Rim guard or not? Why a ballast box instead of boxblade?

[Hermio]

I see a lot of people buying 3 point ballast boxes or making ballast containers out of drums to attach to their 3 point hitch.

I have never really grasped why not just keep a box blade on the back so you could have not just a weight, but something that can be used should you wish to drag something? I have seen some weld a section of railroad rail onto the top of a box blade to make it heavier.

Also, rimguard is something I have considered, but I am also not sure about this because it seems I can do everything I need to do without rimguard and it will just increase the amount of weight when I trailer the tractor or perhaps increase ruts when on soft lawns.. I have thought rimguard would be good when using my ditch bank flail mower, but so far, I haven't found myself in any situation I would consider to have been tippy.

So, is there anyone here that added rimguard to their tires and regretted it?

One thing to keep in mind is that Rimguard does not put additional load on the rear axle, so it will not reduce bearing life. Any ballast attached to the 3-point hitch will increase bearing load and decrease life.

 

[kpsp50]

Argument for ballast weight.... Dead Deere weighs in at 520 pounds ... 1715 weighs in at about 1400 pounds and has 580 pound FEL lift capacity....

Good post just be careful your frame is heavy enough so you don't split your tractor in the middle which I have seen

 

[Hermio]

I don't use rim guard etc. because I don't believe that a front wheel assist tractor under 60 hp needs it for any reason. Others will definitely disagree with me and that's fine. I've just found I don't need it at all.

I use cast iron on the 3 point because I had it. Otherwise I would have gone with a barrel or some other solid weight as an implement hanging out the back makes the tractor too long for tight spots.

Interesting note is that I used to have 1000 lbs hanging on the 3 point. When I added the quick attach I found it was too much weight so took off 400 lbs. When digging with 1000 lbs the front end loader could hardly dig into the soil. It was just too annoying.

I use my quick hitch for logging. Since it weighs only about 80#, it is no good for ballast. The 1350# I get in my tires from Rimguard helps a lot. I run it isn 4WD wen logging. My front loader is quite heavy with a 4-way blade, so it never does wheelies.

 

[RoyJackson]

One thing to keep in mind is that Rimguard does not put additional load on the rear axle, so it will not reduce bearing life. Any ballast attached to the 3-point hitch will increase bearing load and decrease life.

Maybe, but rear tire ballast doesn't move the pivot point of any load on the front axle, appreciatively. Weight on the 3PH does, thus reducing wear and tear on the front axle, steering gear, etc.

 

[ovrszd]

It always gave me an uneasy feeling working around hedgerows, barbed wire fences, longer stickers, etc.
One sidewall puncture and you got a mess to deal with.
Wheel weights will never cause you problems.

As mentioned before, it’s different for everyone. I run in territory dangerous to tires. If you don’t, then rim guard is ok.

How many sidewall punctures have you had?

 

[BeezFun]

I routinely have to move trailers around and a ballast box has to be removed to do that. Here's the ballast I made, I don't have to remove it to tow a trailer and it allows me to clearly see to hook up.

 

[WranglerX]

I'm a little cheap when it comes to a ballast box, because then it has to be filled with something and doesn't move around easily unless you put a furniture dolly underneath when you take it off, I was at a auction and bought those weights that are used for calibrating scales, they weigh 50lbs each bought 6 @8 dollars a piece, used 5, slid my draw bar through the center and attached it to my quick hitch which weighs 75lbs, now I have 325 lbs of counter weight for my 6ft. snow blade.

Not really I have a dedicated location with wood "pallet" my ballast box sits on when not on tractor..... IF you tip over a 500-600 ballast box once, you will understand about dedicated parking spot....

 

[fishhead]

Argument for ballast weight.... Dead Deere weighs in at 520 pounds ... 1715 weighs in at about 1400 pounds and has 580 pound FEL lift capacity....

Maybe my eyesight is going but is that photoshopped?
I don't see anything keeping the rear of the deere from dropping. No straps, chain etc.
Plus if the loader rating is accurate i would think that having load close to the rating that far from the pins on the loader would make it a no go.
Agree with the point being made though

 

[WranglerX]

Maybe my eyesight is going but is that photoshopped?
I don't see anything keeping the rear of the deere from dropping. No straps, chain etc.
Plus if the loader rating is accurate i would think that having load close to the rating that far from the pins on the loader would make it a no go.
Agree with the point being made though

NOT PHOTOSHOPPED... JD has a low front bumper designed to keep from bumping into trees and rocks and cracking plastic hood.... Discovered bumper wedges under lip of FEL when it died on most remote back corner of property (naturally most inconvenient place) and I had to move/drag it down to shop .... Yes its all just wedges and leverages and balance.

Keep in mind that this set of graphics was carefully setup for photo shoot only I don't usually push little tractor beyond its limits, I have learned if tractor says no, then I don't do it....

