Traction Wheel weights or filled tires?

[fydollaho]

Or both?

 

[oosik]

I guess it depends upon how much weight you want in the rear. I have Rimguard (16.9 x 28 = 67 gal/tire = total of 1500#) in the rear tires plus a 1000# rear blade hanging out back. I can still lift the rear tires with a large P. pine log in the grapple jaws but its quite rare to have this happen.

Actually - I've completely eliminated that rear tire lift foolishness by using a log weight table.


View attachment 529231 As she sits here with the grapple, rear blade and filled rear tires it weight 10,100#. A good starting point is 60% or thereabouts of what the FEL capacity is. Remember an implement hanging out back is a lot more effective than filled tires or wheel weights.

I guess the reason you asked is because you have or are going to have FEL + bucket or FEL + grapple. Are you going to be clearing snow with your tractor? Will you be using a rear blade to clear snow? Its going to weigh around 400# and will allow you to lift quit a bit with the FEL.

Think about it this way - if you have a rear blade - that amount of weight alone may provide sufficient weight to allow you to do all you want with the FEL. If you do need more weight then consider filled tires or wheel weights.

I ALWAYS have something hanging out back - - rear blade @ 1000# or Land Plane Grading Scraper @ 796# or roll over box blade @ 710# - chipper @ 770# etc, etc.

Using a 3-point implement to offset work done with the FEL is just smart business - get two things accomplished with one implement.

 

[Michael Aos]

I have tires filled, weights, and a Land Pride GS1548 on a QH05 behind my BX2370.

 

[mopardude318]

I have a 1400 lb gearmore hydraulic box blade, and filled tires on my m7060. but i feel i want 600 pounds of wheel weight. (i think the max available with R4 tires)

 

[bcp]

If you drive over a sharp stick, a wheel weight doesn't leak away into the ground.

Bruce

 

[fydollaho]

I always have something hanging off the back as well - rotary mower, chipper, grader blade. The new MX has wheel weights already on it and I got the QH and a BH92 coming with it and that dealer seems to favor weights over tires.

The MX will be clearing a couple acres of woods and processing of said woods, light bush hogging, driveway maintenance, and the various hauling of crap and farm chores I do. Main FEL duty is with the grapple doing firewood.

 

[RoyJackson]

Filled tires help a lot with tractor stability...especially when traversing across a slope (use some sense when you do this!!)...not so much for ballast for a FEL. Ballast works best (IMHO) when rigged to the 3PH. My preference is using a ballast box as it doesn't extend too far back when you're working in relatively close quarters...unlike an implement such as a rotary cutter (plenty of weight, but extends out 6-10 feet).
I'm not a fan of wheel weights...they can be back breakers if you need to remove them.

 

[motownbrowne]

Weights are nice because you can remove them, and they don't leak away, as others mentioned. If you really want max stability, set the wheels as wide as you can and use both. I have fluid, but wish I'd gone with weights instead. I have had occasion to swap my tires solo before (13.6-28s with Rimguard) and it wasn't pleasant. Weights are pretty spendy though.

 

[LouNY]

Weights, weights; I really dislike fluid filled tires. When I was young we had mainly fluid filled tires. Back then there were several people that did tire servicing that would come out and pump out a tire install a boot in the tire patch the tube and refill the tire and you only lost a day or day and halfs work from that tractor but the cost was moderate. Today what is the initial cost of fluid filling a tire? several hundred dollars, calcium is still the least expensive and its quite high, when you get a flat how long and how much to get a service truck out to the tractor ($300+) then add in the cost of more liquid ballast and if you are lucky it will only take 2 or 3 days and several hundreds of dollars to get it repaired and back in service. In contrast if you are using bolt on weights, a slow leak you can get by airing up a tire and continuing to work, or air it up and drive it to a location that is easy to work on it, if tubeless a chance that a simple plug can do the repair and back to work in an hour or so, if it has to be broken down the cost is minimal compared to a liquid filled tire. Add on the poorer ride quality of liquid filled, the horsepower lost to liquid filled, especially if road hauling, the increased braking required with liquid. Bolt on iron can seem expensive at about a dollar a pound but it will cost less in the long run unless you are never going to have a flat, good luck with that if you are farming or doing any woods work, if you are just putting around on a lawn or paved driveway you may not ever get a flat.

 

[RandyT]

The problem with using wheel weights is the max allowable weight on each rim is not even a start of what the recommended ballast is for most tractors. I have 50 gallon of rim guard in each wheel, and when needed I put my 3 inch box frame 6 1/2 foot king kutter disc on the three point, and even then it doesn't equal the recommended ballast for my tractor. Can still pick up the rear wheels with the loader.