Loader Does my small tractor need wheel ballast?

[Redline09]

Hey everyone,
I am waiting, somewhat patiently, for delivery of my Massey Ferguson 1705.
Mostly, I will be using it for the front-end loader, moving donkey manure and snow. It will be my only tractor.
For an additional $60, the dealership says it will fill the tires with windshield washer fluid.
Should I have them do that, or would you recommend using something else, like Rim Guard?
The other option, I suppose, would be to not put any liquid in the tires and keep the bucket loads light.
I am a first-time tractor owner, so many thanks for your thoughts on this!

 

[flusher]

Yes, definitely. You'll need all the traction you can get. Rim Guard is fine and will take the winter temperatures in WI. But it's pricey. Calcium chloride is the cheaper alternative for your area. But it will corrode the steel wheel unless you're using inner tubes.

Good luck.

 

[George2615]

Welcome to TBN....

Weight is your friend when moving snow or any loader work. It helps keep the rear wheels on the ground. Washer fluid weighs roughly 7-7.5 lbs per gallon. Rim Guard weighs between 10-11 lbs per gallon but is much more costly then WW fluid. For $60 I'd get them filled.
Even when filled you may need more rear ballast on the 3 pt. for more traction in slippery conditions.

 

[Deere Dude]

Unless it is crazy nuts, go with the Rimgard. 10.5# per gallon vs 8#/gal. I would do that plus I would get some kind of weight box for the rear for when you are grubbing dirt or moving snow.

You will never get the bucket loads lite. You will load up as much as it holds and go with it.

I would venture a guess that the owners manual would tell you to do those two things and maybe even a wheel weight or two.

I have Rimgard and a weight box for pushing snow when I lived in Beaver Dam, WI and it worked out very well. My tractor may be bigger than yours and weigh more but the principle is the same.

If you have any small hills or obstacles that may need more traction, I would also consider chains for the rear. But you can always get them I guess.

Good luck with your new tractor.

 

[jeff9366]

Some people want the weight of tire liquid, some do not.

With or WITHOUT tire liquid, the most effective counterbalance you can have is weight mounted on the Three Point Hitch, which, being cantilevered behind the rear axle, is much more effective counterbalance than weight anywhere else on the tractor.

For serious snow traction GOOD quality tractor rear tire chains cannot be beat.

 

[Code54]

I personally always fill my tires and have never had an occasion that it was a negative for me.

 

[holeycow]

Fill the tires. It lowers the centre of gravity and takes bounce out of the tires, as well as adds weight to the rear of the tractor for traction and to help keep the rearend on the ground. Its a no-brainer that comes up on here all the time.

 

[FTG-05]

Hopefully not against the rules to post these articles:

6 Reasons to Liquid Ballast your Kubota’s Tires | OrangeTractorTalks

Comparing Types of Liquid Tire Ballast | OrangeTractorTalks

How to Ballast your Kubota’s Tires | OrangeTractorTalks

 

[Code54]

Hopefully not against the rules to post these articles:

6 Reasons to Liquid Ballast your Kubota’s Tires | OrangeTractorTalks

Comparing Types of Liquid Tire Ballast | OrangeTractorTalks

How to Ballast your Kubota’s Tires | OrangeTractorTalks

Good info for new owners!

 

[pmsmechanic]

If you have four wheel drive then you do not need the weight for traction. You need the weight for counterbalancing the front end loader when the bucket is full of heavier materials. I have a 600 lb weight that I hang on my three point hitch when I need the counterbalance. The rest of the time the weight sits on the ground where it belongs.

So what you need to decide is what kind of jobs your tractor is going to be doing the majority of the time. If you need the weight then by all means take the dealer up on his offer. Otherwise you are just carrying a lot of weight around for nothing.

 

[Owlswood]

Fill them. On both my 420 with a blade and the 316 with FEL the filled tires were the difference between not being able to dig effectively and actually being able to dig.

 

[k0ua]

Lots of opinions, but I have owned tractors for about 25 years, and have owned 5 of them. Take this for what it is worth, but I am a firm believer in rear tire ballast as well as 3 point ballast. The 3 point ballast does the most good, as it relieves weight off of your front axle with those big heaping load you are going to put in your Front End Loader. Now you can swear you will keep you load light all you want, but I bet you are a human, so good luck with that.

