Rear Axle Spacer Kit?

[Country1]

Anyone know what a Kubota "Rear Axle Spacer Kit" consists of? How much rear width do you gain? I saw this in the "build your own" section for the M40 series tractors. It was under dealer add-on options and was priced at around $500. I did a search, but didn't come up with anything...

 

[TripleR]

Interesting, I never noticed this. We mow on some really steep stuff though with our M8540 and it is extremely stable, so we don't need anything wider.

 

[Country1]

That's one thing I noticed between the M7040 and the M8540/M9540 is the rear wheel spacing. I know they're a larger framed machine, but the cab height is the same as the M7040. The narrow stance of the tractor has me a little worried even set to the widest possible adjustment. When comparing the two, it looks like the "rear axle" (for lack of a better word) is just plain wider on the M8540.

Your's looks to be set as wide as possible and looks like it would be pretty stable. The M7040, not so much... Wonder how wide the spacer kit is??..

 

[TripleR]

I would have to check to make sure, but I think ours will go one step wider, but the salesman said he thought the next widest would be enough and it has been.

I knew the M85/9540 were a little different, but I didn't look too closely at the 7040 to notice they were narrower.

I agree, you want wide stance on slopes. Even though I know our tractor is stable there are places that raise my pucker factor to an intolerable level.

I would sure check the axle space kit. Have you gotten any feedback from Builder? He does custom bush hogging with his M7040 cab pulling a JD MX8 and a flail I think.

 

[Country1]

Yeah, it just so happened that they had three M7040's and then a 85 and 95 all lined up in a nice row. You could really see the difference and the M7040 next to the M8540 had the rears set as wide as possible.

It will probably be fine set on the widest setting, but I'd like more info on the spacer kit since it is an option. If it adds 1.5" to each side, I think it would be ideal....

I'll check with Builder or maybe shoot Barlow and email. Thanks Triple.

 

[TripleR]

Yeah, it just so happened that they had three M7040's and then a 85 and 95 all lined up in a nice row. You could really see the difference and the M7040 next to the M8540 had the rears set as wide as possible.

It will probably be fine set on the widest setting, but I'd like more info on the spacer kit since it is an option. If it adds 1.5" to each side, I think it would be ideal....

I'll check with Builder or maybe shoot Barlow and email. Thanks Triple.

It probably will be stable enough, but I sure would check into the spacers.

I just saw this thread and can see the difference in width.

Turning orange - Page 2 - TractorByNet.com

 

[Country1]

I got a quick email back from Brady Barlow and he says it makes the rear tread 72". Online spec says 52"- 67.7", so I figure each spacer adds 2.15".....

I'll talk in greater depth with him when I get closer to ordering.

 

[TripleR]

I got a quick email back from Brady Barlow and he says it makes the rear tread 72". Online spec says 52"- 67.7", so I figure each spacer adds 2.15".....

I'll talk in greater depth with him when I get closer to ordering.

How does that compare with the M8540/9540?

What tires are you getting?

 

[Country1]

The M8540/9540 spec says 59.8" - 75.6". So 3.6" less on the widest setting. The other thing I figured out is the spec is center tread to center tread.

The only size they offer in R1's is 16.9-30 with cast wheel.

 

[Country1]

Pic of M7040 with rear space set one setting in from widest.
Looks like it would be a little tippy to me...

 

[TripleR]

Pic of M7040 with rear space set one setting in from widest.
Looks like it would be a little tippy to me...

Yeah, if the cab and fenders are the same as on the 8540 and you compare the placement of the tires on mine with that picture, the M8540 is wider and "looks" more stable.

I have the 18.4-30R1 tires, so that may make a difference too. I didn't really have a choice as that is what was on the lot, but probably would have picked those tires anyway. Of course I have never seen one with the other tires.

I wonder if the dish is different on the one with cast centers?

 

[Country1]

That's a good question...
I'll ask before making any final decisions.

 

[8404]

All i did was decide how wide i wanted my tractor to be and i hired a machine shop to build me some wheel spacers. i chose to increase my tractor from 6 foot to 7 foot wide so i built two 6inch wide spacers.

 

[TripleR]

Nice looking spacers.

 

[slowzuki]

I wouldn't max out my 3 ph with those spacers on, that is a lot of extra stress on the axle flange.

 

[Country1]

All i did was decide how wide i wanted my tractor to be and i hired a machine shop to build me some wheel spacers. i chose to increase my tractor from 6 foot to 7 foot wide so i built two 6inch wide spacers.

Thanks for the pics. Looks like you added a lot of stability with those.

6" per side is a little extreme for me. I'm more than happy with the Kubota 2" spacers and if something breaks, I'll still be covered under the warranty.

 

[TripleR]

I wouldn't max out my 3 ph with those spacers on, that is a lot of extra stress on the axle flange.

They would be appropriate for some tractors/operations and not for others. We use a pull type cutter on our M8540 and have yet to put anything on the 3-point. We are going to use a ballast box, but it won't come near to maxing out the hitch. Fortunately we don't need spacers. I would recommend researching before adding them to any tractor.

 

[slowzuki]

I was talking about the 6"ers. Thats quite a spread.

 

[TripleR]

I was talking about the 6"ers. Thats quite a spread.

Yes it is.

 

[8404]

Well i did ask both a tractor repair shop and the machine shop that built my spacers about how it might affect the axles, and they felt that for my use "bushhogging" I would never damage my axles flanges and this included the Tigre 1000lb 3point side arm i use. but your are right you should consider what you want to do and is you tractor strong enough to do it. My tractor has been out of warrenty for more than 5 years before i used the spacer too.