Ballast TC35DA ballast Requirements

[lwalsh]

I normally hang around in the JD forum but over the holiday I was visiting my father and spent some time using his new tc35da. He replaced his old 3000 gas that I grew up on. According to the manual, loaded tires are sufficient ballast but we were moving some shingles on a pallet 1200lbs plus the fork frame and forks and on level ground it was slipping in 2wd. He also told me it will pick a back tire if you try to lift too heavy. Does he need more weight or should I suspect that the tires are perhaps not fully loaded? R4 tires supposedly filled with rimguard.

 

[PineRidge]

I have a TC-40D and the rear wheels are not weighted. When I work with heavy pallets I use a combination of 3 rear wheel weights on each side and a 3 point weight rack which adds roughly 950 pounds. By adding that much weight I can top out the 17LA loader (approx 2000 pounds) without the rear wheels coming off the ground.

To do serious FEL work he needs additional rear weight. Even adding a heavy box-blade is better than nothing at all.

 

[daTeacha]

I've got a smaller tractor with the 14 loader. I have 900 on the 3 point hitch, and just finished making up 160 lb for each rear wheel. Trying it out, I picked up a green cherry log about 10 feet long and 12 inches across, tilted the bucket forward (I have a grapple on the bucket) lifted the log to about 6 feet, dropped it quickly a few feet, and stopped the bucket suddenly. The rears lightened up noticeably, I bounced in the seat, but nothing came off the ground. I tried it with the tractor at an angle up hill, same thing. Downhill quartering, same thing.

I finally drove to a spot where I could gradually drive the tractor onto a sideways tilt. I was watching everything pretty closely and it felt stable despite being leaning quite a lot -- way more than I would normally ever operate, probably pushing 30 degrees. Then I noticed the front downside tire with about 35 lb of air in it was displaced quite a bit from being centered on the rim, and decided enough was enough.

My tractor is about 2500 lb without the loader. I have slightly more than half that amount on the back end, with about 35% on the wheels and the rest on the hitch. How much you need and where you put it depends on your ground. Weight on the hitch will keep the rear end on the ground but will not prevent rolling over sideways. Weight in the wheels or tires will do both, but pound for pound is not as effective at keeping the rears on the ground as weight hanging off the rear hitch due to lever effects.

 

[jinman]

I normally hang around in the JD forum but over the holiday I was visiting my father and spent some time using his new tc35da. He replaced his old 3000 gas that I grew up on. According to the manual, loaded tires are sufficient ballast but we were moving some shingles on a pallet 1200lbs plus the fork frame and forks and on level ground it was slipping in 2wd. He also told me it will pick a back tire if you try to lift too heavy. Does he need more weight or should I suspect that the tires are perhaps not fully loaded? R4 tires supposedly filled with rimguard.

Good suggestions so far and another would be to put an implement like a boxblade on the rear if your dad has one. He could add wheel weights, but I think the weight on the 3PH is best since it is centered about 36" to 40" behind the rear axle. That's a lot more leverage than weight centered on the axle. Of course, wheel weights do not add any stress to the 3PH, but I don't think that would be an issue with a boxblade. A rotary cutter works good too, but then your tractor is so long you have to constantly monitor what is behind you when you want to be concentrating on what is on your forks.

Originally, I had no filled rears on my TC45D and only had a boxblade. Many times I found the rear tires or one rear tire in the air when my forks were loaded. But then, my forks were chain-on type in front of a FEL bucket, so any weight I carried was "way out there."

 

[kozak]

I agree with the rest that 3 pt. hitch weights are the best. I have approx. 560 lbs on my hitch & has greatly improved traction & operation of FEL. I can plow heavy packing snow with turf tires.....of course it does help to have 4 wheel drive. Thought I have read on this forum that some had wheel corrosion problems with tire filling. Also makes it much easier to remove weights if you don't want them on.

Vic

 

[have_blue]

Sounds suspicious to me. I have loaded R4's, and my loader won't lift nearly enough to lift a rear tire.