Surprised by need for rear ballast with L 4060 in this situation

[Gee Ray]

Those of you that claim that the rear ballast is not needed would be doing the world a favor by not spreading false information. Improper ballast has killed people. Look up the lawsuit that a new tractor owner's family has against JD.

If you go to the 2:45 mark on this video there is a page out of the owners manual for two different JD loaders. The manuals show the minimum weight to be added to the tractors.

Go to 3:26 on this video to see the owners manual as it shows the minimum ballast weights for loader. A Series 5 tractor requires over 3000 pounds on the 3 point hitch.

There are several reasons to load the tires. Stability on slopes being a very important one. The ballasting on the three point hitch is important to counteract the weight on the FEL. And yes the loaded tires help ballast the FEL but the rear ballast is required.

 

[4570Man]

Those of you that claim that the rear ballast is not needed would be doing the world a favor by not spreading false information. Improper ballast has killed people. Look up the lawsuit that a new tractor owner's family has against JD.

If you go to the 2:45 mark on this video there is a page out of the owners manual for two different JD loaders. The manuals show the minimum weight to be added to the tractors.

Go to 3:26 on this video to see the owners manual as it shows the minimum ballast weights for loader. A Series 5 tractor requires over 3000 pounds on the 3 point hitch.

There are several reasons to load the tires. Stability on slopes being a very important one. The ballasting on the three point hitch is important to counteract the weight on the FEL. And yes the loaded tires help ballast the FEL but the rear ballast is required.

I never claimed it wasn’t needed. I said it’s not going to bust the front axel without it.

 

[Gee Ray]

For those that wanted info from the manufacturer here you go. This is a great document for the proper ballasting of your tractors.

If you will open this link and go to Post #3. Open the righthand doc. Look at the question, "Why is ballasting necessary?"

It states that rear ballasting prevents premature failure of front end components.

What is "Rear Ballast"? And why do you need it?

www.greentractortalk.com

 

[k0ua]

I can tell you this much, there isn't going to be any Deere tractors sold in the future without there being a ballast plan conversation in the future. Other brands would be wise to take notice.


Last week, a Payne County jury awarded a Stillwater woman $5 million in a civil suit that followed her husband's death in a tractor accident.

The jury found Deere & Company, the manufacturer of John Deere tractors, to be responsible for the May 25, 2014, death of James Beall, age 38, of Stillwater, when the tractor he was driving rolled over, trapping him underneath. Shylah Beall, his widow, was represented by Smolen Law, a Tulsa firm.

The case involved a John Deere 3038 E Compact Utility Tractor with a 305 front loader that was sold to the Bealls by P&K Equipment, Inc., of Stillwater. The tractor and an optional front loader were assembled at the Deere plant in Georgia and then shipped to P&K Equipment.


Shylah Beall's suit claimed that the tractor was unsafe and had not been properly configured by either the factory or the dealership before she and her husband took delivery. Throughout the lawsuit, Deere denied the accusations.

Beall's attorneys said Deere’s manufacturing failed to add additional weight to the rear of the tractor to counterbalance the almost 700-pound front-end loader, before it left the Deere plant in Georgia. The weight was also not added at the local dealership.

Representatives of Deere & Company said the tractor was not defective or unreasonably dangerous and suggested Beall may not have been wearing his seatbelt.

During the trial, the representative for Deere & Company admitted that ballast is supposed to be added to the rear and tires of the tractor. In the instruction manual it said, "To prevent death or bodily injury from tractor loader roll-over, the required amount of ballast must be added to the tractor."

The proper ballast wasn’t added before Beall bought the tractor, and Beall's attorneys argued that evidence shown during the trial suggested that if the weight had been added as recommended, the tractor wouldn’t have rolled over.

Carlton Hearn, a product safety engineer for Deere & Company, testitfied that the tractor was supposed to be configured ready for use at the dealership, and there is a checklist dealers go through to ensure a tractor is ready for use.

Among the checklist items was the installation of ballast to to prevent rollover and injury. At first, it seemed the Hearn was suggesting that it would be up to the consumer to do whatever needed to be done with the tractor, according to a transcript provided to the News Press by Smolen Law.


"So let me ask you this, so when James and his dad, Clyde, showed up to P&K and they – and he had this dream of having his own business and he had this 16-acre property that he needs help mowing," attorney Donald Smolen asked. "You think that they should have thought to themselves, 'Hey, even though I'm buying this thing brand new from John Deere and it's come directly from the factory all set up, I bet it's in an unreasonably safe condition and that I need to go through and make sure that they did everything they are supposed to. Is that the way that Deere sells its equipment?'"

"I'm sorry. What way?" the rep asked.

"Well, you've got here that in order for this tractor to be safe, and properly weighted, and properly ballasted there are certain things that have to be done to the tractor when used with a loader right?," Smolen replied. "I mean, that's what we have been talking about. And these things that are listed, the consumer, James Beall, Clyde Beall, me whoever, the consumer can't even do that, they can't even install the rear tire weights according to Deere, right?"

