Help with adding weight.

varmint · Apr 21, 2016

Again, lots of advice, most of it relevant to the OP's questions. Seems like, for his purposes, some wheel spacers and a weight box would be the ticket. My home made weight box cost me about $100 for steel and fittings, plus some time welding and painting, but no big deal. I can add or remove rock as needed, and the whole thing comes right off, if rear weight won't be needed and I am concerned about compaction.

I am against calcium chloride because the wheels on our old L3130 were filled with it, and their were some serious corrosion issues where the tire and rim came together, which I was told were caused by the fill. Seemed like a correct assessment, but that's the extent of my knowledge.

Weight box: 2 x 2 x 1/4 angle, 1/2" ext. plywood, some scrap tube and part of an old trailer hitch. Only about 5-600 lbs, but enough. I find the chain racks very handy.

SPYDERLK · Apr 21, 2016

RedNeckRacin said:
12lb/gal for Rimguard is ALOT more than 8lb/gal for water. I don't know if you consider 50% more weight per gallon alot, but I sure do. One other thing, the highest weight by far is steel weights at around $1/lb where water is free.

My tires are 16.9-30 rears and take 73 gallons from messicks website. So for water that gives me 584lbs and rimguard gives me 876lbs. Difference of 292lbs per tire or 584lbs total. I can only add 198lbs/wheel in steel my manual says. Even now with rimguard and one set of weights, I still need a counterweight(1700lbs) to use the full capacity of my loader. YMMV.

Liquid Tire Ballast Chart

Rimguard is not 12 lbs per gallon. It is less than 11#. Less than 30% more than water. Water is free and totally convenient when you dont have significant freezing weather. PA would be a problem. I use it in central VA. OP is in Texas.

RedNeckRacin · Apr 22, 2016

SPYDERLK said:
Rimguard is not 12 lbs per gallon. It is less than 11#. Less than 30% more than water. Water is free and totally convenient when you dont have significant freezing weather. PA would be a problem. I use it in central VA. OP is in Texas.

"weighs just about the same as Calcium Chloride (10.7-11 lbs. per gallon)" ..... Rim Guard - Liquid Tire Ballast Product Information

Ok so I missed it by a lb, but that's still 30%! more than water. I still say that's significant! Don't forget that North Texas gets some serious freezing weather. It may not be on the gulf coast.

AxleHub · Apr 22, 2016

Coming from Wisconsin, antifreeze capabilities are an obvious need for tire loading.

But I'd have to question just how many states are not a concern for freezing ? It serms too many asdume Southern states are exempt from freezing yet each year the news proves that wrong. Atlanta Georgia had several substantial freeze situations in winter 2014 where many "running water fountains" froze solid . . not once . . but multiple times in the same winter. And "running " water is much harder to freeze than standing water. Houston Texas and Louisiana had freezing conditions this winter as did parts of Alabama and certainly the Carolinas. Tennessee and Kentucky on several occasions were colder than Wisconsin.

Now some may claim that mild freezing won't "harm" tractor tires . . but my point is thats what they said about Atlanta's fountains until it cost big money to repair them.

While Phoenix may not freeze . . many parts of Arizona do and that isn't just high country areas.

Loading tractor tires or lawn mower tires is not a temporary effort . . you do it for years of use. I personally would never use calcium chloride as runner, valve stems, and painted steel wheels are not immune to salts effects. And using straight water or some hazardous liquid that effects animals or humans or ground is not "saving" money imo. Its risk.

My dad smoked but I don't. My point is . . what farmers used on their heavy rubber farm tractors 50 years ago for loading weight . . is what they knew then . . today for scuts and small cuts we are more informed about alternate choices that don't present risk to our equipment or ourselves.

Jmho.

FTG-05 · Apr 22, 2016

OP is in TX. My bet is that he would have to go several hundred miles to the nearest Rimguard dealer. The closest one to me (SC TN) is north of the TN/KY border (per Rimguard).

We don't have much of a freezing problem here, probably pretty much the same as the OP. Hence, a couple gallons of RV antifreeze would suffice to keep water in the rear tires from freezing. I used 5 gallons of RV antifreeze per rear tire (about 55 gallons total, IRC), and 2 gallons for the front tires (12 gallons total).

Since the tire adapter is only $12 or so from the local farm store, I wouldn't even consider taking it to the dealer, do it yourself, it's easy. You need the adapter, a five gallon bucket, a small pump (a sump pump works fine, order one from HF if you have to), the RV antifreeze and of course, water. It takes less time to do it than to load up and tie down the tractor, much less the time to drive back and forth never mind the cost.

Concrete and steel wheel weights cost far less than $1/lb for steel and/or cast iron weights, at least around here. I did my own for about $150 ($100 for the lead weight), total of 500 lbs.

Definitely get your rear tires and wheels widened to their widest distance. I did and it made a huge difference in stability and "comfort-ness" when driving on steep slopes or sidehilling.

Good luck.

SPYDERLK · Apr 22, 2016

RedNeckRacin said:
"weighs just about the same as Calcium Chloride (10.7-11 lbs. per gallon)" ..... Rim Guard - Liquid Tire Ballast Product Information

Ok so I missed it by a lb, but that's still 30%! more than water. I still say that's significant! Don't forget that North Texas gets some serious freezing weather. It may not be on the gulf coast.

