Dealer charge for loading tires

[IndyIan]

Get the rears set as wide as they go instead of filled tires for $2k. I do have beet juice in mine too but setting them wide is a bigger help IMO. Get a nice heavy implement for your $2k when the back hoe is off.

 

[Blue Mule]

My dealer loads the rears with windshield washer fluid on every tractor they sell with a FEL as a company policy. After using the tractor with the FEL, I would never operate it without the tires filled. Heck, even with the tires filled it still needs ballast most of the time so I keep the box blade on it.

 

[alwaysworking]

I would tell them to keep the ballast and give you the $2 grand. You can load them yourself, Milton makes a tool to hook up a water hose to the valve stem. I have been running water in 2 tractors for over 20 years and have not rusted out a rim yet. I live in an area where it does not freeze though. I recommend ballast in the rears, it really lowers your center of gravity.

 

[dodge man]

On my previous tractor I didn’t have loaded tires and it was a little scary. The truth is exterior weights like a box blade, ballast box or heavy hitch is still need on the smaller tractors if the tires are loaded or not.

 

[Williy]

I load my tires with air very very cheap and I can do
it all by my self

We just had some rain with hard water balls don't
think we had any damage It was about a 2 min rain

willy

 

[oosik]

My new 2009 Kubota came with FEL and Rim Guard loaded rear tires. That was 14 years ago. He also set my rear agi rims at their widest setting. This has been the perfect setup for my situation.

 

[jonsstihl]

filled tires have their place. I had a b7800 with no ballast in the rear tires and I was always having to use the rear diff lock when I went into the woods.

after I had the tires filled with rim guard I hardly ever used the diff lock in the woods.

I think the smaller tractors benefit the most from filled tires especially with a loader. it definitely doesn't replace rear ballast when doing loader work but it really improves traction on rough ground.

 

[mo1]

The alternative is just to use the tires as they come. Most 4wd tractors have great traction without loading the tires. They ride nicer, and can always be loaded later if wanted. But Unloading loaded tires is more of a problem.

And then there are flats and slow leaks....fixing a nail puncture in an unloaded tractor tire is a no-brainer. Most tractor tires come mounted as tubeless, so insert sticky plug, air up, and the fix is permanent.

A leak in a loaded tire is a whole other ball game.

Traction probably has the most to do with what tires are on the tractor rather than if they are loaded or the tractor has MFWD or not. Loaded industrial tires or even worse, turfs, on a MFWD machine give less traction than air-filled ags on a 2WD in most cases. In my experience front tires get 95% or more of the tire leaks and flats, and it is usually only the rears that get loaded, so problems with loaded tires are usually not all that common.

I have yet to run into a dealership that does their own tires, everything gets done by local tire shops. Usually when you get a tractor you can get the rears filled with the usual fluid fill the local tire shop uses for no additional charge, the dealer will usually throw that into the negotiations. That used to be calcium chloride but has been methanol/water for quite some time. I would expect to pay if you wanted something other than the usual fill, such as beet juice. The local tire shop that does ag tires here not only doesn't fill tires with beet juice, they won't work on ones that have been filled with it as it's a big nasty mess for them to deal with.

 

[Hay Dude]

Traction probably has the most to do with what tires are on the tractor rather than if they are loaded or the tractor has MFWD or not. Loaded industrial tires or even worse, turfs, on a MFWD machine give less traction than air-filled ags on a 2WD in most cases. In my experience front tires get 95% or more of the tire leaks and flats, and it is usually only the rears that get loaded, so problems with loaded tires are usually not all that common.

I have yet to run into a dealership that does their own tires, everything gets done by local tire shops. Usually when you get a tractor you can get the rears filled with the usual fluid fill the local tire shop uses for no additional charge, the dealer will usually throw that into the negotiations. That used to be calcium chloride but has been methanol/water for quite some time. I would expect to pay if you wanted something other than the usual fill, such as beet juice. The local tire shop that does ag tires here not only doesn't fill tires with beet juice, they won't work on ones that have been filled with it as it's a big nasty mess for them to deal with.

I have found different results. Not really scientific comparisons, but we do a lot of hilly farming and field mowing.
On my field mowing tractor, my go-to used to be the Kubota M126X/M135X. Both of those tractors weigh about 11,000lbs and have practically new tires on them. Both have been sold and I replaced with a much heavier Challenger MT535B. It weighs about 15,000lbs. The tires on the Challenger are 50% at best. It will consistently climb hills better.
The only difference is weight. If it were soupy mud, I might prefer the lighter tractor with 90% tires, but we don’t farm or mow on soupy mud.
I have once specific hill where I have to reverse up the hill with a 15’ mower and the Kubota would spin & damage the ground with 80% rear tires. The heavier Challenger will push the mower backwards up the hill with very little slippage-even with 40% rear tires.
My findings have been weight is your best friend for traction and stability and that 1/2 worn tires with considerably more weight perform better than a light tractor with new tires.

