Ballast to much weight or not enough on l3800

[holem58]

new owner to be of new l3800 with fel and 6ft woods finish mower and a used brush hog my question is can i use a carryall with a 55 gallon barrel with concrete instead of fluid in the tires or the dealer is talking about wheel weights that bolt to the wheel i am concerned about when i mow would the weighted tires be to much for the grass .with the carryall i could use it with fel and remove when using rear pto any suggestions will be helpful thanks

 

[TripleR]

I don't know about the carry all, but quite a few people use weight on the 3PH in lieu of fluid in the tires. I don't mow my yard, so I have fluid and something on my 3PH which works better for me with my FEL.

On flat land I could get by with either/or, but I am in the hills. Some tractors also handle weight in the FEL loader than others, so maybe someone with a model more like yours can give you more specific information.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Have a L3130 with Rimguard loaded tires and a backhoe and I still can get the rear wheels off the ground, depends on how much you want to fill the bucket up and lift. For me the L series was just too big to try mowing with, great in the long stretch was turning was a pain.

David Kb7uns

 

[lzicc]

I have a L3800 with a BH77 on the back and never had my tires lift off of the ground. Came close though. My tires are not filled. I would just make a ballast out of concrete and use it when you need it. The problem with the carry all is you have to load/unload the 55 Gallon drum when needed. If you make a concrete ballast that connects to your 3 pt, that would be easier.

 

[brandoro]

I didn't want my tires filled so I could keep the tractor lighter for mowing when the ground is soft. The dealer had filling the tires worked into the price but switched that to a Kubota ballast box which I filled with scrap steel and concrete. I figure about 900lbs. Works really well with the FEL or if I want to pull something heavy. For pulling I bolted a hitch receiver to one of the scrap pieces of steel inside the box before I filled the rest of the space with concrete. Also embeded a frame in the top to make a space to carry chains or tools.

 

[teg]

You can get away with it. If you have enough room, you can use an implement instead of a carryall/55 gal. drum. You might not be able to pick up as much (tires will come off the ground). So you take smaller bites... If mowing is going to be the main use, you should be fine...

 

[crazyal]

I run a 55 gallon drum full of cement for ballast. My tractor is a little bigger than a 3800 though. When I lift it up with the 3pt hitch I feel the rear dropp slightly but not much. It makes a day and night difference when it comes to fel work and driving down my driveway.

If you think you're going to need to add weight and remove to depending on which tasks you do then the ballast box is the only reasonable way to do it. You can add either less fluid in the tires or less wheel weights and then have a smaller ballast box. Wheel weights tend to be the most expensive option.