Rear ballast box

coolbrze · Jun 13, 2023

I've been thinking of making a rear ballast box for my MX5800. I'd like something relatively small / maneuverable but not too small. I was thinking a 55 gal. drum filled w/ concrete. I could stick a few 2" & 4" PVC pipes in there to hold misc. shovels, rakes, etc. & a chainsaw scabbard for a saw. Any idea roughly how much weight this would give me & would it make a noticeable difference on my tractor? I've got the rear tires filled already

I realize it's not going to stick out too far so it's less 'leverage' in terms of ballast. Any tips would be greatly appreciated also!

oosik · Jun 13, 2023

Well - lets talk about a "standard" 55 gallon drum. 23" in diameter - 35" high. Concrete = 150 pounds per cubic foot. There will be a tad over nine cubic feet of concrete in the barrel. Weight BEFORE you start poking pipes and tubes into the concrete - 1370 pounds.

In my case - I thought about a ballast box of some kind. The down side - that's all a ballast box will do - add ballast. I went with a 1100 pound Rhino rear blade. At least, it will do several things other than just ballast.

I also have 1550 pounds of Rim Guard in the rear tires.

Ballast, of some type, is absolutely necessary if you have a FEL with grapple, pallet forks or bucket.

I have 80 acres of open range land. That big 'ol rear blade seldom gives me any problems. If your property is more like a jungle - a rear blade can become a constant nuisance.

Suburban Plowboy · Jun 16, 2023

The guy I bought my tractor from had a bush hog on it all the time for ballast. Man, was that a miserable experience. It swung up and down, making the tractor buck like a mule. It hit the ground a lot when it swung. When I backed up, it was always in the way.

I now have a Titan ballast box full of sand. I put a piece of tool box drawer liner on top of the sand, and now I throw stuff in there, like chainsaws and gloves. Way better than a bouncing bush hog.

mo1 · Jun 16, 2023

coolbrze said:
I've been thinking of making a rear ballast box for my MX5800. I'd like something relatively small / maneuverable but not too small. I was thinking a 55 gal. drum filled w/ concrete. I could stick a few 2" & 4" PVC pipes in there to hold misc. shovels, rakes, etc. & a chainsaw scabbard for a saw. Any idea roughly how much weight this would give me & would it make a noticeable difference on my tractor? I've got the rear tires filled already I realize it's not going to stick out too far so it's less 'leverage' in terms of ballast. Any tips would be greatly appreciated also!

The best tip I can give is to not spend a lot on a ballast box, use something inexpensive as a form to make a concrete block of a suitable size and weight. A 55 gallon drum would be fine, so would a homemade plywood box. All the box really has to do is hold the concrete until it cures as you can use a 3 point drawbar stuck through the box/barrel/form to actually carry the weight.

A 3 point implement can work, like oosik's blade or a bush hog, but they can stick out a ways depending on what it is. Putting something heavy a carry-all or 3 point forks can work too, casting a concrete block that has a center section that fits down below the forks/carryall angles so you can set it down and pull away, and then back up to it and pick it up with the forks/carryall is a great idea. Even something like a round bale on a 3 point spear or bale forks is also a good counterweight as they are decently heavy and not obnoxiously bulky. The only thing about bales are that they aren't real durable.

oosik · Jun 23, 2023

mo1 is right about a cast concrete block. I have one with a center loop. Molded with scrap lumber. It's 22" x 22" by 14" tall. Weighs around 400#. The few times I use my disk harrow - set this block in the dead center. Added weight really improves performance.

Unfortunately - I just checked and I've deleted the pic of the concrete block. Wasn't a very good pic anyway. Kind of hard to see as it was sitting in/amongst a large weed patch.

Hey - I found a pic of the concrete block. Must be a newer pic. You can actually see it.

DavidL61 · Jun 23, 2023

I made mine out of a plastic 55 gallon drum. Made so I can use it with my 3 point quick hitch and also added a 2” hitch receiver on the back. I use the receiver all the time for moving trailers around. I should have used larger tubes.

varmint · Jun 24, 2023

I made a ballast box out of 2x2x1/4 angle iron, welded into a box frame, with part of an old trailer hitch frame/receiver for the backside bottom, which gives me a nice place to pull trailers from. I used ext. 1/2" plywood for the sides and bottom, and fill the box with dense stones, which I can add to or remove, if desired. I have some bars on each side which work well for hanging chains. I used to just have a back blade for ballast, but having to be wary of a weapon/obstacle back there got old fast. The weight is about right for my L3400 tractor- I'm not pulling any ground engaging equipment, and my loader maxes out at 1000 lbs or less.

inpo44 · Jun 26, 2023

I made mine using concrete with attachments to carry my chainsaws and other tools. It was sized to weigh 1600 lbs.

Bearsixty7 · Jun 26, 2023

inpo44 said:
I made mine using concrete with attachments to carry my chainsaws and other tools. It was sized to weigh 1600 lbs.

That's too heavy for a 37 or 45hp tractor, maybe even a 60hp one! What made you want it that heavy?
I do like all the attachments and provisions though, Nice work!

This one weighs ~980lbs and is all the ballast my tractor needs.

mo1 · Jun 26, 2023

Bearsixty7 said:
That's too heavy for a 37 or 45hp tractor, maybe even a 60hp one! What made you want it that heavy?
I do like all the attachments and provisions though, Nice work!

This one weighs ~980lbs and is all the ballast my tractor needs.
View attachment 807942

How much ballast is needed depends on the tractor and loader and varies widely. For example, a 60 HP cabbed MFWD Deere 5055E/5060E with the 520M self-leveling loader is recommended to have at least 3087 pounds on the 3 point as ballast if there is no rear axle weight. This decreases to "only" 2867 pounds on the 3 point if there is at least 441 lbs on the rear axle. If the tractor was an open station instead of cabbed, the recommendation is a minimum of almost two tons of ballast- 2867 pounds on the 3 point and 1213 pounds on the rear axle.