Comparison Loaded tires or Ballast Box?

[RoyJackson]

I have a 3520, and I can't see where I would ever need both a ballast box and fluid in the tires. My loader wouldnt and couldn't lift the back end off the ground with nothing on the back let alone filled tires.

You haven't lifted anything near the limit of the loader, I reckon...

 

[Deadman]

You haven't lifted anything near the limit of the loader, I reckon...

EXACTLY.

I have my ballast box loaded with lead on my little 2520, and I can still get the back tires off the ground if I try to lift a log or something heavy.

 

[k0ua]

EXACTLY.

I have my ballast box loaded with lead on my little 2520, and I can still get the back tires off the ground if I try to lift a log or something heavy.

I had a NH once that when delivered would not only not pick up the back end of the tractor, it would not even pick up the front end of the tractor with the bucket pointed straight down. I called the dealer and asked him to send the mechanic. They did and problem solved (relief valve shimming). If your loader wont pick up the back tires when you try to lift something that wont move, like a rock outcropping or something really heavy, then it needs work. IMHO

James K0UA

 

[TripleR]

I had a NH once that when delivered would not only not pick up the back end of the tractor, it would not even pick up the front end of the tractor with the bucket pointed straight down. I called the dealer and asked him to send the mechanic. They did and problem solved (relief valve shimming). If your loader wont pick up the back tires when you try to lift something that wont move, like a rock outcropping or something really heavy, then it needs work. IMHO

James K0UA

Yep, everything we have will lift the back off the ground with filled tires and even something on the back.

 

[JD3520Turbo]

Well then there might be something wrong with my tractor.
It won't break out of a dirt pile with a bucket load of dirt.
I only have a 61 inch bucket on it as well.

 

[RoyJackson]

Well then there might be something wrong with my tractor.
It won't break out of a dirt pile with a bucket load of dirt.
I only have a 61 inch bucket on it as well.

My guess it's more a matter of technique then tractor capability. What RPM are you running at? I suggest you run at 2000 RPM or more.
However, I suggest you contact your dealer on this and have them check your hydraulic pressure and flow to, at least, eliminate that as a possibility.

 

[DAY]

All this discussion of weights/rim guard/ ballast box got me thinking about the many uses we find for our CUTs. The loader gets in the way when we mow, and the extra weight on the back end can tear up the lawn- as can R4's. I think a dedicated lawn mowing machine is a better choice. It gets used weekly during the summer, and frees up the CUT for the jobs it does well- bush hog/loader/chipper, etc. The MMM for a 2520 costs more than a Home Depot JD riding mower. Just my two cents.

 

[jenkinsph]

All this discussion of weights/rim guard/ ballast box got me thinking about the many uses we find for our CUTs. The loader gets in the way when we mow, and the extra weight on the back end can tear up the lawn- as can R4's. I think a dedicated lawn mowing machine is a better choice. It gets used weekly during the summer, and frees up the CUT for the jobs it does well- bush hog/loader/chipper, etc. The MMM for a 2520 costs more than a Home Depot JD riding mower. Just my two cents.

There is a lot of truth in what you say, separate mower from tractor is better in my opinion. Still lots of people wouldn't buy an X749 like I have because they feel it is too liimiting, not an 8 in 1 tool. They would buy a 2305 to 2520 and prefer this because it does more. That said they then get in this quandry over rear implement ballast/ballast box/rim guard. It is very difficult to expect one machine to do it all WELL.

 

[pdp11]

It all depends on what you are doing with the tractor. I could never have convinced my wife to buy the tractor if I still had to have a separate mower. That was most of the justification, and most of the hours on my 2520 have been spent cutting grass. The 2520 has cut my mowing time by more than half, and uses less fuel than what I was cutting it with previously. I also don't have the room to store more equipment. The 62D deck is a breeze to take on and off, and is easy to service.

 

[TripleR]

All this discussion of weights/rim guard/ ballast box got me thinking about the many uses we find for our CUTs. The loader gets in the way when we mow, and the extra weight on the back end can tear up the lawn- as can R4's. I think a dedicated lawn mowing machine is a better choice. It gets used weekly during the summer, and frees up the CUT for the jobs it does well- bush hog/loader/chipper, etc. The MMM for a 2520 costs more than a Home Depot JD riding mower. Just my two cents.

For some this may be true, but like pdp11, it would have been a hard sell to get a mower and a SCUT/CUT. I prefer the simplicity of maintaining fewer machines and the FEL on our BX2660 is easy to take of as are three point implements.

Of course now that my wife has gotten interested in tractors and has taken the BX2660 as her own, I got the second tractor and third and...

Also, we don't like regular riding mowers having tried/owned several including the JD 425.

We did buy a JD 2305 for another property as a dedicated mower and that was indeed a mistake.