Ballast L series doesn't feel safe with bucket on

[yamrpt]

I'm not sure what to do here. I'm not a tractor veteran.

I have a 3540 cab 724 QA FEL HD bucket R4's and 1000lb ballast box filled w/ sand. Front/back tires 42psi/16psi
Driving this around with just the loader on and no bucket, it feels solid. Anything added onto 3point and it feels perfectly solid.
But with the bucket on it feels like too much weight is forward, even with no material. I hate the feeling of having it on 3 wheels.

I was hoping their own ballast box would work perfect here since I do use it in the woods, and the only heavy 3 point attch I've been considering is a finish mower that's 84" and 900lbs. But that's going to make this thing a bus, and it won't hold up well backing into something.
The only other tractor changes I had been thinking of were turf tires and (if they even make it), front wheel spacers. I know turf's are lower, but not sure how much that'll help here.

 

[RaydaKub]

Welcome to TBN, yamrpt.
I don't know your tractor, but my guess is that if you put spacers on the rear wheels and filled them with fluid, a lot of that instability would go away.

 

[k0ua]

With 1000 lbs of ballast on the 3pt, you should be perfectly safe with a load of materiel as long as you keep it below hood level and not on some really steep side slope. I don't see a problem..get a gravel pile delivered on level ground and practice your loader technique.. scoop up a small load and drive around with the bucket below the top of the hood, and you will be fine. Be sure to ALWAYS have ballast on. Whether it is the 1000 lbs box or the mower you mentioned. you should be fine. Turf tires are not ideal for loader work from a load standpoint, and they are softer sidewalls, Not what you want for a more solid feeling.. You can also have Rimguard or another fluid put in your rear tires, and that will also make for a more solid feeling especially on sidehills . I do have the ballast on 3pt and the loaded tires, (mine is methanol mix).. Good luck.

 

[kuboman]

Do you know for a fact you have 1000# on the 3pt? I run 1300# on my 3pt plus 700# of cast on the rears and I fill my bucket regularly with wet gravel and feel perfectly stable. Adding spacers to the front end will destroy it in not time and spacers on the back will not help your problem. My advice is to hang as much weight on the 3pt as you can and enjoy your tractor.

 

[dkf435]

Have a Grand L3130 with the LA723 loader with Rimguard in the tires ands a Bradco 408 frame mounted backhoe and with that ballast I still can get light in the rear. The 700 and 800 series loaders on these tractors can lift quite a bit for their frame size so if the tires are not loaded you, should, or get wheel weights.

David Kb7uns

 

[vtsnowedin]

Do you know for a fact you have 1000# on the 3pt? I run 1300# on my 3pt plus 700# of cast on the rears and I fill my bucket regularly with wet gravel and feel perfectly stable. Adding spacers to the front end will destroy it in not time and spacers on the back will not help your problem. ....

I disagree with that. A wider rear stance increases the distance the center of gravity has to move before it gets to the point of no return and a roll over happens. A narrow rear end restricts you to only working on very level ground. Look to the owners manual of the loader for guidance. There should be a minimum rear tread width setting that is recommended. At the very least the rears should be set out to their widest setting if you have adjustable rims.
Some good info here if you haven't seen it before.
http://agsafety.tamu.edu/files/2011/06/SAFE-TRACTOR-OPERATION-ROLLOVER1.pdf

 

[Ken45101]

Changing tire sizes is a terrible idea on a 4wd tractor. The front and rear diameters must be closely matched. Depending on the sizes, it may be impossible to get front turf tires that match your rear tires.

Front wheel spacers won't do anything for you, the front axle "floats" or pivots and does not provide stability.

Rimguard in the rear tires will help. For any load in the bucket, you definitely need extra weight on the rear of the tractor.

 

[jeff9366]

I recommend counterbalancing ballast mounted on the 3-Pt. Hitch. Generally speaking, the ballast should approximate the lift capacity of your FEL. Is the sand in your Ballast Box wet or dry? You could moisten sand with 200 pounds of water.

I use a 630 pound Rollover Box Blade (ROBB) as ballast. The lift capacity of my FEL is 730 - 1065 pound.

Ballast on the 3-Pt. Hitch relieves strain on the front axle. Wheel weights do not.

Some is just becoming acclimated to the feel of a tractor. On tractors you sit high and centered so you can watch your work in front, to sides and in back.

Much different feeling from a car.

Attached is a picture of my tractor excavating a 54" deep tree planting hole with a Bucket Spade, ROBB mounted on the 3-Pt. hitch. I have industrial tires (R4s). You would not want to try attempt this excavation with turf tires, tractor would slide into the hole.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Adjustable rims change the tires position in relation to the hub not the tire size. Here is a set moved out to position eight with additional 4.1 inch factory spacers. The fronts are set to their position seven which is the factory recommended width for loader work.

 

[PHILIP8N]

I have similar set up as you, but no cab, and turf tires. L3940, LA724 loader, and Kubota ballast box, which is 1250 pounds filled with concrete. When load is high, I take it slow, but when I level bucket with top of hood for fast transport, I have never felt uneasy feeling light in the back or tipsy. How many hours have you been doing FEL work with this tractor? Maybe just need more seat time? Good luck. Philip.