Concrete Ballast ACCESSORIES (not another weight question)

RedNeckRacin · Oct 17, 2011

Well I had a hairy situation with my tractor a couple weeks ago. I borrowd a post pounder and auger that mounted to my quikattach and the loader picked it up fine (front tires were bulging pretty badly) and ended up with the rear tires (that are ballasted with 800+lbs of fluid each) about 2 feet off the ground. So needless to say, i quickly took that dam thing back and decided I needed to make a counter weight.

ANYWAYS....I was thinking of making it a little more useful than just a block of concrete.

1. I was pondering putting recessed slots on the bottom so my forks will slide under it easily(and keep it from sliding off of them).

2. A couple 2" pvc pipes that are vertical in the block to stand a shovel or a rake in.

3. Some sort of chain basket or milk crate to hold a chain or various other little objects that I dont want rolling around inside my cab.

4. The thought of some grab hooks have crossed my mind but with the extra weight of the concrete I dont know if I want to be pulling anything with it hanging back there.

Any other useful/creative ideas? Oh yeah, its going behind my JD5083E.

Baby Grand · Oct 18, 2011

If you're putting the vertical pipes in for holding long handled tools, maybe some 1/2 PVC conduit weep holes at the bottom so they don't fill up with water and become skeeterbreeders.

RoyJackson · Oct 18, 2011

Add some air in those front tires when using the loader...

Otherwise, your ballast box additions sound good (heed Baby Grand's advice too).

k0ua · Oct 18, 2011

Have some steel structure inside (rebar or other steel) that is connected to the 3pt pin structure so that you can intergrate a 2 inch hitch receiver coming out the back. Maybe a 3 inch piece of pvc for a chainsaw bar to fit into.

James K0UA

MarkV · Oct 18, 2011

Some have added a receiver hitch to similar setups so they can move trailers around.

MarkV

SamSpade · Oct 18, 2011

Definitely include a hitch receiver. Mine gets used for pulling trailers almost as much as ballast.

And lefting eyes on more than just the top. I use the one on the back to hook trailer safety chains to. And you never know what side it might get knocked over onto, etc.

I use a 3 point draw bar (the 3 inch wide 26" bar that goes between the draft arms) as the bottom connection. I cast long bolts in the block sow I can remove the bar if needed for something else. Using the bar, I know it is strong enough for the pulling I use it for.

I like the fork slots, I am planning thos in my next, bigger ballast box.

RedNeckRacin · Oct 19, 2011

Baby Grand :I was thinking about running some screws through the pipe, but making a drain sounds like it will make the handle holders alot more durable.

k0ua: The chainsaw idea is golden, never even crossed my mind! I went to lowe's last night and got 30' of #4 rebar just for reinforcing my tombstone! I figured that I'm gonna end up dragging and banging that block around so i needed to reinforce it. The receiver idea is pretty good, but I'd have to set it up for a gooseneck too. I was sort-of wondering if having that weight out there would make it interesting if I really got ahold of something?

RoyJackson:Front tires are at max pressure now. :thumbsup: Im still consdiering loading them but its more of a tinkering thought than anything right now. I dont have any problems so far with my 10 foot mower so I doubt I'll do it.

SamSpade:I bought a draw bar to cast right into the concrete (cat 1 with bushings to convert it to a cat 2). The rebar and top link connection will all be welded to the draw bar. I figure it will be alot harder for me to destory anything that way. I always have a habit of breaking something if it isn't overbuilt a little bit.

In case anyone is curious. I'm planning on a 3' by 3' base about 2' high. (2610lbs). That weight should be dropped down some though, The fork indentations, pvc for the handles, and some chamfered edges should knock the weight down a little bit. I was also going to cast the drawbar right into the concrete and set it back in it a little bit making it necessary to leave some pockets for the lower lift arms to slip into. I'm still working on exactly how I'm going to shape those since the block will most likely be sitting on the ground or some 4x4 posts. Either way I'll have to bevel the top edge so that the links will reach it. Anyone think that 3/8"x1 1/2" flat stock will be heavy enough to make a top link connection point?

Soundguy · Oct 19, 2011

add loops on top to hook chains to, as well as grab hooks on it, and a square box tube out the rear for a receiver hitch.

soundguy

RedNeckRacin said:
Well I had a hairy situation with my tractor a couple weeks ago. I borrowd a post pounder and auger that mounted to my quikattach and the loader picked it up fine (front tires were bulging pretty badly) and ended up with the rear tires (that are ballasted with 800+lbs of fluid each) about 2 feet off the ground. So needless to say, i quickly took that dam thing back and decided I needed to make a counter weight.

ANYWAYS....I was thinking of making it a little more useful than just a block of concrete.

1. I was pondering putting recessed slots on the bottom so my forks will slide under it easily(and keep it from sliding off of them).

2. A couple 2" pvc pipes that are vertical in the block to stand a shovel or a rake in.

3. Some sort of chain basket or milk crate to hold a chain or various other little objects that I dont want rolling around inside my cab.

4. The thought of some grab hooks have crossed my mind but with the extra weight of the concrete I dont know if I want to be pulling anything with it hanging back there.

Any other useful/creative ideas? Oh yeah, its going behind my JD5083E.

SamSpade · Oct 19, 2011

Redneck,

I am building my second ballast box now. I damaged my first one, and I have some new Ideas I want to add to the old one.

I would suggest limiting the length (how far it sticks out behind the tractor). It makes maneuvering in tight quarters easier and it also means you don't need to make as large reliefs for the draft arms to get to the middle of the block.

I was also wondering about a total weight of 2600 lbs. That's more than I feel the need for on the back of my JD4320. I might be able to lift that much, but I would not want to be running around with the 3pt loaded to capacity. Bumping around with that much weight would puts a lot of stress on my tractor. And having less weight on the 3pt helps remind me not to over do it lifting with the FEL. For my 4320, I am doing OK at about 600 lbs now, but I am planning to move up to 1100 lbs to get some more FEL capacity.