FEL lifting capacity

[RWolf]

Patrick...You are correct. BTW; tractor is 4715# without loader. Current bales around 1200#.

 

[johnk]

I've pushed my little 254 jinma to the limit{NOT RECOMMENDED = DANGER}. I have carried loads{logs} that passed the limit of the loader. I have even had the tractor balancing on the front 2 wheels while moving a log{again NOT recommened}. When I did this it was one of those deals, tired and in a hurry{being stupid}. Like others have said either have weighted tires or have some type of weight to balance things out. If what you are wanting to move is to heavy then make more trips or get a bigger machine. I have been VERY lucky safety should come 1st.

If you're coming down a hill and you lift the back tires while carrying a load in the bucket and You're NOT in 4WD You'll have NO brakes...........Be Careful out there..

 

[newbury]

<snip>
There is just no guarantee that a soft spot after a rain or a critter dug obstacle will not be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Pat

And remember - critters dig holes under the earth, even though you can walk across a submerged ground hog tunnel it doesn't mean your tractor won't break thru.

 

[Baby Grand]

If you don't ballast adequately when using FEL at or near capacity you risk overloading your front axle. Don't do it!

Also, if you hit a soft section with an unballasted, heavy FEL load you risk dropping your skinny front wheels into the muck, right up to the front axle. Now your front end is stuck and your rear end is so light that you have squat for traction. You are stuck. Don't ask me how I know this. Don't ask me if my wife just shook her head and went indoors.

-Jim

 

[WH401]

My driveway has one rather large hill to it. If I am coming down the hill with the loader just empty, no ballast box on the back, I have to go down the hill in 4wd or I will slide the rear tires all the way down. I even have filled rear tires and I still experience this effect. If I have the ballast box on the back of the tractor than I have no problem in 2wd because of the extra traction. If you have the loader on the tractor at all than you should always have some kind of extra rear ballast, no matter what.

 

[SPYDERLK]

If you are going to move at all with a full capacity load you will need ballast.
larry

My driveway has one rather large hill to it. If I am coming down the hill with the loader just empty, no ballast box on the back, I have to go down the hill in 4wd or I will slide the rear tires all the way down. I even have filled rear tires and I still experience this effect. If I have the ballast box on the back of the tractor than I have no problem in 2wd because of the extra traction. If you have the loader on the tractor at all than you should always have some kind of extra rear ballast, no matter what.

Agreed! A possible exception would be if your land is all flat and you always keep your head about you. Not much room for error.
larry

 

[LBrown59]

If you don't ballast adequately when using FEL at or near capacity you risk overloading your front axle. Don't do it!

Also, if you hit a soft section with an unballasted, heavy FEL load you risk dropping your skinny front wheels into the muck, right up to the front axle. Now your front end is stuck and your rear end is so light that you have squat for traction. You are stuck. Don't ask me how I know this. Don't ask me if my wife just shook her head and went indoors.

-Jim

Did your wife walk into the house shaking her head?

 

[newbury]

Did your wife walk into the house shaking her head?

Did she come back out with a camera?

 

[neucam]

I like having the brush hog attached while using the loader. It has weight low and far back and it offloads the front end nicely. The only drawback is in tight places turning around. And 4wd is nice for braking. I have uneven ground and I have to be extra careful using any weight on the loader. Once you lift a rear tire it scares you to death.

 

[Leejohn]

My tractor is rear wheel drive with front wheel assist and I load the rear to keep it that way, not front wheel drive with big old rear wheels to help the little ones. Those big old rear wheels sure well push alot.

 

[Baby Grand]

Did your wife walk into the house shaking her head?

Yessir.
Thas what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Did she come back out with a camera?

Mercifully no!

 

[rustedduck]

If you want to keep from loading your shorts, use ballast.

The first time i lifted a rear tire, I was amazed how little
weight was involved.

 

[Robert F.]

I hope that those of you saying that you only have braking in the front wheels when in four wheel drive are meaning "engine braking" and not braking with the brake pedal. My JD 2305 only brakes at the rear wheels when applying the brake pedal. I think most if not all tractors are the same.
Bob...

 

[carpenter383]

I hope that those of you saying that you only have braking in the front wheels when in four wheel drive are meaning "engine braking" and not braking with the brake pedal. My JD 2305 only brakes at the rear wheels when applying the brake pedal. I think most if not all tractors are the same.
Bob...

When the tractor is in 4x4 the front and rear wheels are "tied togeather" So when the back brakes are applied the front wheels brake too.

 

[patrick_g]

I hope that those of you saying that you only have braking in the front wheels when in four wheel drive are meaning "engine braking" and not braking with the brake pedal. My JD 2305 only brakes at the rear wheels when applying the brake pedal. I think most if not all tractors are the same.
Bob...

When unballasted weight in the bucket makes the rear wheels light it reduces their traction and the available braking force. Applying the brakes shifts more weight forward making the rear wheels useless for meaningful braking. If you only have brakes on the rear wheels you don't have brakes when the FEL is heavily loaded and you have insufficient ballast in the rear, preferably behind the read wheels.

Pat

 

[pat32rf]

The instructions that came with my JD4300 gave very specific data on how much ballast you should have when your FEL is installed. I have the rears loaded and always try to carry another couple of hundred pounds of impliment or ballast on the 3pt but it still isn't up to specs. You wouldn't believe how much difference the proper ballast makes until you've tried it...
I can hook the FEL under my float and lift one rear tire enough to remove it and take it to the tire shop to have a new valve stem installed though ;-)

 

[20 20]

If you're coming down a hill and you lift the back tires while carrying a load in the bucket and You're NOT in 4WD You'll have NO brakes...........Be Careful out there..

I was on level ground and in 4w drive. It was a VERY stupid thing to do anyway. I was tired and in a hurry luckily nothing happened. From then on I have changed my ways. Accidents aren't worth crap{especially dumb ones} parts are expensive and lives are not replaceable.

 

[Robert F.]

I was on level ground and in 4w drive. It was a VERY stupid thing to do anyway. I was tired and in a hurry luckily nothing happened. From then on I have changed my ways. Accidents aren't worth crap{especially dumb ones} parts are expensive and lives are not replaceable.

I don't get it, what was a stupid thing to do?

 

[Robert F.]

When the tractor is in 4x4 the front and rear wheels are "tied togeather" So when the back brakes are applied the front wheels brake too.

This does not make sense to me. If I have all four tires off the ground using the fel and the backhoe outriggers, and with the brake pedal depressed, and in 4WD, I can turn the front wheels both forward and backward but cannot move the rear wheels. Engine braking though does hold back the tractor from gaining speed going down a hill with both front and rear wheels.
There is obviously something here that I don't understand.

 

[Robert F.]

When unballasted weight in the bucket makes the rear wheels light it reduces their traction and the available braking force. Applying the brakes shifts more weight forward making the rear wheels useless for meaningful braking. If you only have brakes on the rear wheels you don't have brakes when the FEL is heavily loaded and you have insufficient ballast in the rear, preferably behind the read wheels.

Pat

Pat, I believe that my JD 2305 is adequately ballasted, I have the rear tires loaded with rim-guard, and I always have either the backhoe or the weight box on. The dealer that I bought the tractor from does not sell a tractor with a fel without including a weight box. My weight is filled with concrete and weighs about 800 lbs. I also have carried something very heavy on the pallet forks and had to go down a small hill to get to the basement garage to my shop. When I do that, with something very heavy I go down the hill backwards and that feels much safer. With the loaded tires and the weight box, I cannot lift the rear tires, the fel does not have the capacity to do that and my guess is that that is what Deere has in mind with their guidelines for proper ballasting which I meet.