Ideas for rear weights to balance FEL loads (post pics too)

[RoyJackson]

Keep an eye out for auctions, Craigslist and even at a few local dealers for a ballast box.
The Deere box goes for about $200. I got mine (never used) for $95 (from a friend who installed a loader on his 970).

I do recommend anyone looking into rear ballast try to keep it as compact as you can.

 

[kevinj]

Howdy, I started another thread asking for tips on safe operation of a FEL. I've gotten great responses. One of the suggestions was to make a rear weight, here's that post:



So this got me thinking, does anyone have any neat ideas or designs for such a weight or something similar that would be functional in some way and also really heavy. Please post pics if you have them as that makes it much easier to understand. I'm not the most mechanically inclined person on the planet. Also I can't weld, but could have someone else do that for me the ideas involve welding. This is your chance to showcase your ingenuity! Thanks in advance.

Look here http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/100598-cheap-ballast-box.html?highlight=ballast

 

[civesnedfield]

Made mine out of an old W14 I-beam. I do work for a steel fabricator so steel is a cheap item for me. The beam and attachments weighs about 600 lbs. As you can tell it wasn't heavy enough. The add on keg is filled with lead wheel weights, and weighs anothe 300-400 pounds. Plans are in the works for a heavier single piece without addons.

 

[Spiveyman]

It's great to see all the different things people use. Sounds like the biggest rule of thumb is use what you can find and make it work.

 

[Mighty Dodge]

Made mine out of a piece of culvert and concrete. It only weighs around 500 lbs though...I think.

 

[civesnedfield]

Made mine out of a piece of culvert and concrete. It only weighs around 500 lbs though...I think.

That is just a sweet idea.

 

[Mighty Dodge]

Thanx, I wanted something easy to build and hook up, no top link just back up to it and lift. The walls of the culvert are pretty thick if you wanted to make it a little heavier you could make a mold out of a piece of sheet metal or formica or something that would allow more concrete. The shaft is a piece of 1" I had laying around.

M.D.

 

[Spiveyman]

Made mine out of a piece of culvert and concrete. It only weighs around 500 lbs though...I think.

That is a great idea to mount it sideways. If you are good and get it centered well you could also role that thing to flatten out or pack dirt. I realize that's plastic and may not be ideal for doing that, but you could cut a steel drum the width of the lower lift arms and fill it this way. That's kind of the spirit of this thread to figure out clever ways to create a rear weight that has more utility than just being heavy. I like it.

 

[MarkV]

Spiveyman, what you need to remember is that your tractor is larger than many of us have and will have greater loader lift so you need more ballast. I have a 1200 pound backhoe on mine and at times it is not enough.

MarkV

 

[bjcsc]

I made one that works great. Details (and other ones) in this thread.