Loaded Rear Tires Without Loader

kubotacres · Nov 7, 2012

Can anybody shed some light on the Pro's/Cons of loading the rear tires on my L3200? I don't have a Loader but the extra weight would come in handy especially pulling/boxblading. I know the old Jubilee I owned was loaded and I didn't have any issues. A little weight wouldn't hurt my L because it's light as it is without a loader...Any thoughts?????

MIKE R · Nov 7, 2012

Re: Loaded Tires Without Loader

I have all 4 loaded on my Massey 1020. It help for traction and for handling implements. It also makes the tractor more stable. There was another thread on here some time back that discussed this.

EE_Bota · Nov 7, 2012

Re: Loaded Tires Without Loader

kubotacres said:
Can anybody shed some light on the Pro's/Cons of loading the rear tires on my L3200? I don't have a Loader but the extra weight would come in handy especially pulling/boxblading. I know the old Jubilee I owned was loaded and I didn't have any issues. A little weight wouldn't hurt my L because it's light as it is without a loader...Any thoughts?????

My little BX has loaded tires, and yours is bigger. I'd load the rears on yours, but I'd check the manual. My BX is not supposed to have loaded FRONT tires, and I wouldn't load your fronts without checking the manual (not that you mentioned loading the fronts.)

MIKE R · Nov 7, 2012

Re: Loaded Tires Without Loader

I have heard of not loading fronts with a loader but without I see nothing wrong. Loading them would put the same weight on the front end as the loader would.

kubotacres · Nov 7, 2012

Re: Loaded Tires Without Loader

As per my original post I will only be loading the Rear Tires. It is correct that the front tires ARE NOT to be loaded according to my manual. I do have weight on the front for ballast, but the rear would strickly be for traction

repete · Nov 7, 2012

I have the rears loaded on my L2550. It has it's pro's and con's. It can, and probably will, increase traction. Some corrosive liquids can trash your rims if you get a leak. At higher speeds it can cause quite a bumpy ride as the liquid tries to roll around as the tires are not 100% filled (I could go faster with my landscrape rake on my driveway but the out of balance slows me down).

If I were to do it again, I would use wheel weights (tractor bearings not carrying the weight). No corrosion issues, no balance issues, cheaper flat repair. Of course you would have to wrestle with the weights though if you had a flat.

Sammy3700 · Nov 7, 2012

I have a L3700, none of mine are loaded. I chose this route because of mowing and hauling. Did not want the extra weight. When the loader is on it I have 8 100lbs tractor weights on a bar for the 3pt hitch as ballast. This works great when you need something smaller than a box blade or bushhog for working in tight places. I also pull a 20 blade disk and do not have any trouble with traction (in 4wd) I guess it depends on what you want to pull.

RickB · Nov 7, 2012

repete said:
If I were to do it again, I would use wheel weights (tractor bearings not carrying the weight). No corrosion issues, no balance issues, cheaper flat repair. Of course you would have to wrestle with the weights though if you had a flat.

How do you figure cast iron wheel weights load axle bearings differently than liquid ballast?

PHILIP8N · Nov 7, 2012

My 8N has loaded rears for traction, but it is 2wd. When I mowed with it, I would leave ruts if ground was too wet. Got flat once, what a mess, have a little rim rust, will only get worse with time, checking tire pressure is a little more of a chore. When I got my L3940 I decided NOT to load rears for reasons before, plus, it is 4wd. I do allot of mowing, and have never seen a rut (R3's help with that). When I use my FEL, I just attach my 1250# 3 point ballest box or 1150# box blade. Try for awhile without loaded tires and see how it goes 1st. Philip.