It is the incorporation of exaggeration to over strengthen a case that I take issue with. A greater % water fill will lessen the moderate weight deficiency, or add a little iron.
,,,There are problems with all the fills except water -- You get em and youre stuck with em. Water you just drain out on the ground, and refill from garden hose pressure as needed. The sensitivity of the freezing issue is emphasized in error. The key is the average of the day-nite temperature ... even a little less if the tractor is parked in the sun. Water does not freeze quickly. The large encapsulated volume forms a thin skin against the tire which either melts totally during the day or gets thicker with sustained cold temps. A tubeless tractor tire has no problem pulverizing a skin that you can get to crackle if you push on the tire side wall firmly by hand. Thicker is where theres cause for alarm and you would choose to let the tractor sit if possible, or else take preventive keep warmer measures.

,,,,, It takes a little experience to find the geographic/climate margin that makes the adjustment trivial. Im pretty darn close to it here. I cant help but think a TX location would be warmer.

RedNeckRacin · Apr 22, 2016

SPYDERLK said:
It is the incorporation of exaggeration to over strengthen a case that I take issue with. A greater % water fill will lessen the moderate weight deficiency, or add a little iron.
,,,There are problems with all the fills except water -- You get em and youre stuck with em. Water you just drain out on the ground, and refill from garden hose pressure as needed. The sensitivity of the freezing issue is emphasized in error. The key is the average of the day-nite temperature ... even a little less if the tractor is parked in the sun. Water does not freeze quickly. The large encapsulated volume forms a thin skin against the tire which either melts totally during the day or gets thicker with sustained cold temps. A tubeless tractor tire has no problem pulverizing a skin that you can get to crackle if you push on the tire side wall firmly by hand. Thicker is where theres cause for alarm and you would choose to let the tractor sit if possible, or else take preventive keep warmer measures.

,,,,, It takes a little experience to find the geographic/climate margin that makes the adjustment trivial. Im pretty darn close to it here. I cant help but think a TX location would be warmer.

What exaggeration? Rimguard weighs more than water. 37% more. I hardly see that as exaggeration. You know as well as I do that your tires are supposed to be filled to ~75%. Even if I filled my tires 100% full of water, I couldn't get the same weight as the Rimguard. I would still need to add a cast iron weight at a $/lb. In my case, even rimguard and a cast weight isn't enough. I still have a 1700lb counterweight.

The freezing is anything but an error.Not everyone lives in the tropics. Last winter in western pa we had atleast a week's worth of weather that was below 0 and several days of -15F. Your skim of ice is BS in that case. I can't plow snow with frozen tires. If you live in a temperate climate you may get away with it, you may not. I for one would not want to be buying replacement tires at a grand or more a clip or waiting till the spring thaw. Not everyone has the luxury of storing their machine in a heated garage either.

SPYDERLK · Apr 22, 2016

SPYDERLK said:
It is the incorporation of exaggeration to over strengthen a case that I take issue with. A greater % water fill will lessen the moderate weight deficiency, or add a little iron.
,,,There are problems with all the fills except water -- You get em and youre stuck with em. Water you just drain out on the ground, and refill from garden hose pressure as needed. The sensitivity of the freezing issue is emphasized in error. The key is the average of the day-nite temperature ... even a little less if the tractor is parked in the sun. Water does not freeze quickly. The large encapsulated volume forms a thin skin against the tire which either melts totally during the day or gets thicker with sustained cold temps. A tubeless tractor tire has no problem pulverizing a skin that you can get to crackle if you push on the tire side wall firmly by hand. Thicker is where theres cause for alarm and you would choose to let the tractor sit if possible, or else take preventive keep warmer measures.

,,,,, It takes a little experience to find the geographic/climate margin that makes the adjustment trivial. Im pretty darn close to it here. I cant help but think a TX location would be warmer.

RedNeckRacin said:
What exaggeration? Rimguard weighs more than water. 37% more. I hardly see that as exaggeration. You know as well as I do that your tires are supposed to be filled to ~75%. Even if I filled my tires 100% full of water, I couldn't get the same weight as the Rimguard. I would still need to add a cast iron weight at a $/lb. In my case, even rimguard and a cast weight isn't enough. I still have a 1700lb counterweight.

The freezing is anything but an error.Not everyone lives in the tropics. Last winter in western pa we had atleast a week's worth of weather that was below 0 and several days of -15F. Your skim of ice is BS in that case. I can't plow snow with frozen tires. If you live in a temperate climate you may get away with it, you may not. I for one would not want to be buying replacement tires at a grand or more a clip or waiting till the spring thaw. Not everyone has the luxury of storing their machine in a heated garage either.

Another exaggeration. 10.7/8.3 ~ 129% ... and obviously, if you need all the fluid weight you can get you would use 12#/G CaCl at 95% fill.

...As for the rest of your post - I cant really tell youre listening. Perhaps you have some question to ask about my conditional and experience based post?

TheMan419 · Apr 22, 2016

Good lord honey someone on the internet is wrong!

brasco426 · Apr 22, 2016

varmint said:
Again, lots of advice, most of it relevant to the OP's questions. Seems like, for his purposes, some wheel spacers and a weight box would be the ticket. My home made weight box cost me about $100 for steel and fittings, plus some time welding and painting, but no big deal. I can add or remove rock as needed, and the whole thing comes right off, if rear weight won't be needed and I am concerned about compaction.

I am against calcium chloride because the wheels on our old L3130 were filled with it, and their were some serious corrosion issues where the tire and rim came together, which I was told were caused by the fill. Seemed like a correct assessment, but that's the extent of my knowledge.

Weight box: 2 x 2 x 1/4 angle, 1/2" ext. plywood, some scrap tube and part of an old trailer hitch. Only about 5-600 lbs, but enough. I find the chain racks very handy.

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