M6800 weight problem

[BSawyer]

I thought I could pick up a good deal on a 8' HD rotary cutter, looked up the specs: heavy duty 100HP gearbox, weight just over 2000 lbs. It was in good condition for a great price.

I trailered my M6800HDF up to pick it up and found that as soon as I lifted it my front wheels came about a foot off the ground. I ended up not buying it that day, but would still like to.

I know I need ballast up front if there is any hope of safely picking it up. I'd like to get a LA1002 or 1162 loader for it, but can't justify the cost right now.

I REALLY appreciate all the fine advice found on this great site. Are there any M6800 owners who have faced an issue like this? Any recommendations? Or should I just say ANY owners have recommendations?

It looked like a nice mower, bushhog, RC ... thought I'd put several different keywords for anybody to search on in the future...

I've tried to read any thread with M6800 in it.


Brad

 

[Renze]

Kubbies are lightweight, just like Deutz tractors.

For my brothers 1976 Zetor 6718, which is a 65 hp 2wd, we have bought a set of 60 Ford cast iron front weights and painted them Zetor dark green.

I dont know if you're familiar with farm tractor front weight, but you can simply hang them on a reel on the front of your tractor. Basically they are 2 inch thick metal plates with a slothole in it to put your hand on when carrying them, and a hook to hang them on the tractor.

If you try Ebay or any major tractor dealership, you may find some cheap ones.

 

[BSawyer]

I dont know if you're familiar with farm tractor front weight, but you can simply hang them on a reel on the front of your tractor. Basically they are 2 inch thick metal plates with a slothole in it to put your hand on when carrying them, and a hook to hang them on the tractor.

If you try Ebay or any major tractor dealership, you may find some cheap ones.

thanks for the reply, I thought it might be able to handle it with the M6800, but was clearly ignorant.

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the weights, although I've seen them in use before. I see some suitcase weights marked IH or Ford or Deere. Are they all different or is there some kind of universal std? I realize they come in different weight sizes.

Any estimates how much weight I should think about adding? 500lb? 1000? Is there a formula? Or is it trial and error? If I took it easy the front end would come down, but going uphill the nose would raise. It was probably close to even.

 

[JRP]

I have an M6800 also.

The LA1162 is a great loader. No regrets.

Kubota sells a weight rack for the front of the M6800, but I think it is for the 2WD model. You could easily build one. Start by looking for used small "suitcase weights" at tractor stores. Once the rack is built you simply hang the weights on the front. Each weight is light enough that you can add them without hurting yourself, unlike a single weight. There are tons of posts about ballast on this site.

This front plat was used to tie down my tractor and has a receiver in it. The carrier fit into the receiver. You could make something like this and fill the tubes with lead from wheel weights. Use good ventilation.

Once you have an LA1162 the problem goes away. You might try to boom down the tractor front and lift the shredder to make sure the hitch hydraulics will lift it.

 

[Z-Michigan]

One cheapo option that some of my local farmers use is to attach a 55gal drum to the front frame of the tractor and fill it with water. Should be significantly cheaper than cast iron weights, though not as nice looking or durable. Depends how soon you think you'll get that loader.

 

[art]

The 6800 would also use a semi mount 10" that wouldn't need as much front weight on the tractor. It also should come with a pair of wheels on hback making smooth.

 

[art]

The 6800 would also use a semi mount 10" that wouldn't need as much front weight on the tractor. It also should come with a pair of wheels on the back making a smoother ride.

There are many types of weights I've seen added to the front and rear of tractors. The loader would be a good one for you to move the stones you run into!

 

[BSawyer]

I have an M6800 also.

The LA1162 is a great loader. No regrets.

Kubota sells a weight rack for the front of the M6800, but I think it is for the 2WD model. You could easily build one. Start by looking for used small "suitcase weights" at tractor stores. Once the rack is built you simply hang the weights on the front. Each weight is light enough that you can add them without hurting yourself, unlike a single weight. There are tons of posts about ballast on this site.

This front plat was used to tie down my tractor and has a receiver in it. The carrier fit into the receiver. You could make something like this and fill the tubes with lead from wheel weights. Use good ventilation.

Once you have an LA1162 the problem goes away. You might try to boom down the tractor front and lift the shredder to make sure the hitch hydraulics will lift it.

Thanks for sharing the great pics! Looks good, did you build, or have built, the plate on your M6800? How thick is the plate? Used 4 mounting bolts? I like it! I guess you could build a removable radiator/brush guard to plug in.

I have 2 more payments on mine, and will consider a FEL at some point. I've been keeping my eye open for a used one.

And thanks for the suggestion on searching for ballast. I'd read lots of posts on creating rear ballast a while back, but hadn't thought to look for front ballast now.

I appreciate the thought about the temporary or water ballast. That's another possibility. I'm sure glad this site is here for gaining experienced advice.

Thanks again!

 

[JRP]

I've done a ton of custom things for my M6800 is you want to see some pics. My thought is pretty much If I have to do it once I probably will have to do it again. When I use equipment I want every thing safe, fast, and easy to connect or use. It has been a lot of fun and the machine is sweet.

The plate is 1/2 thick, but 3/8 would work. I bought the metric bolts because the tractor front plate it bolts to is also the same one the FEL mounts to. Don't save money now on cheap bolts, just to have your FEL not bolt up later.

Keep in mind that the LA1162 is engineered exactly for the M6800. It is not a universal fit that is a compromise for many tractor models. Only buy the LA1162 if you value a perfectly matched piece of equipment that bolts up right the first time and works perfectly. Don't waste your money if you think all loaders are the same or if you don't mind compromise. The LA1162 is marketed for the M6800 with hydraulic shuttle. Mine is mechanical shuttle. I cheked with Kubota before buying it and they said it would work. By installing it myself I think I saved about $1,000. The instructions are typical Kubota very clear.

 

[BSawyer]

I actually bought a nearly new, basically unused LA1002 loader off eBay for about $3100 in 2004, after looking at the Kubota website (as well as some other sites) for available attachments and it seemed like an LA1002 was what I needed.

Just to prove once more, that I don't know what I'm doing... After I paid for it and brought it home on a trailer from KY, I called my Kubota salesman and asked to purchase an owner's manual for it. He said alright what is the serial num and model num. ... And that's when I found out that there are two different models of the LA1002 loader. One that fits the M6800 (the la1002-68r) and the one that fits all the smaller Mseries with the other 5 cyl? engine (the la1002-57r). Of course, part of the loader frame bolts to the engine block, so the mounting is slightly different.

Guess which one I had purchased? 8( Doh!

Last time I checked the LA1002 models they had been revised, the newer series were the -5r1 and -6r1, I think.

I wonder if the LA1162 comes in different models. Since the M6800-8200-9000 share the same engine block, there may be only one model. I don't know now, but I will be sure before I buy one.

I'd appreciate seeing any pics of mods or projects you've done for your M6800! I knew there were at least 6 mounting holes, but it looked like 2 of them were covered by the two pieces of boxtubing on your plate.