I am a BIG believer in Ag tires with good tread, but have found weight helps me even more.

 

[RjCorazza]

I agree that if ground conditions allow, weight is king in traction issues. Going from a 3000 lb to a 7000 lb tractor was a game changer for my snow plowing duties.
I have loaded rears, but would never pay $2000 for it... That's robbery.

 

[Bronco82]

Good job finding the fine print in there and the exaggerated costs that some people may overlook and just write the cheque.

I did mine with plumbing antifreeze a number of years where we sometimes see -40 in the winter and no issues as of yet for a heck of a lot cheaper.

 

[arrow]

The alternative is just to use the tires as they come. Most 4wd tractors have great traction without loading the tires. They ride nicer, and can always be loaded later if wanted. But Unloading loaded tires is more of a problem.

And then there are flats and slow leaks....fixing a nail puncture in an unloaded tractor tire is a no-brainer. Most tractor tires come mounted as tubeless, so insert sticky plug, air up, and the fix is permanent.

A leak in a loaded tire is a whole other ball game.

I cannot fully agree with the assertion of "most 4wd tractors have great traction w/o loading". This is only to an extent.
Smaller subs and cuts with industrials or turfs have rather miserable traction without tire ballast.
Adding a cab and or backhoe provides significant tractor ballast.
Larger tractors with appreciable weight do well for the homeowner w/o tire ballast but even these benefit from loading.

Adding tire ballast alters a 4wd tractor into a different tractive machine more often than not.

 

[Smokeydog]

Different parts of country probably vary.

Local Kubota dealer in East Tennessee adds methanol rear ballast to any tractor with a loader.

They added ballast to my used B26 rears for $36. In hill county ballast improves balance and traction.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

My dealer charged a nominal fee to load the rear tires--I think it was about $400. The salesman said he would not see a tractor with a loader unless it had loaded tires, a backhoe or a ballast box. It was the best of the options from my perspective.

 

[Soloz2]

I would ask the dealer exactly what is included in the setup and fill tires line. My dealer had a line of about $1200 when I purchased my B2601 last month and it included all the things they did including paying their guys time to set up, go over, deliver, install the 3rd function kit, etc. I wanted R14 tires and the wait on R14s had no ETA so they bought another entire B2601 without loader from another dealer and swapped the tires out for me so I’m sure their overhead was just as much if not more than what they actually charged. I know they make money from the sale as well, but the dealer has to make money so they can pay all their guys a decent wage. Honestly, when I first saw it I was dubious, but talking to the dealer I got it and had no problem paying.

 

[CE2]

the tires in my tractor have beet juice in them right from the factory. I have the quick mount backhoe that I don’t leave on the tractor because I use mostly 3 point attachments. So I really need the loaded tires. Had a hole in on of the tires and had a construction tire company come out to fix It. The cost was $200 to fix the tire and fill the tire back up. The tire service truck had a tank of beet juice and be able to suck out and replace the beet juice in the tire.

 

[walnutman]

The alternative is just to use the tires as they come. Most 4wd tractors have great traction without loading the tires. They ride nicer, and can always be loaded later if wanted. But Unloading loaded tires is more of a problem.

And then there are flats and slow leaks....fixing a nail puncture in an unloaded tractor tire is a no-brainer. Most tractor tires come mounted as tubeless, so insert sticky plug, air up, and the fix is permanent.

A leak in a loaded tire is a whole other ball game.

Not so much about traction. Front end weight when you load the bucket with wet dirt or stone can cause the rear to go up in the air.

 

[redmt]

That is excessive for filling tires. When I bought mine, I asked the dealer to fill mine as part of the deal (no extra cost). If the dealer won’t back out that charge, then decline tire ballast and take your tractor to a truck and equipment tire shop. They will fill tires for a lot less.

 

[redmt]

I have never used anything but water. Straight water. Buy a fill valve from Amazon Jungle and do it yourself. You will save $1990.00.

 

[ptsg]

My dealer filled my rear tires for free. I didn't even ask nor I had even thought about that at the time since I didn't have the loader nor plans to build it yet. They knew I was going to work a lot on the hills so they just did it. I'm glad they did.

So far I only had one puncture on the rear tires. It wasn't a big deal at all. Took the entire wheel out, loaded on the truck. Drove 5 miles to the tire shop. €10 and 15 minutes later, I was ready to go with a patch on the tube and the tire filled with straight water again. Nice and easy.

Could I use wheel weights instead? Sure. Am I going to pay the crazy prices they ask for them when I have pretty much a alternative? No way!