Ballast John Deere Ballast Box

[hoghead]

Does anyone have the exact dimensions for a John Deere ballast box. I was going to buy one with my new 4300 but I thought I could make one myself. I have access to all the sheet metal I need and have a welder and shop.I see a picture of it in the loader manual with and without the extension, but I need exact dimensions.I figure some of you tractorheads out there will be able to help me.

Hoghead

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hoghead,

Looked thru a bunch of JD info, and could find no linear dims. for the box,... wts.(loaded) only.

Unless you really want to "duplicate' their box though, I can't imagine that the exact dimensions need to be matched. (A rotary-mower is quite a different shape from a backhoe, but both serve as ballast quite well! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

With the idea in mind that lower/further-back = better "ballast" effect (within the 3-pt. lift capacity of the tractor), maybe a wider box would serve well. Something more like a box-scraper-with-4-sides?

Only disadvantage I can think of re. "wider" is a little more "rear-fender" room required for manuevering.

...just some thoughts /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif ,

Larry

 

[hoghead]

Larry
Right now I am using my bush hog ath-720 finish mower for ballast, but I wanted something a little more compact. It weighs over 500lbs.

Hoghead<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by hoghead on 03/31/01 11:00 AM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[jyoutz]

Just measure your other implements to get the 3 point spacing. Most 3 points have about 26" between the lift arm pins. The toplink pin is situated anywhere from 18 -21" above the lift arm pin. I would make the box slightly less than the rear wheel width of your tractor and not over 24" in length. Make the depth of the box as deep as you can pick up with the 3 point, without dragging in the dirt (allowing for working on dirt piles and uneven ground). Well, that's my suggestion on how to do it. Or if these ideas don't work, you can always sneak down to your local JD dealer with a tape measure in hand.

 

[RobS]

HH, check out Mike Simpsons tractor hacker pages (search or check the FAQ on CTB) for a concrete weight. The one he made is very professional looking and you could adjust the volume of concrete to get whatever weight you want. I too considered the JD box, then thought of making one, and now I just use my box blade since it's so handy to have back there anyway /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[SteveV]

Do you mean something like this (attachment)?? SteveV

 

[SteveV]

It started out pretty ugly (attachment)./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif SteveV

 

[Anonymous Poster]

No dimensions, but this is from the JD parts manual...

PC 2664-410, 420, 430 AND 460 LOADERS ATTACHMENTS

BALLAST BOX
KEY PART NO. PART NAME QTY SERIAL NO. L REMARKS

1 M94072 PANEL 2 X
2 19H1900 CAP SCREW 12 X 5/16" X 3/4"
3 12H303 LOCK WASHER 12 X 5/16"
4 14H785 NUT 12 X 5/16"
5 AM107807 PANEL 1 X
6 M94071 PANEL 1 X
7 BW13661 EXTENSION 1 X
8 AR62150 QUICK LOCK PIN 3 X (SUB FOR CH11729)
9 CH11409 PIN 1 X
10 TY24479 SMV EMBLEM 1 X
11 BW14701 BOX 1

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Steve... a very very nice job! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

How much does your ballast weigh?

 

[SteveV]

It's a 16 in cube which figures to 355 pounds. This would be plus the steel work minus the tapers and roundings. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif SteveV