Ballast When do I need front ballast?

[MadDogDriver]

...The FEL in front is a good stump or other obstruction finder if you run it low. I often need mine to knock limbs or vines down out of the way when using the brush hog. Helps to get you unstuck, too, if you get stuck beyond what a locked diff will get you out of.

Ralph

The FEL is also great at knocking down those mole hills instead of eating rocks with your blades.

 

[sandman2234]

Robert in NY,
Yes, the mount for the suitcase weights is a cast piece, visible in the above picture.
The weights are marked as either 37 Kg or 40 Kg, but appear to be the same size and shape. Not sure where the difference comes in. I would have thought a better design for the mower would have been to have a remote hydraulic tank, mounted on the front or belly of the tractor on the side opposite the extra fuel tank. (behind the step in this pic)
I bush hog mostly flat ground so any gain in stablity for working on inclines is beyond my normal operations, with my JD 2555.
The Ford will be used a little closer to inclines, since the main use of it is ditches and slopes. I don't plan on removing the weights from the front of it.
David from jax

 

[Robert_in_NY]

You have the largest weights available for that cast bracket that I know of. Does your 7710 get light on the front or does it get light on the side when the boom is extended off to one side of the tractor? You might want to add some ballast to the rear wheels to help with side to side stability.

Also, what size rear tires do you have?

 

[sandman2234]

When they loaded my tractor on a Landoll trailer, the driver requested that they extend the boom and lay it flat. When they arrived here, and tilted the bed, I raised the boom slightly so I could curl it back up toward the tractor. That movement caused the front wheels to lift about 4" off the deck of the trailer. The trailer is 8'6" wide, so one full tire was hanging over on the right side, and the weight had it about 6" lower than the deck. (Hanging tire versus compressed tire). The next movement was supposed to be curling it, but since the levers weren't marked, I moved it to the side, the one that the tire was completely off the trailer. With the front end light, and the right side hanging over the edge, that was the worse way I could have gone. I let it and my nerves settle before moving it back the other way, and then went and changed my britches.
The mechanic said they have replaced 3 axles in the 7710, all on the rear, over the last 20 years
and all while they were operating it on steep inclines. I figure the weight of the mower added to the weight of the tractor compounded by the extension of the duals is probably a little much for the axle strength. Hopefully I will get the work I have for the boom mower done without breaking anything, and the lift arms will be installed so I can use a regular bush hog. I am not sure if this isn't too much mower for even this large a tractor.
The front tires are narrowed up about as narrow as they can get. Not sure why, or how much it effects the rear, but I may look into that as I get more familiar with the Ford. I haven't driven it, as I am looking for a manual for it, so I can get the right lubricants and figure out what all those levers do, plus work has me busy also.
David from jax