Wow, where did you go to school and what is your highest level of education? Just curious.

800px-Lever_(PSF).png
 
   / Ballast to prevent overloading of front axle #15  
In my younger years I once got a bushhog stuck under a very large fallen tree. My much younger years I assure you. When I couldn't get it out driving straight forward I tried to wiggle it out by raising and lowering the hog. I would raise the hog and the front end of the tractor would come completely off the ground then drop the hog and pop the clutch. Each time I would gain a few inches forward. I finally got the mower out. This was back in the late seventies or early eighties and that mower finally died last fall. I hadn't thought of it before but that is probably why the back wheel fell off later that year.

Anyway, consider the tree as ballast hanging off the 3-pt and I can see how adding weight BEHIND the rear wheels will take weight off the front axle and put less strain on it...... Unless you keep popping the clutch and banging it on the ground. That late sixties to early eighties Ford equipment was tough.

RSKY
This is the perfect example of rear 3 point hitch taking weight off front axel. An extreme example but makes the point.
Years ago when I had an 8n ford tractor if I lifted my bushog going uphill the front got so light I couldn't steer. Same effect.
The front axel is the fulcrum for the FEL weight. The rear axel is the fulcrum for the 3 point hitch weight. FEL is trying to pry the back up while the hitch weight is trying to pry the front up
 
   / Ballast to prevent overloading of front axle #16  
Bdog, good thread -- this always deserves more conversation.

Let m = weight on your 3 pt hitch.
Let L1 = the horizontal distance between that weight's center of mass and your front axle.
Let L2 = the horizontal distance between your rear axle and front axle.

You will reduce the load (weight) on your front axle by an amount m*((L1/L2) - 1).

That's one reason why behind-the-tractor ballast is so important for FEL work. As you correctly surmise, rear tire ballast (weights or fluid) will do nothing to alleviate front axle load although it has other beneficial effects sometimes.
 
   / Ballast to prevent overloading of front axle #18  
Traditional lever diagrams are wrong for a tractor, which has two "fulcrums."

View attachment 696220

Bruce
Exactly my point from above. And we both have enough education and experience to understand your illustration is significantly different from those posted earlier with one fulcrum.
 
   / Ballast to prevent overloading of front axle #20  
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Seems to me. . .
allow me some assumptions in a make believe case.
Given
The distance from the bucket to front axle is 3', the distance between axles is 5' and the distance from the rear axle is 3'
If your counter weight was 0 and the bucket weight was 500lbs
There would be a moment of 3ft * 500lbs or 1500ft-lbs around the front axle
To offset that, the rear axle down force required for that moment would be 1500ft-lbs / 5ft or 300lbs would be relieved from the down force on the rear axle.
Don't believe that? Keep adding weight to the bucket until the rear wheels come off the ground (essentially putting 0 weight on the rear axle)

Putting counterweight on has exactly the same effect on the front axle.

Hey, I've been out of school a long time, I could be wrong but I don't think so.
 
 
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