L3800 spacers, any negative effects long term?

[RaydaKub]

My bro-i-l has an L3800. This is his first winter with it that he's lived where he needs to plow snow. His first lesson is that he wanted a plow instead of a bucket. The second lesson was that sometimes the plow was not usable for drifts 5 feet deep or more. The third lesson was that he needed chains. He got some 2 link ladders for the fronts and some of the diamond-shaped studded chains for the rear. This led to the fourth lesson that he needs spacers on the rears.

He is looking at the 3 inch spacers to give him plenty of room because these chains seem to require more room than a ladder chain does. Before he gets them (leaning toward Bro-Tek at the moment), he wanted me to ask about any long term negative effects of having the spacers installed. Kubota, despite selling a kit of some kind already, refused to give him any info or assurance that this is ok. His intent is to not only leave the spacers on, but the rear chains all year round because they are such a pain to put on. He is 15 miles from any paved road, most of the use is on gravel or just a dirt path on national forest land, or his own prairie.

Anybody had any problems they could attribute directly to spacers? TIA, friends.

 

[rbtjr]

We had 4" spacers on each rear wheel on our L3800. We did it for increased stability, not to accommodate chains. We had no problems as a result that I know of, although we didn't have the L3800 for a long time or put lots of hours on it. Before I bought the spacers I checked with our main contact at our Kubota dealership from which we bought the L3800. I asked our contact to ask the service department if they thought the spacers would cause problems. The answer was no, not so far as they knew. I had them install the spacers.

 

[Locoweed]

I have several hundred hours on a B2620 with 4" spacers & no problems.

 

[dangier_VA]

I have 3 years and 100 hours on 4" rear spacers on my L3901HST with no issues (includes plowing snow with chains).

 

[SDT]

My bro-i-l has an L3800. This is his first winter with it that he's lived where he needs to plow snow. His first lesson is that he wanted a plow instead of a bucket. The second lesson was that sometimes the plow was not usable for drifts 5 feet deep or more. The third lesson was that he needed chains. He got some 2 link ladders for the fronts and some of the diamond-shaped studded chains for the rear. This led to the fourth lesson that he needs spacers on the rears.

He is looking at the 3 inch spacers to give him plenty of room because these chains seem to require more room than a ladder chain does. Before he gets them (leaning toward Bro-Tek at the moment), he wanted me to ask about any long term negative effects of having the spacers installed. Kubota, despite selling a kit of some kind already, refused to give him any info or assurance that this is ok. His intent is to not only leave the spacers on, but the rear chains all year round because they are such a pain to put on. He is 15 miles from any paved road, most of the use is on gravel or just a dirt path on national forest land, or his own prairie.

Anybody had any problems they could attribute directly to spacers? TIA, friends.

Wheel spacers do induce added stress to the axles. Kubota supplied spacers are limited to thickness that they are willing to accept and still provide warranty coverage.

If the tractor in question is out of warranty, the owner can do as he chooses because such owner is already assuming related risks.

FWIW, I do not see how spacers thicker than 2" would be needed for any type of properly installed tire chains.

How thick are the Kubota provided spacers?

SDT

 

[lennyzx11]

I have 3 inch on my L3301 which is same size. Over 200 hours and no problems to date. I lived on sloped land. Use a grapple, and plow with the bucket and back blade at new place sometimes working it pretty hard but not stupidly.
Sure helped the stability during side hill maneuvering.

 

[JWR]

There have been several posts/threads relating to this topic. I have twin 6" spacers that I installed on a Kubota B2150 for stability on steep ground, not chains. Have had them on approx 3 years now with no problems at all (other than the belly mower won't clear the tires anymore and I am working on a mod for that issue.) I too used Bro-tek. Excellent product in my view. Well made, all the little obscure wrinkles figured out, pretty much flawless. There are other good brands too based on user comments in the past. Several different designs too (those made from solid cylinders of aluminum, some made from welded steel tubes between 2 plates, etc.) Locally we have an Amish shop that makes them custom as well and much cheaper.

I have friends who had twin 6" spacers installed on an L3400 and no problems in 6 or 8 years of use. (More hours than mine.)

Do not know your B-in-law's context or situation but there are a couple of compromises to consider: 1) If he uses a belly mower he might find a size of spacer that would help with chains and yet still allow using the belly mower. 2) If he has any steep ground at all and other factors do not preclude longer spacers, then go wider for better stability and roll-over safety/comfort. I am not one of those who believes that the added stress on the rear axles is significant or a problem. I have never heard of (nor seen a single post on TBN) claiming that axle damage was done using spacers. Every brand I know about in the industry except for Kubota provides far wider wheel spacing flexibility. Look at any similar sized tractor in the industry and nearly all provide wider rear wheel spacing flexibility WITHOUT spacers. My opinion is that it has taken several decades and the Japanese still do not comprehend that we here in the US operate tractors on something other than flat land.

 

[oosik]

My M6040 has rear wheel spacing built right into the rim/center. I can vary each rear wheel as much as 6+ inches. This gives an overall - center to center width variance of 13+ inches. This is factory OEM.

The owners manual is silent on additional spacers. However, it does say to not run dual wheels.

It is logical to assume that spacers will put additional stresses on the axle bearings & possibly the seals. Would it be too much. If you were reasonable in the added width - I would imagine not.

 

[JWR]

Oosik -- I've not been in the market for a tractor this size in several years. When I was, back in 2011, the larger Kubotas seemed to have a lot more flexibility in rear wheel spacing.
Whichever model Kubota I was looking at then would not quite go out to an 8ft "outer edge of tires" spacing. The MF 2660 I bought is set now (and the way I keep it) at just over 8ft outer edge to outer edge spacing and could be put out another foot (6" per side) if I needed to. My pasture renters have a 6040 and they added 6" spacers to each side which they felt was needed for comfort on steep ground. I really can't comment too much as I have not operated their 6040. They (and I) deal with some pretty steep stuff on an old hilly farm.

Here is what theirs is like:

 

[SDT]

My M6040 has rear wheel spacing built right into the rim/center. I can vary each rear wheel as much as 6+ inches. This gives an overall - center to center width variance of 13+ inches. This is factory OEM.

The owners manual is silent on additional spacers. However, it does say to not run dual wheels.

It is logical to assume that spacers will put additional stresses on the axle bearings & possibly the seals. Would it be too much. If you were reasonable in the added width - I would imagine not.

All or nearly all AG tractors have adjustable wheel spacing to accommodate various tasks. Such tractors rarely, if ever, need wheel spacers.

Many CUTS and all SCUTS have only reversible wheels.

SDT