Newbie terror, need experienced advice

[ericm979]

A box blade is ok for a counterweight. My 5.5' BB weighs 550lbs. It's been sufficient for my Branson but it's got loaded rear tires and Bransons are built heavy.
I'd like more.

A backhoe is heavy enough to be a counterweight but it's an expensive way to get one, will limit your manuverabilty and can be a pain to get on and off.

Another option is to make or buy a dedicated weight. One of these:
3 Point Ballast Weight Box Attachment For Tractor - Category 1 3pt Ballast Box Attachments For Sale (Free Shipping) Titan Attachments™
filled with concrete will give you about 1000 lbs. A lot of people have posted here about the weights they have made.

 

[bcp]

I believe a general rule is a counterweight of about 3/4 of loader lift capability.

Bruce

 

[Redlands Okie]

Box blade will help. They are a nice and useful counter weight. Normally the better the box blade is built the more it weighs and the more it cost.

Box blades, preferably with rippers ( adjustable teeth) are good for smoothing up areas, such as fixing ruts.

You can also carefully add weight to a box blade for more counter balance. Just be sure the log or whatever is attached way better than you think it will ever need to be.


Your instincts (concerns) about the tires coming off the ground and it being a problem is valid. Pay attention to those instincts. If your in doubt then STOP and do something different.

Use the seatbelt, ROP kept up, front end loader absolutely as low as you can at all times. Turning (steering) your front tires when the front end loader is full changes the balance of everything, often times a lot.

 

[BRMyers]

I use a box blade for counterweight and more than once it has come in handy as an implement that I needed to smooth out the ground while I have my grapple on and not the bucket.

 

[Deepdrop]

I appreciate all the suggestions. A box blade will be my first choice, since I'd like to get a useful tool out of this ballast purchase. But I would need it to really change the landscape, lowering high spots and filling low spots. The whole area is less than an acre, however there are a lot of rocks.
If a box blade is not up to that task, then I'll probably go with the ballast box that ericm979 suggested. It looks like a nice piece of equipment.

 

[shovelmike]

The hitch receiver on the back of the ballast box is handy too, allows you to tow a trailer easily or even attach a subsoiler to it.

 

[Big Barn]

I forgot to add: always travel with your load low to the ground.

 

[airbiscuit]

If a box blade isn't heavy enough for ballast, you could always build rack on it to pile on more weight (solid concrete block, railroad rail, etc.).

 

[Agvg]

And keep your 4WD engaged so you have brakes on the front wheels, suppose you have a manual 4WD without automatic engagement when braking.

 

[Jim Nelson]

A backhoe is not a good choice for ballast, especially for a newbie. They are usually more weight than needed and can get you in a lot of trouble real quick. Their place is digging trenches etc on flat ground. I have one for my B7800 and live on a very steep piece of property. If I need to travel on steep slopes I have enough experience to know that you need to swing the hoe to the uphill side so that it helps weight distribution rather than cause a run away or roll over. For me the box blade is usually plenty but more often than not I have a mower on the back and that works too. Also,very important, if you are going up or down a slope always have your tractor in 4 wheel drive.