B2601 Wheel spacers... where do i get them? what model number? also how wide?

[rrasi]

hey guys! i just got a new b2601. i would like to make her a little more stable.
id like to make here 4-5 inches wider... is that too wide?
what model number and where should i get these?

-thanks

 

[jeff9366]

Bro Tec in Canada is the premier supplier. Very high quality material and workmanship.

Three inches wider on each rear wheel will cost about $300 in Bro Tek parts, plus local installation.

Do not fill tires AND add wheel weights with spacers. One or the other, not both.


LINK: Bro-Tek

 

[TripleR]

Bro Tec in Canada is the premier supplier. Very high quality material and workmanship.

Three inches wider on each rear wheel will cost about $300 in Bro Tek parts, plus local installation.

Do not fill tires AND add wheel weights with spacers. One or the other, not both.

LINK: Bro-Tek

Not arguing, just wondering why, I've done this on both my BXs?

 

[rrasi]

Bro Tec in Canada is the premier supplier. Very high quality material and workmanship.

Three inches wider on each rear wheel will cost about $300 in Bro Tek parts, plus local installation.

Do not fill tires AND add wheel weights with spacers. One or the other, not both.


LINK: Bro-Tek

THANKS!
$300 for spacers seems a little high when you think about it. Surely someone else makes them at a better value. Hoping someone else found them a little cheaper.

Also not exactly how wide i want to make this machine. My goal is to make it more stable when going sideways on my hill. I'm thinking 2.5 per side would be nice but i hope it won't be too wide.

 

[Gem99ultra]

THANKS!
$300 for spacers seems a little high when you think about it. Surely someone else makes them at a better value. Hoping someone else found them a little cheaper.

Also not exactly how wide i want to make this machine. My goal is to make it more stable when going sideways on my hill. I'm thinking 2.5 per side would be nice but i hope it won't be too wide.

Hopefully you will be able to overcome the urge to go cheap on the wheel spacers. Bro-Tek makes the very best - more like a piece of jewelry. And they come with everything you need to install them.

But, if you just want 'cheap', check eBay. There's a pile of them on there, and they're probably almost worth what you pay for them - if you're lucky.

On the other question, I don't think 3" is too wide. The B2601 is pretty stable machine already, compared to the "L series", but the 3" should be a joy to drive with 3" extra on each side. We'll of course, need pictures after you've installed them, be it 2.5" or 3".

 

[AStanton]

I bought Kubota spacers from the dealer--added 1.5" to each side. I needed the space to allow for tire chains.

 

[trihounds]

THANKS!
$300 for spacers seems a little high when you think about it. Surely someone else makes them at a better value. Hoping someone else found them a little cheaper.

Also not exactly how wide i want to make this machine. My goal is to make it more stable when going sideways on my hill. I'm thinking 2.5 per side would be nice but i hope it won't be too wide.

Don't forget - the prices you see are $CDN so you'll spend 25% - 30% less with US currency, assuming you are in the USA.

 

[JWR]

I have a bit different perspective: 1) I have no idea why you would not use both wheel spacers and filled rear tires. Whatever that is needs explanation to be credible. 2) Kubota has never recognized the portion of their user base that sometimes needs to operate on steep ground. Therefore they have never made their tractors with enough available rear wheel spacing. Just look at Deere, New Holland and Massey for contrasts. 3) I use Bora brand spacers, 6" each side, on my B2150. They are very well made, exact fit. The co. is very knowledgeable fo the idiosyncrasies of Kubota. They made the difference between a machine being skitish to unusable on a 40% slope to one that is very comfortable and safe doing so. They cost me $520 for the set of 2 spacers & I have never regretted the investment. 4) In shopping for the Bora spacers I also looked at Bro-Tek and Hansen. I think all of them are good. Some design use welded steel, amounting to 2 round plates with tubes in between. Others including my Boras are solid aluminum billets that are machined to fit the task.

Mine are 6" per side which is about as much as you can get. They are NOT compatible with the mid-mount mower by the way !

Here is a set of steel ones on an L3400.

View attachment 512101

These are my Bora's on the B2150.

View attachment 512102

 

[jeff9366]

$300 for spacers seems high when you think about it. Surely someone makes them at a better value. Hoping someone else found them a little cheaper.

Also not exactly how wide i want to make this machine. My goal is to make it more stable when going sideways on my hill. I'm thinking 2.5 per side would be nice but i hope it won't be too wide.

Wheel spacers are intermittently under tremendous stress, particularly on hills. That is why it is OK to fill tires OR add wheel weights, but not both, WHEN MAIN USE WILL BE ON SLOPES.
'
If a wheel comes off on a slope the tractor is going to roll over and either mangle or kill you. SPEND THE MONEY FOR BRO-TEK'S EXPERTISE in this specialty application.

Purchase as wide as you can. Bro Tec's spacers support standard axles of designated tractors 100%.

