Ballast Rear Ballast?

[tinman955]

I have a CT440 and was wondering what the ideal amount of weight of rear ballast would a guy need for loader work. My old 955 loader capacity was nowhere what this 440 is so I only used my rear box blade 600lbs or so and it worked just fine. Any ideas would be great.

Thanks

 

[Mrb94]

According to the Bobcat website, your tractor weighs 3847 pounds. Unfortunately, other than the weight of the loader (1312 pounds), nothing else was on their website so I went to Rhino. There I found that 500mm in front of the pivot pins your loader is rated to lift 2180 pounds to full height.

Depending on where you read in the loader manual, it mentions either 20% or 25% of the entire weight should be on the rear axle. Here are my quick calculations:
Tractor - 3847 pounds
Loader - 1312 pounds
Load - 2180 pounds
Total - 7339 pounds

20% = 1470 (actually 1468)
25% = 1835

At this point, it doesn't appear that your box blade is going to be enough. Did you have your tires filled? Can you add rear wheel weights? I don't know what your hoe is going to weigh, but I would have to believe that will be enough ballast for you!!

 

[LD1]

two questions

Is that 20-25% total weight on the 3ph or just over the rears??(ie. do you need 1470-1800 lbs on the 3ph, or just over the rears)

Would the 20-25% total have to include the weight of the ballast as well for the calculations??



The point I am getting at is that it is difficult to figure. Just put the BB on and do some dirt work, if it seems to light, you know you need more. Your tractor is heavy to begin with and that is a big plus.

 

[tinman955]

Yeah I have had the box blade on while doing some work and at times I needed some extra weight. I guess when I get the hoe on ill see how that is and go from there. Thanks

 

[LD1]

Are your tires loaded??

I'm not sure of your tire size but that would probabally add 4-500lbs per tire.
800-1000lbs in total

 

[tinman955]

Tires are not loaded.

 

[galaxie428]

I did not want loaded tires on my 230 because I did not want the extra weight all the time, I use it for mowing also. I have not done it yet but my plans for a cheap ballast is a 55 gal drum filled partially with sand. I am going to weld a frame around it that will mount to my 3p hitch. I think it will be very inexpensive to do and would provide you with all the extra weight you need.

 

[demoman357]

How about you place the sand in sand bags and then into the barrel? Adjustible weight seems to be the preferred idea I infer from reading the threads on this topic.