Filled Front Tires?

[GlueGuy]

Had a friend over last night after doing some mowing with the rear mower. When I do this, I remove the FEL to make it easier to see what I'm about to destroy. However, this makes the front end a tad light, and I notice (especially on slopes) that the front tires are not "grabbing" very well.

The problem being that the subframe for the FEL makes it impossible to attach the standard front weights, which would (probably) help this situation out a lot. My friend suggested that I fill the fronts. However, I've read several people here that have advised that this is a "bad idea".

So I have (at least /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) a couple of choices: 1. Fill the front tires (they are R4 BTW), 2. Build a special bracket to hold front weights, 3. Do both 1 & 2 (see, said there were at least 2 /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif), 4. Your suggestion?

The GlueGuy

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Bill,
Had the same problem... on my old Satoh{Mitsubishi} w/ loader, any 3-pt worked well... used as a trade for my JD... My Dad missed the "little tractor", so I bought another Satoh w/o loader... Now most 3-Pt attachments make the front end "too light". I filled the fronts with CalClor and 3/4th's of the attachments are fine...

I'll now add a "barbell type bracket" to the front to take care of the 4' brush hog and rear blade. On the Satoh's front tires, maybe 60 lbs. were added to each tire... so all-in-all a little weight up front did make a big difference...

 

[HR_Mutt]

GlueGuy
Both my tractors have loaded front tires, no problems/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.
regards
Mutt

 

[GlueGuy]

The kinds of comments that I've heard are:

1. Front tires are not strong enough to handle the extra pressure from filling
2. Filled front tires can cause "bucking" or "surging" when in 4WD.

What pressure do you run in yours?

The GlueGuy

 

[Charliebrn]

My fronts tires are filled with Soft-fil (gel) No problems at all...no more flats and the extra weight is great for my Box blade and Tiller...

 

[HR_Mutt]

GlueGuy
Per the dealer on Galaxy O.S. turf tires,24 psi rear,20 psi front,they are loaded with RimGuard.I would like to let the rears down just a bit to flatten out the profile.I've had the FEL FULL of gravel, stones that were too large and needed to be tied to the bucket for lifting and transport, and extreme digging including plunging in and curling out a load for large tree planting. (note) The only rear counterweight I'm using are the big ole doughnuts with the rimguard.Majority of this was done in 4wd. Also, drove her(highway speeds/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif about 30 miles round trip after a big snowstorm to clear out my folks large driveway. Only "bucking" or "surging"I experienced was hitting a bump, had to ease off then back to pedal mashed to the floor.Majority of this trip was 2wd. The smaller tractor is loaded with some "home-brew" my dad uses with water, anti-freeze,#8 lead shot, and who knows what else/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif,it's been in there about 10 years! I could not guess what the pressure is, she's always ready to jump on and go.
IF I am ever able to convince the wife of the "need" for a 3rd tractor/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif She'll have all 4 loaded.
regards
Mutt
p.s. the filled fronts on the little one(it's a guy now since the wife took it away from me/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif(bubba) ) will hold up the big woods mower on the 3ph for maintenance with no additional front weight.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Bill,

How did you fix the light front end problem of your tractor?

Did you end up filling the front tires?

 

[GlueGuy]

Never did fill them. I just figured out how to do it with the FEL attached, which seems to add "enough" weight. The only hassle is several spots that I mow where there is barely enough room to turn around w/o the FEL, let alone with it. Now, I just "back in", instead, and don't worry about how to turn around.

There are a few places where I mow, that I've found that "turning" wastes time. Just going forward a ways, then backing up for the next "row" does the trick, and takes less time.

The GlueGuy

 

[Calpyro]

Folks,
I was told by my local JD dealer that the front tires of a 4WD tractor should not be filled or weighted. The reason is that the front 4WD hubs, while very strong in withstanding weight in compression, the hub bearings are not designed to hang weight from. In other words, weight hung from the frame or front loader creates weight on the hubs pushing downward, however, weight in the tires will tend to pull the hubs apart when the front of the tractor is lifted. This frequently occurs when dragging an implement or when the front of the tractor is otherwise lightened by pulling a load.
I hope this makes sense.
Cameron

 

[Anonymous Poster]

On the older 2wd tractors and especially with swept back axles {like my Massey} the manufacturers recommended not turning the front wheels outward when spacing the front end... this would cause undue front bearing loading...

However, front wheel weights, front end weights and loaded front tires are/and have been normal operating procedure for properly ballasting one's tractor...whether 2wd or MWFD or 4wd...

I am currently trying to decide a combination of the above three {actually, five including rear wheel weights and rears filled} to use my new 7' rotary cutter that weighs about 1400 lbs....

Everything a dealer states... doesn't necessarily fly...

 

[glennmac]

John, what cutter did you get? If you give me your front tire size, I can look up the weight that Arnco foam would add to each.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Brown 484

Hi Glenn,

I have 9.5x24 fronts and I'm leaning toward windshield washer fluid @ 75% fill about 150 lbs. each added weight and possibly just the 23.5" front weight bracket without front weights {incompatible with my loader mounted} that weighs about 180 lbs....

I've driven equipment with "foam filled" tires and it's an extremely harsh and riveting ride over all/uneven terrain like fields... I'm out brush hogging usually for 6-10 hours @ a rip and don't think my kidneys nor stomach could handle the nastiness for that long...

...besides the filling's would probably also fall out of my teeth... /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

 

[glennmac]

212 lbs. per tire. Arco claims the Superflex fill, the most flexible of their 3 foam fills, has almost the same ride characteristics as air. I keep hoping someone will spring for this stuff and give us a report.

Never heard of Brown. Looks solid. I assume its rated as a medium duty. Double rear wheels--how interesting. I thought you were headed towards a Brush Bull. I assume this is less expensive. Having seen your brush, you may be replacing that rubber skirt with chains before too long.

 

[fishman]

Glennmac,

My Kubota manual specifically recommends against filling the front tires, but there is no reason given. Of course, it only discusses calcium chloride also, so maybe the recommendation is outdated.

 

[glennmac]

John, you are right about the manual. No one really seems to know the reason, but some of the speculations are mentioned above in this thread: some sort of damage to the steering or 4wd or hopping. On the other hand, I have read quite a few members reporting here and on CTB that they have filled front tires with no noticeable bad effects.

Personally, I wouldnt worry about filling them on my 2910, and if I did so, I would use the Arnco Superflex foam because that will give the most fill weight (about 65 lbs per tire) and also flatproof the tires. I have not done so yet because 130 lbs. of fill isnt very much, and I can probably jury rig something with weights on the the front end or grill guard that will be both heavier and removeable.

 

[Charliebrn]

I had my front tires filled with the Arnco Superflex, and the literature is right, I can't tell the difference between when I had air in them and the Superflex, other than that I no longer get flats in the front! hehe. On my BX, with the little front tires, it added quite a bit of weight, too, which the BX needs for any serious work. Each tire was almost 50#. It's good stuff, handles the cold real well, doesn't ruin the rims, and the deflection is the same as straight air, so it doesn't change the ride enough for me to tell. They have a Web site, go check it out.... HTTP://www.arnconet.com