Ballast TS1910/1610 Rear Ballast

[JJPWAus]

Just finished my loader for TS1910 (posted it in Built It forum and in photo's) and now need build a rear weight/ballast box to get back my stability.
Anyone with a loader on a similar machine, can you help with weight recommendations?
I assume the idea is to account for the added weight of the loader with a full load?? Am I on the right track? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Don't want to get to carried away.

 

[svcguy]

I created a rear ballast for my Kubota using a junk bud wheel rim. You can get them at any scrap dealer. I welded up the pins and hangers for the 3 point hitch and it has worked out well. I simply fill the bud wheel with rock. The weight of the empty unit is about 100 lbs without rock and probably about 400 lbs filled to the brim. I like being able to adjust the weight as the only time I fill it totally is when I am moving heavy loads.

 

[JJPWAus]

What's a bud wheel /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Need a translator please.

 

[svcguy]

Sorry. A bud wheel is an inexpensive, very deep steel rim that is used on a large truck or bus. Dual "bud" rims are mounted on the rear axle, side by side using the same wheel studs. Bud rims are plentiful and you can usually find them at scrap metal dealers, wrecking yards, etc. They are strong, good steel, deep and heavy. I bent a 3/8" x 3" flat bar so that I could weld it at three points at the base of the rim. I drilled each side and attached the lower 3 pt. hitch studs. I then welded an upright in the rim for the upper 3 pt. hitch pin, and reinforced it. When on the tractor, it looks like a tire rim, laying on the ground behind the tractor. Since it is fairly deep, I just toss the amount of rock I want for ballast into the rim. It could also be filled with concrete, but I like the flexibility of changing the counter weight. Easy to take off and put on, self draining, cost about $8.00 and living in the mountains of British Columbia - there is a ready supply of ballast close at hand. I am also going to make a set of wheel weights out of plate steel to fit inside the rims. We have access to a lot of industrial scrap steel.