Cheap Wheel Weights

[Iplayfarmer]

Anyone have any ideas for some cheap wheel weight? I can get the OEM weights for my Iseki, but they're not cheap to begin with, and they've got to cost a fortune to ship.

I've filled my box blade with snow all winter without much of a problem, but now that I'm trying to grade dirt and gravel I lose traction whenever I let the blade down.

I'd kind of like something removable, so I want something other than liquid in the tires.

 

[Soundguy]

Make some forms outta cardboard.. cast them with concrete and a piece o' rebar for strength.. add some long carriage bolts with the heads burried deep in the mix, but sticking out, to bolt up to your rims... leave room for lugnuts if on the outside.. or turning radious if on instde fronts..

Cast concrete weights were more common in the 'old' farming days. i know of at least one tractor ( steam? oil fired?).. that was designed to have a cast concrete ring in the rear wheels for weight.. etc... it was in an issue of farm collector.. or antique power.. big sucker..

Soundguy

 

[JerryG]

Here is what I did and it was a lot cheaper than OEM.

 

[HGM]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Make some forms outta cardboard.. cast them with concrete and a piece o' rebar for strength.. add some long carriage bolts with the heads burried deep in the mix, but sticking out, to bolt up to your rims... leave room for lugnuts if on the outside.. or turning radious if on instde fronts..

Cast concrete weights were more common in the 'old' farming days. i know of at least one tractor ( steam? oil fired?).. that was designed to have a cast concrete ring in the rear wheels for weight.. etc... it was in an issue of farm collector.. or antique power.. big sucker..

Soundguy )</font>

Good suggestion Chris... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gifI like it and will look into it for my YM2000... What do you think, 100# per side? You mentioned inside the front tires, why not outside /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif?

 

[Bedlam]

I tried to find the previous post Where someone took the wheel off and laid it flat on the ground,placing plastic in it, to make a "form" that contoured to the wheel. Then as the other poster said use bolts through it to make it removable. Then pour concrete into the form and let sit till hard.I haven't used this method, but like it. Seems like it would be a tight fit
Hope this helps.
Al

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Jerry,
Just curious how much your weights ended up being? I remember the picture just not what they weighed /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

scotty

 

[JerryG]

I have 200 lbs. on each side for 400 lbs. total. It all cost about $350 with the plates. When I needed them, I didn't have a welder at the time so had to have someone else make the attachment plates which ran the cost up.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I'm liking the concrete idea. Especially the part about using the wheel as a form. My only concern is that I'd end up with the concrete as a permanent fixture on the wheel.

So how much does concrete weigh and how much weight should I put on the rear tires? It's a little 18hp tractor that currently weighs in under a ton with FEL and tiller.

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( What do you think, 100# per side? )</font>

100 in the front is fine.. twice that in the rear though.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( You mentioned inside the front tires, why not outside ? )</font>

I actually referred to both.. as in.. leave room for the lugnuts if you mount it out.. or room to clear the spindles on the inside.

Lots of front weights are mounted to the inside, on the fronts.. ford s are like that. though many are ont e outside as well.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[Bedlam]

Let me add about the concrete wheel weights. The reason for the plastic between the wheel and the concrete, it to allow it to be removed. Its just a form barrier.You want to make some bolts or holes that you would use to "attach" it to the wheel afterwards. And as stated, also us a can of some sort to make a center . Allowing you access to the wheel lugs.Myself, If the lugs were tight, and you didnt make the inside hub, you shouldnt worry . You could alwasy take the concrete weights off to get the wheel off. Which you probably would want to do any way to reduce the weight of the wheels with removal.Perhaps using a piece of 1/2 pvc pipe or the like, to form the holes for the bolts would help.Ill try to find the previoius post about it and post it.
Allan

 

[jimmysisson]

Concrete weighs about 130 lbs per cubic foot give or take. One thing I'd be careful about is having a way to remove the concrete weight without breaking it or your leg. Maybe some kind of ring cast in you can hook a come-along onto. Also figure a way so that when the weights shifts a little on its bolts it doesn't grind the paint then steel off your wheels. I like the loaded tires myself, but I'm not mowing lawns either. Please post pics of your finished product.
Jim

 

[chanceu]

I originally picked up four 50lb weight plates at a local used sporting equipment store (Play It Again Sports). The plates ended up being too big to go inside the wheel and too small to hit the outer rim. I exchanged them for 25lb plates which fit nicely inside the wheel, against the lug bolts and are just larger than the weight bolt holes.

I am planning on adding up to 100lb max to each wheel and four 25lb plates will fit just inside the plane of the outer rim of the wheel. Four plates on each wheel should give me a lot of flexibility with the amount of wheel weight depending on what's on the back.

The first problem with this is that I was only able to get two 25lb plates and am at the mercy of what other people sell to the store to get the remaining MATCHING six.

The second problem was figuring out how to mark where the holes needed to be drilled. I finally took the wheel off and centered (eyeballed) the weight plate on the back wheel to get this done. I just did this last night, so it will probably be this weekend before I finish.

There are so many different brands, weights, sizes, and shapes of these plates, it's pretty easy to find something that will work. The used plates, no matter what size, were $0.34/lb. I figure by the time I'm I collect all eight plates plus the nuts/bolts/washers, I will spend $0.40+/- per pound versus $1.00+ per pound for factory weights.

 

[goaliedad]

I've used bar bell weights to help hold down a cheap back blade- I have a paved driveway, front mount snowblower and back blade, but the back blade is pretty light- I picked up about 100 lbs of bar bell weights from a thrift store- mounted a bar across the frame, and now the blade has some bite!