DK45 Widen the stance ?

4bama1 · Dec 5, 2013

Just wondering if I can flip the hubs or swap sides with the front tires to get a wider stance! It feels very tippy when in off camber situations especially with the loader on.

Chris

DT86 · Dec 5, 2013

Well probably, a picture of your wheels will determine the answer.

lostcreekranch · Dec 5, 2013

Looks like standard front wheels are welded.

DK45SE HST Utility Tractor | Kioti Tractors

To reverse the wheel rim with the wheel hub you need front wheels as below.

kiotiken · Dec 5, 2013

There's several spacing options available and described in the owners manual. If you can go any wider depends on how it's set up now. I suspect yours is not as wide as it could be, mine feels solid on hills.

I'm just happy somebody posted something, never seen this section so quiet, getting a little eerie.

4bama1 · Dec 5, 2013

I bought the Tractor used and did not get an owners manual at the time but I will this week.
I called the dealer and asked he said it would be fine to swap the wheel sides and I did.Yet I still do not trust what dealers say completely so I am still looking for a definitive answer.
Here are pictures of the rim and pictures of the swapped sides look.

DT86 · Dec 5, 2013

That's as wide as she'll go. Just remember that you've created a longer lever by doing so.

What about the rears... Are they all the way out? All the way in?

You mentioned feeling tippy. What kind of ballast do you have?

4bama1 · Dec 5, 2013

That is plenty for me,I just wanted to make sure that this was fine to do.I can already tell the difference in stability on hilly sections.

k0ua · Dec 5, 2013

Do you have loaded tires? that helps a lot of sidehills.

4bama1 · Dec 5, 2013

My rear tires have water in them but not the front,should I put water in the front also!

CobyRupert · Dec 5, 2013

It's been discussed before, but doesn't widening the front help stabilize the tractor more ONLY IF you're in a situation where you've maxed out the pivot capacity of the front axle? Otherwise it doesn't do much?

There might always be the option of adding spacers between hub and wheel if you want to go wider?.

k0ua · Dec 5, 2013

4bama1 said:
My rear tires have water in them but not the front,should I put water in the front also!

generally it is not recommended to put fluid in the fronts.

4bama1 · Dec 5, 2013

It's wide enough now with just swapping the wheels from one side to the other.

ovrszd · Dec 5, 2013

CobyRupert said:
It's been discussed before, but doesn't widening the front help stabilize the tractor more ONLY IF you're in a situation where you've maxed out the pivot capacity of the front axle? Otherwise it doesn't do much?

That is correct. The stability of a tractor is primarily determined by the rear tires.

Wider fronts will spread the contact patch on the ground and make dropping a front tire in a shallow hole less noticeable.

But as to keeping the tractor from tipping over sideways, by the time a rear tire lifts to the point the front axle oscillation has hit the stop you will already be heading toward disaster. Been there many times, not pretty, makes you drop your FEL load very quickly!!!

Spend your time and energy stabilizing the rear wheels and let the front do it's job of oscillation.

ritcheyvs · Dec 5, 2013

ovrszd said:
That is correct. The stability of a tractor is primarily determined by the rear tires.

Wider fronts will spread the contact patch on the ground and make dropping a front tire in a shallow hole less noticeable.

But as to keeping the tractor from tipping over sideways, by the time a rear tire lifts to the point the front axle oscillation has hit the stop you will already be heading toward disaster. Been there many times, not pretty, makes you drop your FEL load very quickly!!!

Spend your time and energy stabilizing the rear wheels and let the front do it's job of oscillation.

+1 You won't get ANY stability from a wider front wheel span until a rear wheel is already off the ground, when it's almost too late.

4bama1 · Dec 6, 2013

Yes when it's almost to late,but that gives me another second to work with..**** look what Auburn did to us with one second left..:shocked:

I agree with the points ya'll are making and it may just be in my head but as I was traversing all the different types of terrain on my land yesterday it sure felt more stable.The rear tires are at their widest point unless I put spacers on it,I think I will leave that for later.

MotorSeven · Dec 6, 2013

ritcheyvs said:
+1 You won't get ANY stability from a wider front wheel span until a rear wheel is already off the ground, when it's almost too late.

I understand what y'all are saying, but a wider front stance physically has to contribute to more stability. It may not be much, but the angle to tip number would be greater(inmho). Here is more food for thought, wider will also put more stress on the front axle and it's gear box.....I don't know if it's something to lose sleep over though.

ovrszd · Dec 6, 2013

MotorSeven said:
I understand what y'all are saying, but a wider front stance physically has to contribute to more stability. It may not be much, but the angle to tip number would be greater(inmho). Here is more food for thought, wider will also put more stress on the front axle and it's gear box.....I don't know if it's something to lose sleep over though.

It only contributes to more stability when the front axle has oscillated to the stopper.

As to stress on the front axle assembly. My M9540 shows the widest recommended setting with the cupped center still turned in. Any setting wider than that is warned against as having too much stress on the axle assembly. I've attached a pic with mine set to the widest recommended setting.

MotorSeven · Dec 6, 2013

ovrszd said:
It only contributes to more stability when the front axle has oscillated to the stopper.

Well, I have to disagree. So if you have two identical tractors, one set up like Bama with his wide stance, the other with tricycle gear on the front. On flat level ground I agree, same amount of force would be required to flip each, but the trike gear would flip sooner. Now, put them on an incline facing down at an angle and I would have to bet the trike gear flips first with less force. Just thinking out loud here, not trying to be a erk with a "J"

ovrszd · Dec 6, 2013

MotorSeven said:
Well, I have to disagree. So if you have two identical tractors, one set up like Bama with his wide stance, the other with tricycle gear on the front. On flat level ground I agree, same amount of force would be required to flip each, but the trike gear would flip sooner. Now, put them on an incline facing down at an angle and I would have to bet the trike gear flips first with less force. Just thinking out loud here, not trying to be a erk with a "J"

No offense taken.

Again, the trike tractor versus wide front tractor, everything else equal, have the same tipping tendancies until the wide front oscillates to the stopper. Then the equation changes favoring the wide front. Before that it doesn't matter if the wide front tractor has it's front tires twenty feet apart. The weight of the tractor is balancing on the axle pivot.

Actually,,,, when I think about it,,,,, the trike tractor actually has an initial advantage because it's never pivoting on a small axle bushing. It's at a minimum pivoting on the two front tires which are 18" or so apart. But that advantage might be lost by the pivoting point being at the ground versus 18" high (depending on tractor size).

Makes my head hurt. Too much math....