Another option is to install Turf tires, which are generally at least 16" wide. Requires new rims as well as new tires.

You would be better off had you purchased an L2501, rather than the B2601.

 

[sandman2234]

I have a homemade set of wheel spacers to put duals on a subcompact tractor. Worked great, took them off, sold the tractor, still have them. Now I am considering buying the tractor back, lol. (Unless this current tractor purchase bankrupts me, lol.
Not a hard project for a machine shop if you know any machinists.
David from jax

 

[Citydude]

I have over 300 hours on rear 6" spacers with loaded tires that have constantly been on severe slopes. Not saying I'll never have an issue though. Is there a thread where an axle failed due to spacers somewhere? I can't seem to remember one.

 

[jeff9366]

There have been a couple threads posted where wheels failed with spacers + liquid in tires + iron wheel weights, in triple combination.

OP specified he needs to mow across slopes. Strain on downhill wheel will be heavy, perhaps double strain on level ground, perhaps MORE. Add tire liquid and cast wheel weights and there will be a very heavy load on downhill spacer. Should tractor begin to roll, liquid tire ballast will shift, making roll inevitable.

This is a SAFETY issue with potentially mortal consequences. Not prudent to explore close to boundaries.

OP's "B" has a lot less beef than your "L".

 

[Citydude]

There have been a couple threads posted where wheels failed with spacers + liquid in tires + iron wheel weights in triple combination. OP specified he needs to mow across slopes. Strain on downhill wheel will be heavy, perhaps double strain on level ground, perhaps MORE. Add in liquid and cast wheel weights and there will be a very heavy load on downhill spacer. This is a SAFETY issue with potentially mortal consequences. Not prudent to explore close to boundaries. OP's "B" has a lot less beef than your "L".

OK, Thanks Jeff.

 

[TripleR]

Might be worth reading: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/safety/258251-question-about-wheel-spacers-increase.html

I haven't found any technical articles or warnings on using wheel spacers with in addition to fluid or weights, but will keep looking.

 

[sandman2234]

Hmmm, my subcompact broke the axle within 4 hours after selling it to a friend. The Ford 7710 I purchased ran dual wheels, it had also broken not one, but two axles on the same side six months apart. (had a boom mower that they always ran hanging off that side...
The advantages might outweigh the disadvantages, but you might want to consider what happens if you break an axle while on a hillside!!
David from jax

 

[TripleR]

"Correlation is not causation"

I've found anecdotal evidence pretty unreliable, would like to see some scientific evidence just out of curiosity.

 

[JWR]

There have been a couple threads posted where wheels failed with spacers + liquid in tires + iron wheel weights, in triple combination.

OP specified he needs to mow across slopes. Strain on downhill wheel will be heavy, perhaps double strain on level ground, perhaps MORE. Add tire liquid and cast wheel weights and there will be a very heavy load on downhill spacer. Should tractor begin to roll, liquid tire ballast will shift, making roll inevitable.

This is a SAFETY issue with potentially mortal consequences. Not prudent to explore close to boundaries.

OP's "B" has a lot less beef than your "L".

Jeff: First a question -- Where did you get the warning against using liquid filled rear tires and wheel spacers? I assume you have a good source but I never heard of that restriction. While waiting to hear the source, I'll comment a bit. I see no logical reason why there would be any great or unusual forces on an axle due to liquid filled tires. The wheel spacer is nothing but and extended axle. You said if the tractor begins to roll, tire ballast will shift making roll inevitable. Shift where? Liquid is slightly below center due to air in the top of the tire so are you talking about the liquid shifting up higher in the tire ? That's a lot of questionable speculation. For one thing if the tractor has tipped over enough that the liquid shifts to the top of the tire you already turned over just before that happened. Wheel weights or liquid will put some great stress on the downhill spacer? Nonsense -- no more than an equal amount of weight like an implement or anything of similar weight fastened to the tractor. Besides all that, the cg of the liquid in the tire is just below the axle center and that sort of weight helps on hillsides. I have to admit, Jeff, I'm a skeptic on your theory.

In the couple of threads you recalled you said WHEELS FAILED ? Was that a typo ?

 

[HillStreet]

You paid $20k for a tractor and you want to save $100 on spacers. I have two tractors with dealer installed spacers (1.5 inches each side). Good quality, no problems.

 

[KennyV]

Any machine shop can make steel spacers for a very reasonable price, Rear wheel spacers are not going to fail, the fasteners used on a spacer need to be of a good grade... they will not reduce the amount of weight you can carry on any safe slope... Tire & wheel ballast only increases stability.
(the center hole of a wheel, being fitted on a hub or spacer is as important as well fitted bolts)...

 

[LarJea]

I bought 2 1/2" wheel spacers for my B2601 from an outfit called Motorsport-Tec two years ago. Made a night and day difference mowing hills and ditches with the swing out verge mower.
Also my rear tires are filled with beet juice and I see no problem running them with spacers as the fluid in the tires put no weight on the axles.