sided my tractor: question about weight

[marcelPL]

I sided my little iseki tractor a few weeks ago. I got off really lucky, because a tree was almost in the way.

You can find some photo's here in this thread:

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/iseki/414683-oops-sided.html

This little tractor has limited options to install a ROPS. But i can add a solid amount of weight to the bottom of the tractor on the structure of the FEL.

The question is: is there a maximum (or rule of thumb) on how much weight you can add to a tractor without hurting the structural integrity, or ability to manoeuvre?

The weight of my little iseki tx1300F is about 600 kg's (some 1300 lbs).

thanks, M.

 

[RNeumann]

I’ve never heard of a maximum. A few common areas to add weight include filling the tires with liquid, adding wheel weights and adding weight to the 3 point. You have the idea about wanting the weight low- obviously the tires is as low as you can get. They also sell wheel spacers to increase your track width.

 

[dieselcrawler]

X2 on wider rear wheel track if at all possible. Next, loaded tires, and maybe rear wheel weights. Otherwise, adding weight in any fashion to the bottom of the tractor will help, but there has to be a practical aspect to it.

 

[jeff9366]

This little tractor has limited options to install a ROPS. But i can add a solid amount of weight to the bottom of the tractor on the structure of the FEL.

Adding weight to the front will make the rear come off the ground easier and will add strain to the spindly front axle.

Ballast should be added to the tires and/or wheels and counterbalance added to the Three Point Hitch. Pound-for-pound counterbalance is more effective due to leverage. Counterbalance on the Three Point Hitch is supported by the robust rear axle.

Most subcompact tractors have such small tires that adding liquid ballast does not accomplish anything, rear wheel weights are preferable.

Increasing the rear wheel spread will be more effective at improving stability than filling the rear tires with liquid and/or adding rear wheel weights.


It is time for you to begin a search for a 1,200 kg tractor.

Five reasons owner/operators trade up from Subcompact Tractors:
More tractor weight.
More FEL lift capacity.
More ground clearance.
Three-range (3) HST (Lower LOW, Higher, HIGH) ~~ rather than two-range (2) HST.
Larger wheels and tires yield more tractive power pulling ground contact implements and logs, pushing a loader bucket into dirt and pushing snow. Larger wheels and tires permit heavier tractors to bridge holes, ruts and tree debris with less operator perturbation.

 

[marcelPL]

Ok, all thanks for info and observations. I am new in the world of agro and tractors (8 months now), until that moment all i knew/did was check air in my car's tyres. I am just trying to acquire knowledge (and tools) really fast.

The iseki has the option to put wheels in two positions, i already use the widest position.

This filling with liquid sounds like something i can use. Maybe in combination with wheel weight. The tyres maybe relatively small, but so is the whole tractor. What stuff is used to fill the tyres? And can i do this myself?

@Jeff: i realise now that i should have looked for something bigger, but money for this area is limited. I am trying to start using about half an acre to grow stuff and sell it, if this proves successful i will probably look to upgrade the tractor as a first thing. By now i have learned that weight is the ultimate factor on tractors. Weight = power.

What is HST? (sorry i am a complete idiot in this field)

@Dieselcrawler:
>>Redheaded wife, 7 kids, 5 horses/ponies, some cats, 4 dogs

You lucky b*sterd

 

[jeff9366]

HST = Hydrostatic transmission, the sole option on most new subcompact tractors and the transmission which equips 90% of new compact tractors in USA.

Tire Ballast: Comparing Types of Liquid Tire Ballast | OrangeTractorTalks

 

[ptsg]

HST = Hydrostatic transmission, the sole option on most new subcompact tractors and the transmission which equips 90% of new compact tractors.

Tire Ballast: Comparing Types of Liquid Tire Ballast | OrangeTractorTalks

HST equips 90% of the compact tractors in the US. In Europe, it's maybe 15 to 20%. Since Marcel is located in Poland, that percentage might be even less.

HST in Europe is not that common as most people use the tractors for farming that need that gear drive power for ground engaging implements or for other tasks that requires power. Most of the time it needs to be special ordered if the costumer really wants an HST tractor.

 

[CADplans]

You can add too much weight,,
a week after a hard rain, you will know the weight is too much,,
when the tractor sinks to its belly in the mud,, :thumbdown:

We over-weighted a tractor back in the 1970's that tractor was always stuck,,,

 

[dieselcrawler]

@Dieselcrawler:
>>Redheaded wife, 7 kids, 5 horses/ponies, some cats, 4 dogs

You lucky b*sterd

Agreed... add spoiled to that, and you'll almost have me figured out!

