Rim guard or not? Why a ballast box instead of boxblade?

[Hermio]

I see a lot of people buying 3 point ballast boxes or making ballast containers out of drums to attach to their 3 point hitch.

I have never really grasped why not just keep a box blade on the back so you could have not just a weight, but something that can be used should you wish to drag something? I have seen some weld a section of railroad rail onto the top of a box blade to make it heavier.

Also, rimguard is something I have considered, but I am also not sure about this because it seems I can do everything I need to do without rimguard and it will just increase the amount of weight when I trailer the tractor or perhaps increase ruts when on soft lawns.. I have thought rimguard would be good when using my ditch bank flail mower, but so far, I haven't found myself in any situation I would consider to have been tippy.

So, is there anyone here that added rimguard to their tires and regretted it?

One thing to keep in mind is that Rimguard does not put additional load on the rear axle, so it will not reduce bearing life. Any ballast attached to the 3-point hitch will increase bearing load and decrease life.

 

[kpsp50]

Argument for ballast weight.... Dead Deere weighs in at 520 pounds ... 1715 weighs in at about 1400 pounds and has 580 pound FEL lift capacity....

Good post just be careful your frame is heavy enough so you don't split your tractor in the middle which I have seen

 

[Hermio]

I don't use rim guard etc. because I don't believe that a front wheel assist tractor under 60 hp needs it for any reason. Others will definitely disagree with me and that's fine. I've just found I don't need it at all.

I use cast iron on the 3 point because I had it. Otherwise I would have gone with a barrel or some other solid weight as an implement hanging out the back makes the tractor too long for tight spots.

Interesting note is that I used to have 1000 lbs hanging on the 3 point. When I added the quick attach I found it was too much weight so took off 400 lbs. When digging with 1000 lbs the front end loader could hardly dig into the soil. It was just too annoying.

I use my quick hitch for logging. Since it weighs only about 80#, it is no good for ballast. The 1350# I get in my tires from Rimguard helps a lot. I run it isn 4WD wen logging. My front loader is quite heavy with a 4-way blade, so it never does wheelies.

 

[RoyJackson]

One thing to keep in mind is that Rimguard does not put additional load on the rear axle, so it will not reduce bearing life. Any ballast attached to the 3-point hitch will increase bearing load and decrease life.

Maybe, but rear tire ballast doesn't move the pivot point of any load on the front axle, appreciatively. Weight on the 3PH does, thus reducing wear and tear on the front axle, steering gear, etc.

 

[ovrszd]

It always gave me an uneasy feeling working around hedgerows, barbed wire fences, longer stickers, etc.
One sidewall puncture and you got a mess to deal with.
Wheel weights will never cause you problems.

As mentioned before, it’s different for everyone. I run in territory dangerous to tires. If you don’t, then rim guard is ok.

How many sidewall punctures have you had?

 

[BeezFun]

I routinely have to move trailers around and a ballast box has to be removed to do that. Here's the ballast I made, I don't have to remove it to tow a trailer and it allows me to clearly see to hook up.

 

[WranglerX]

I'm a little cheap when it comes to a ballast box, because then it has to be filled with something and doesn't move around easily unless you put a furniture dolly underneath when you take it off, I was at a auction and bought those weights that are used for calibrating scales, they weigh 50lbs each bought 6 @8 dollars a piece, used 5, slid my draw bar through the center and attached it to my quick hitch which weighs 75lbs, now I have 325 lbs of counter weight for my 6ft. snow blade.

Not really I have a dedicated location with wood "pallet" my ballast box sits on when not on tractor..... IF you tip over a 500-600 ballast box once, you will understand about dedicated parking spot....

 

[fishhead]

Argument for ballast weight.... Dead Deere weighs in at 520 pounds ... 1715 weighs in at about 1400 pounds and has 580 pound FEL lift capacity....

Maybe my eyesight is going but is that photoshopped?
I don't see anything keeping the rear of the deere from dropping. No straps, chain etc.
Plus if the loader rating is accurate i would think that having load close to the rating that far from the pins on the loader would make it a no go.
Agree with the point being made though

 

[WranglerX]

Maybe my eyesight is going but is that photoshopped?
I don't see anything keeping the rear of the deere from dropping. No straps, chain etc.
Plus if the loader rating is accurate i would think that having load close to the rating that far from the pins on the loader would make it a no go.
Agree with the point being made though

NOT PHOTOSHOPPED... JD has a low front bumper designed to keep from bumping into trees and rocks and cracking plastic hood.... Discovered bumper wedges under lip of FEL when it died on most remote back corner of property (naturally most inconvenient place) and I had to move/drag it down to shop .... Yes its all just wedges and leverages and balance.

Keep in mind that this set of graphics was carefully setup for photo shoot only I don't usually push little tractor beyond its limits, I have learned if tractor says no, then I don't do it....

 

[Joe Batt]

I used a 60" rotary mower for ballast when moving round bales with the FEL on my Massey Ferguson 1250 for 15 years. My source for bales changed and they are now heavier causing lifting them into the loft to become scary. I loaded up the tires with rimguard. Huge difference. Much, much better than just using a big mower for ballast. Instead of squishy tires giving me the bouncy feeling of floating on water, its more like the tires are velcroed to the ground.

I will never but a utility tractor without filled tires again.