lessons learned with laden loader

[heviduty]

Great ideas on homemade ballast... drums. That's what I like about TBN, so many people with all these ideas. I'm like a kid in a candy store. Concrete is about, what, 20 pounds / gallon? So, 55 gallon drum about 3/4 filled (leaving room for carrying stuff) would be ≈800 lbs.

Keep the greasy side down.

James

 

[rambler]

I've said it here before, but worth repeating.

I've farmed all my life, drive tractors all day long, medium and large. I've been using a loader since I was 12 years old - and that is a very old narrow front tractor.

I've _never_ been so scared on a tractor as when a few years ago I got the little New Holland 1720 with a loader and pulled an empty wagon down my hill on dewy grass.

These compact tractors with 4wd and a loader should be _required_ to have liquid in the rear tires. They are too nimble and manuverable with too short a wheelbase, (all good features for sure!) for the weight transfer they have on that short wheelbase. The rear end just gets too light and makes the tractors terribly unstable.

I parked the thing until the coop came and put fluid in the rear tires.

Made it a very good little tractor that I use almost every day.

I'm not the most safety concious person in the world, I'll leave shields off or run things a little on the edge. But I've _never_ been so scared of a machine as that tractor & loader without any weight in the back. And again, I've driven all sorts of tractors and farm machinery in all sorts of conditions for over 40 years.

Please folks, get fluid in the back tires on thse little loader tractors.

--->Paul

 

[Redneck in training]

Another reason for rear ballast or loaded tires is that not all tractors front axle and associated drive shaft is designed for full power of the tractor. If the loader puts most of the traction on the front while rear loses traction something will break. There are quite few stories about that on TBN. There was a comment from one dealer while ago that said when they put loader on a tractor they also load the rear tires to avoid warranty issues with the front end.

 

[slowzuki]

They are no worse than 2wd farm tractors with a loader on the front. We used to have a IH 584, and man, you had to watch it on wet grass, and dry stubble! If the loader (IH2250) was on it she would take off on hills and jackknife the load. As I got a bit wise to it I could punch the clutch and stop the jackknive but you got to be careful doing that in low range and gaining speed as the clutch will explode in short order.

As a teen I remember trying to stop a Ford 5000 with a big Ford loader on it towing an empty wagon, it pushed me though an intersection with locked tires on dry pavement. Wasn't even going fast.

I've said it here before, but worth repeating.

I've farmed all my life, drive tractors all day long, medium and large. I've been using a loader since I was 12 years old - and that is a very old narrow front tractor.

I've _never_ been so scared on a tractor as when a few years ago I got the little New Holland 1720 with a loader and pulled an empty wagon down my hill on dewy grass.

These compact tractors with 4wd and a loader should be _required_ to have liquid in the rear tires. They are too nimble and manuverable with too short a wheelbase, (all good features for sure!) for the weight transfer they have on that short wheelbase. The rear end just gets too light and makes the tractors terribly unstable.

I parked the thing until the coop came and put fluid in the rear tires.

Made it a very good little tractor that I use almost every day.

I'm not the most safety concious person in the world, I'll leave shields off or run things a little on the edge. But I've _never_ been so scared of a machine as that tractor & loader without any weight in the back. And again, I've driven all sorts of tractors and farm machinery in all sorts of conditions for over 40 years.

Please folks, get fluid in the back tires on thse little loader tractors.

--->Paul

 

[Redneck in training]

Few years back Zetor offered some tractors models (Proxima Plus) with brakes on all four wheels. In many EU countries tractors are used to haul cargo on highways. There are specific models with front suspension, all wheel brakes and highway gear.

Zetor Tractors in North Yorkshire : George Agar

Some John Deere also have four wheel brakes.

 

[heviduty]

James, I was looking at the pictures of your ballast build, nice work, and noticed you have some sort of quick attach adapters on your lift arms. You make those, or is that store 'bought?

 

[Reg]

Finally got the tractor I've wanted for years, 4wd, loader, hydro... First time using the loader, I was moving everything out of my shop a few weeks ago making room for my son's wedding rehearsal shindig. So I strapped a loaded cabinet and some other things to the bucket and backed out of the shop, heading to a temporary storage carport which was downhill a ways from the shop. As I started backing down the hill, slowly, adjusting the boom to keep the load close to the ground, I noticed I was speeding up. No problem, I just toed down on the hydro pedal a little. Nothing happened, except I kept going faster. I thought something must have gone wrong with the transmission, or the range selector slipped into neutral, or ...anyway, I was going faster, so I toed down hard on the hydro pedal and, nothing. Panicking, I looked down at the range selector and noticed my rear wheels were turning forward, so I slammed on the brakes. Eventually I realized what was happening and quickly lowered the boom, stopping just a few yards from the fence.

I learned two important lessons that day... no, three:

1) Tractors do not have rear brakes.

2) If you have hills and slopes, leave the 4wd engaged unless you are on pavement. Rear wheels do no good spinning in the air.

3) Storage cabinets can hold a tremendous amount of stuff in their drawers, which fly open and scatter their contents everywhere when you have to perform an emergency descent with your boom to stop rearward progress before backing through a fence on two wheels.

Did you learn NOTHING about the importance of BALLAST ?

 

[k0ua]

James, I was looking at the pictures of your ballast build, nice work, and noticed you have some sort of quick attach adapters on your lift arms. You make those, or is that store 'bought?

Store bought, Carters.. They are for sale, I don't need them any more since I got telescoping links and sway bars:thumbsup:

James K0UA

 

[heviduty]

Did you learn NOTHING about the importance of BALLAST ?

Not at the time. I thought if the tires were filled... I know better now, after all the posts.