And on the wheel track stability issue, I'll add this... my wheels at widest setting were too narrow for my liking, so a built and added 4.5 inch wide spacers between the wheel 'dish' and the rim hoop mounting tabs, gaining 9 inches total. Huge difference in how it handles sidehills. Which I have 117 acres of, so I built a roll cage too, since I want to live to be spoiled by the redhead... *grin*

 

[marcelPL]

Ok once again for info and visions. This HST is new to me. For sure here in Poland there will not be a lot of this. Like myself, most people that do not have 50 acres or more do not care about having the newest and latest stuff. My little iseki is actually 40 years old. But i am really happy with it, it makes that i can do a lot of maintenance myself. I learned a lot in the past 8 months

@Greg: Really interesting what you describe (not the redhead ). Do you have any detailed photo's of what is looks or how it is built? I am not native english speaking, it is hard to get a vision of what you describe. And this could be a feasible and cheap solution to my problem, also adding weight at wheel-base level at the same time.

 

[dieselcrawler]

@Greg: Really interesting what you describe (not the redhead ). Do you have any detailed photo's of what is looks or how it is built?

I hope the photos will help... a picture is worth a thousand words in any language!

 

[marcelPL]

Ok i see what you mean... But my wheels have a different structure, cannot do that. But it got me thinking...

My wheel-axes are just sticking out of differential, and the wheel is shoved onto the end of this axis. So what i could look for is some big cylinder that i can put/shove onto these axes, and then stick some piece of steel (same thickness as the original axis) into the overlap part of this cylinder. I hope this makes sense.

This is what my wheels and axis looks like:





I will start looking for some steel next week. Thx!

 

[D2Cat]

Can you remove the 6 bolts on the hub by the axle, and add spacers there?

 

[Jchonline]

For filling the tires just be careful if you are in freezing climate. You need something that will not freeze in the coldest of winter. Also depending on what you use, if you get a puncture it can be messy/expensive to get back up and running. Mine are beet juice but I am super careful about what I run over.

 

[amaxwell]

I sided my little iseki tractor a few weeks ago. I got off really lucky, because a tree was almost in the way.

You can find some photo's here in this thread:

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/iseki/414683-oops-sided.html

This little tractor has limited options to install a ROPS. But i can add a solid amount of weight to the bottom of the tractor on the structure of the FEL.

The question is: is there a maximum (or rule of thumb) on how much weight you can add to a tractor without hurting the structural integrity, or ability to manoeuvre?

The weight of my little iseki tx1300F is about 600 kg's (some 1300 lbs).

thanks, M.

Just an observation from your pictures ,it looks as if the loader was raised and had weight in it. The loader should always be in the lowest usable position to keep the center of gravity as low as possible.

 

[marcelPL]

Can you remove the 6 bolts on the hub by the axle, and add spacers there?

Hi d2cat, good observation, that could actually work. These bolts connect to a cylinder to go around the wheel axes, with a hole in them to secure position. I think I can move these cylinders from outside position to inside position?

Thx M.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Hi d2cat, good observation, that could actually work. These bolts connect to a cylinder to go around the wheel axes, with a hole in them to secure position. I think I can move these cylinders from outside position to inside position?

Thx M. View attachment 620163View attachment 620164

Reverse the hub, as well as check the dish of the wheel... if the tires are swapped side to side to keep tread direction correct, you may gain some width that way as well, no fabrication needed.

 

[MHarryE]

Marcel - looking at the outside of the wheels, there are 3 attaching points for something - I assume wheel weights but is it possible to have the person who fabricated your loader build you a set of special wheels that attach to those points and have rear duals? May be too wide for you but watching the video of you plowing it would be nice to have more traction in your soft ground. What you really need is a new Fendt Vario. I say this because one of my pension checks is from AGCO and I’d thought I’d try selling. But I’m impressed with what you can do with your Iseki.

 

[marcelPL]

Haha Michael thanks for pointing out the fendt, but I'm afraid this would be well over budget...

And Yes, those holes are meant for weight, but this is not available for these 40 year old iseki's...

The double wheels is a good one. Really. I remember seeing a photo here on the iseki forum of an iseki like mine with double rear wheels. I will pursue this, trying to find the owner and ask about how to configure this. Better to copy a solution then to invent it.

And yes I am really happy about the power of these little iseki's. Trying really hard to keep em in good shape, they just need a lot of maintenance. At this moment the hydraulics of both my two iseki's are not working properly. Back into maintenance mode pfffff....

Thx
M.

 

[SmallChange]

My tractor's operating manual lists a maximum allowable weight for the machine. Did you check there?

Not sure why there's just one number. I would think weight added to wheels, for instance, would be way less difficult for the machine than the same weight carried on the 3 pt.