"It's recommended that they are done by a Deere dealership," Hearn replied.

On Jan. 16, a Payne County jury found after 27 minutes of deliberation that "by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant, Deere & Company, acted in reckless disregard for the rights of others." They awarded Shylah Beall $3 million in actual compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages.

In a statement released Thursday, Shylah Beall said that her main goal was to hold the company accountable and make sure nothing like this happens in the future.

“I don’t want James’ death to be in vain,” she said. “I want proper safety protocols followed in the future.”

Attorney Donald E. Smolen, II, said the compensation will help Shylah raise her young son, who is now left without a father.

“No amount of money will take the place of a loving husband and father, but these funds can help Shylah and her family in other ways,” he said. “Our greatest hope is we can prevent this from happening to another family. We are pleased the jury decided in our favor.”

 

[k0ua]

Point being of the above "lesson" is that any dealer selling a tractor without proper rear ballast with a FEL equipped tractor is now classified as a FOOL. Many dealers WILL NOT sell a tractor equipped with a FEL without a ballast box or other heavy implement. I believe in the future, new owners will be signing papers that say they understand that doing lifts and taking off the 3pt ballast that the tractor came equipped with from the dealer is "on them".

This issue is not going to go away, and legal precedent has been set, and we are going to see more lawsuits over this misunderstanding of ballast, and/or the dealers/manufactures failure to include it in all tractor sales equipped with an FEL.

 

[JWR]

Lawsuits make fools of so many people, most often those who pay attention to them. Common sense used to come as standard equipment in farming. Now people playing with big, potentially dangerpous, toys have no idea what they are doing. Suing John Deere here is typical of the abulance chasing lawyers in the last 30 years -- make a buck no matter what injustice lies in the trash you leave behind you. Exactly analogous to suing Smith and Wesson.

 

[JWR]

Those of you that claim that the rear ballast is not needed ...

I saw no one in this thread claim ballast was not needed.

 

[k0ua]

Lawsuits make fools of so many people, most often those who pay attention to them. Common sense used to come as standard equipment in farming. Now people playing with big, potentially dangerpous, toys have no idea what they are doing. Suing John Deere here is typical of the abulance chasing lawyers in the last 30 years -- make a buck no matter what injustice lies in the trash you leave behind you. Exactly analogous to suing Smith and Wesson.

5 million dollars will garner some attention. Common sense is an oxymoron. There is no such thing any more. The man that died was not a farmer, he was a "new tractor owner", Translation: he didn't know anything about machinery. He ASSumed that the tractor was "ready to use". Of course just re-arrange the word "use" and it becomes "sue".

I guess in this case ignorance was not bliss. Ignorance in this case was death.

But on the "other hand", how is a "new tractor owner" to know anything? The tractor comes with a loader installed, but no loaded tires, no wheel weights, and no 3pt ballast box sold with tractor. Think about that, a loader was sold and installed, but no ballast. The guy is ignorant of the danger, how is he supposed to know? Who told him "hey buddy, you are taking your life in your hands operating a loader without ballast". No one apparently did.

 

[Buggs67]

I have a small tractor and even with my 700+ lb ballast bucket, which is further out due to the QH (thereby increasing the leverage) I still can feel the strain on the tractor if I lift a large load. I also look at the front tires as I lift to see if they squat.

With the BH attached I can lift large loads without noticing (my manual says the BH weighs 1,200 lbs IIRC). The frame mounted BH actually increases the ballast effect by acting as a giant lever pivoting on the rear mount and levering up on the front mount (under the center of the tractor).

Also, IMO, loaded tires are great for ground engagement/traction and stability but do nothing to reduce weight on the front axel.

And FWIW when mowing with my finish mower it is much more stable and less top-heavy if I remove the FEL. (tires are NOT loaded)

 

[Buggs67]

But on the "other hand", how is a "new tractor owner" to know anything? The tractor comes with a loader installed, but no loaded tires, no wheel weights, and no 3pt ballast box sold with tractor. Think about that, a loader was sold and installed, but no ballast. The guy is ignorant of the danger, how is he supposed to know? Who told him "hey buddy, you are taking your life in your hands operating a loader without ballast". No one apparently did.

When I took delivery of my tractor (my first and and only experience being a 2 day rental unit) the dealer dropped it at my driveway. When I asked that he show me the controls, etc he said "Read the manuals; it's all in there" and drove away. Before anyone points out that he sucks and I should have bought elsewhere, hindsite is 20/20. And BTW Kioti stood behind HIM and tried to ignore my warranty issues.

I think in the future dealers will have people sign that they understand at purchase, just as I did buying a car. I had to sign acknowledging it was sold with summer-only tires, that it did NOT have a rear obstacle warning system and I declined having one installed, etc, etc.