Possibly dumb weight question

[NorTracNY]

I've had my tractor for several years. I never really though about it until someone asked me why I had weights on the FEL. When Northern shipped the tractor with FEL, they have placed weights into the cross member above (behind) the bucket of the FEL. Why are they there??? If anything, shouldn't I have weights on the back of the tractor when using a FEL? After thinking about it, I'm wondering if they are weights that would attach to the front of my tractor if I didn't have a FEL on. Did they just get attached there for shipping? Am I correct in that though, and I should remove them and just store them?

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

How much weight are you talking about? I would think it would limit your lifting capacity, maybe they included the weights so you could hang them on your 3pt as a counter balance and just shipped them together?

 

[hosspuller]

Move the weights to the rear or store them. Each pound of weight is added stress to your front axles that doesn't have to be there.

 

[studor]

The weights probably came with the tractor from Jinma and were meant to hang on the front if you did not have an fel. Since you have a loader the weights are either used on the back or stored as others have said. -- JMHO

 

[NorTracNY]

Thanks. That's what I was figuring, but I just never thought about it until the person asked me why they were there.

 

[Rich Waugh]

You say the weights are inside the cross tube? If so, those are not the front tractor weights, (which are far too big to fit in a piece of 3" tube), but rather they are the loader support struts to be used when you remove the loader and let it stand on its own. On my Jinma, the support struts are made of angle iron, but I think the Koyker struts are tube. You can see them in action on the Koyker Loaders website.

 

[RonMar]

The jinma's came with I think 4 square cast weights, perhaps 8" X 10" X 2" thick with a notch in them. Suitecase weights I think they are called. The notch in the weights hooked over the bracket in front of the battery, but are in the way with a FEL. Used to give some added front end traction, they are not needed with the weight of a FEL installed. Anything on the FEL not making it stronger is adding weight that cuts into lift capacity... Loose em!

 

[Rich Waugh]

Yep, that's what my JM304 came with and I now use them as weights on my grader box. Sometimes I wish I had another four of them.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have them on my 2003 Jinma 284 with a loader. Never cause a issue so I left them on. I did take them off once but when I tried to plow snow using the rig in my avatar it did not steer as well. That snow blade floats so very little added weight when pushing snow.

Chris