 

[Joe Batt]

I used a 60" rotary mower for ballast when moving round bales with the FEL on my Massey Ferguson 1250 for 15 years. My source for bales changed and they are now heavier causing lifting them into the loft to become scary. I loaded up the tires with rimguard. Huge difference. Much, much better than just using a big mower for ballast. Instead of squishy tires giving me the bouncy feeling of floating on water, its more like the tires are velcroed to the ground.

I will never but a utility tractor without filled tires again.

 

[WranglerX]

Good post just be careful your frame is heavy enough so you don't split your tractor in the middle which I have seen

Loader specs state 870 Pound lift capability at pivot points, and 580 pound at 20 inches in front of pivot point.... I'm sure tractor frame and loader dimension are within safe operating specs as to not damage tractor.... Frame rails are folded steel and I'm sure it will bend long before it breaks or tears away from HST...

 

[HAR]

Good post just be careful your frame is heavy enough so you don't split your tractor in the middle which I have seen

That was my first thought when I saw that photo

 

[jedjoe]

I have had rimguard on my tractor since I bought it in 2003. It has had no impact whatsoever on my rear tires (now coming up on 19 years). Not sure why you would NOT want to have it installed. Okay, it adds rear weight when perhaps not necessary, but for most people, that is rarely a problem and greatly offset by the value of the rear weight without attachments. To be fair, I rarely detach my FEL, so that front weight (even without a load in it) balances things nicely.

 

[Paul in TN]

I use rear cutter for ballast. It’s easy to remove and besides it keeps others from using the tractor because it’s hard to maneuver.

 

[quarencia]

The primary purpose of ballast is to increase lateral stability. (prevent sideways tipping i.e. roll over). Tractors have a high center of gravity to start with and it’s only worse with a loader. Rear ballast (filled tires and/or three point weights) accomplish this by keeping the rear tires on the ground AND by lowering & centralizing the CG. Keeping the rear tires down is important because most tractors have pivoting front axles that provide no lateral stability. But even with the rear tires firmly planted, a high load on uneven ground or when cornering can easily tip a tractor with insufficient rear ballast. A good rear ballast should lower the CG and maximize lateral stability. In engineering speak this is increasing the lateral moment of inertia. To do this, weight should be as low and as close to the centerline of the tractor as possible. This is why a ballast box is better than a box blade. A box blade distributes the weight over a long distance across the back of the tractor with a significant portion outside the rear tires. Assuming the center of weight is the same distance behind the tractor and at the same height, a tractor with a 300# ballast box is more stable than a tractor with a 300# box blade.

Pound for pound, the ballast box is more stable and safer than a box blade. I’m not saying using a box blade (or any other implement) is unsafe. Just comparing the relative safety of the two.

 

[Whitetail62]

I see a lot of people buying 3 point ballast boxes or making ballast containers out of drums to attach to their 3 point hitch.

I have never really grasped why not just keep a box blade on the back so you could have not just a weight, but something that can be used should you wish to drag something? I have seen some weld a section of railroad rail onto the top of a box blade to make it heavier.

Also, rimguard is something I have considered, but I am also not sure about this because it seems I can do everything I need to do without rimguard and it will just increase the amount of weight when I trailer the tractor or perhaps increase ruts when on soft lawns.. I have thought rimguard would be good when using my ditch bank flail mower, but so far, I haven't found myself in any situation I would consider to have been tippy.

So, is there anyone here that added rimguard to their tires and regretted it?

I made a cheap counterbalance out of an old 55 gallon drum. I just drilled a hole through it to accommodate an old drawbar I wasn’t using anymore to attach the 3 point arms to and stuck a couple of pieces of angle iron in the top to attach the top link to. Filled it with concrete and I haven’t lost much maneuverability as far a tail swing, plus plenty of grab in the rear tires if you need to push brush or trees. I haven’t had to fill my tires so far.

 

[Gord Baker]

View attachment 726394
Sometimes an implement striking objects behind you can distract you in dangerous operations/situations

 

[FERLING]

A box blade really isn’t heavy enough for sufficient ballast on its own without liquid tires or iron weights.

8 foot box blade usually does a good job if your tractor can handle it. If your loader has enough power to pickup rear of tractor with 8 ft box blade you may be overloading your front axle on a four wheel drive tractor. 8 ft box blade with loaded rear tires offsets front loader NH621 on Workmaster 50. When the rear wheels loose traction you are stressing equipment, as well as operator to the limit.
Eample: Forks loaded to maximum and going down a hill. You find out what your front axle is made of plus how much your britches will hold. You will only do that once in your life.

 

[jedjoe]

an excellent point quarencia

 

[RoyJackson]

I have had rimguard on my tractor since I bought it in 2003. It has had no impact whatsoever on my rear tires (now coming up on 19 years). Not sure why you would NOT want to have it installed. Okay, it adds rear weight when perhaps not necessary, but for most people, that is rarely a problem and greatly offset by the value of the rear weight without attachments. To be fair, I rarely detach my FEL, so that front weight (even without a load in it) balances things nicely.

Main thing, filled tires add stability to an inherently unstable machine.
All my tractors have had filled tires, but for stability, not as counterweight