Filled Tires or Ballast Box?

FTG-05 · Apr 16, 2021

mwemaxxowner said:
It's a Kubota BX 1880 (18hp), HST. I don't have any hills here on my little acre!

I keep reading these are more limited by weight than they are horsepower, so I ordered it with wheel weights. My dealer told me he's gonna fill my tires too, so I went with it. I figure I can easily remove the wheel weights. The tires are small, so they don't add that much ballast, and the wheel weights are 50 lbs each, but rolled into the tractor package and financed in.

About 8 gallons per rear tire, about 65 lbs each if filled with water; 80 lbs each if filled with Rimguard. Still better than a sharp stick in the eye.

mwemaxxowner · Apr 16, 2021

ProfJeff · Apr 17, 2021

I just did this on my GC1735E. I did the tires first, they ended up at 110# each. I noticed that it helped settle the tractor some so that it was not quite so bouncy. It was "better" but still felt tippy with the front end loader on my hilly property. I have since added 480# on a heavy hitch so about 550# total to the rear and it's a whole new machine. Because my yard is so hilly, I am going to need some weight even with mowing. I think having the mid mount deck will help a lot, I had to take it off for tree and dirt work due to ground clearance, but 200# sitting that low should help. How hilly? It makes me nervous the entire time I am not going straight up. I did some measuring and almost all of it is 10-15 degrees, with some areas closer to 20. See attached, with my helper.