Newbie needs a Tractor

[kozak]

One other question I had pertains to tires. So many of you mention water filled tires for extra weight. Are these special tires just for water or standards that can be filled either water or air?

Trace33,

If you do end up getting a BH with the tractor it will provide plenty of counter-weight when doing FEL work. More than you will get from filled tires.

There are options available other than filling your tires. Many TBN'ers have built their own counter-weight by simply filling a large plastic barrel with concrete & putting a rod through it which would then be picked up by the 3PH. There are many variations to this theme. I myself have a bracket which holds 50 Lb plates of steel for a total of 550 Lbs. The nice thing about this method is that you can easily remove the weight if you want to. With filled tires, it becomes very messy and you probably would not attempt it due to the price of filling them in the first place.

Good Luck Tractor Hunting !!

Vic

 

[Riddler]

As Vic points out, there is usually more than one way to skin a cat. The point to come away with is that weight, properly distributed, is generally a good thing, translating into more and better work at any given HP level. I say "generally," because there are few exceptions, like using your tractor to mow real lawn. In that case, being able to add and subtract weight conveniently (like Vic suggests) may work best for you.

The FEL stays on my tractor all of the time, so keeping the front end of the tractor down is never a problem. But even though I usually have the BH or box scraper on the back, I am glad I filled the tires. It concentrates the weight down low, adding stability, and it is there all of the time, so I don't have to think much about weight distribution issues. I don't mow any lawn with my tractor, so the filled tires provide nothing but advantages in my situation. When I am chugging up a steep, muddy incline in low, 4wd mode, I really like how the big R-4s rotate relentlessly without any hint of slip. I am relatively certain that the filled tires help make that happen.