But there are times when you will not have your 3pt ballast on, for instance pulling a rear ground engaging implement of any kind. Now you have no weight on your rear end all and you need traction in the worst way. That is when you loaded tires can make the difference in pulling the implement and not pulling the implement.

Think if through and decide for yourself. Of course if your primary usage for the machine is mowing your yard you may not want loaded tires as you can't just take it out in 5 minutes and put it back when you need it. You may want as light of a machine as possible so you can mow in muddy wet conditions. But I have never regretted having as much traction as possible.

Tractor is all about Traction. Most people run out of traction long before they run out of horsepower. Anything that sticks the tractor to the dirt is a good thing to my way of thinking.

 

[Code54]

Lots of opinions, but I have owned tractors for about 25 years, and have owned 5 of them. Take this for what it is worth, but I am a firm believer in rear tire ballast as well as 3 point ballast. The 3 point ballast does the most good, as it relieves weight off of your front axle with those big heaping load you are going to put in your Front End Loader. Now you can swear you will keep you load light all you want, but I bet you are a human, so good luck with that.

But there are times when you will not have your 3pt ballast on, for instance pulling a rear ground engaging implement of any kind. Now you have no weight on your rear end all and you need traction in the worst way. That is when you loaded tires can make the difference in pulling the implement and not pulling the implement.

Think if through and decide for yourself. Of course if your primary usage for the machine is mowing your yard you may not want loaded tires as you can't just take it out in 5 minutes and put it back when you need it. You may want as light of a machine as possible so you can mow in muddy wet conditions. But I have never regretted having as much traction as possible.

Tractor is all about Traction. Most people run out of traction long before they run out of horsepower. Anything that sticks the tractor to the dirt is a good thing to my way of thinking.

Well said! I always run out of traction before power.

 

[Boomer07]

Rim Guard is worth the money!

 

[dieselcrawler]

Loaded tires, rear ballast on the 3ph, maybe even wheel weights.

 

[holeycow]

In my estimation there are 3 topics that go round and round on here with the unknowing arguing with the knowing. This is one of them. Just fill your tires.

And, btw you get better traction with filled rears whether you have fwa or not. The unknowing again...

 

[Texasmark]

I just bought the 2400 with FEL and loaded the rear tires. Pink RV potable water antifreeze is the cheapest and is what I used this time, for that reason. Have used AF and it works too. When I bought the 6530 in 2007 I had them filled with automotive AF. I WILL not put CACL in the wheels of a new tractor for obvious reasons.

I don't know your situation but this time I bought the fill adapter on ebay for about $12 and the pink RV was on sale. Was a no brainer to do it myself.

 

[powerscol]

Yes get them filled. Big value for a little $$$. Heavier is better However where your at I would not use windshield washer fluid as it will freeze (most good to -20). Does it get colder there? I believe Rim Guard is rated for colder temps.

Also for snow removal you will want at least a set of chains for the front. They help greatly in steering and traction.. Quality Chain and others have good selections for our tractors. Possibly you dealer carries them and could makit part of the deal.

Last - did you get rear remotes? If available get them as a dealer install. You never know when you might need them and now is the best time to get them on.

Enjoy you new tractor, and please be safe. Use the ROPS and seat belt. They keep you safe.

 

[MoArk Willy]

I have a B2320 Kubota and I use it primarily to mow about 3 acres. I went with turf tires and decided not to fill them because I didn't want to tear up the lawn any more than the tractor weight itself. Also with a smaller tractor the weight added with filling the tires is minimal compared to weights on the 3 pt. But after reading all the posts here I think that if my tractor wasn't primarily a mower I would have filled the tires. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Weedy Fields]

my .02
If your concerned about traction and it would work out leaving chains on all the time its the best option.
I have a small old wheel horse that I leave chains on all the time. very rarely do I have issues with traction even with its open rear end.
I also have a 4610 with rear tires filled with calcium chloride. It spins all the time, I also have hung an approx 900lb flail mower on the 3 pt for help but as the tires are getting down on tread life nothing helps much. Traction ultimately happens where the tire meets the ground, this is where all improvement needs to be looked at first.