Rim guard or not? Why a ballast box instead of boxblade?

[IndyJay]

Just West of the "Crossroads".

Where you can still barrel house by the riverside?

 

[ovrszd]

Where you can still barrel house by the riverside?

Show Me!!

 

[John_Mc]

Cuts are small and they are light. Adding fluids (or weights) to the rear tires make a diffrence that is proportional to the size of the tractor.

I had never thought about this so did some math regarding two of my tractors.

JD2210 SCUT weighs 1800 lbs. I added 84 lbs of fluid. 05% of the tractor weight.

Kubota M9540 weighs 10,500 lbs. I added 1,300 lbs of fluid. 12% of the tractor weight.

I've never owned a SCUT. That would not be my choice for a tracor when I had significant lifting to do. (BTW, TractorData.com shows the weight of a JD2210 as 1400#, though perhaps you were including a loader in your empty weight?)

I was referring to CUTs. My NH TC33D CUT weighs 2474 for just the bare tractor (no loader or implements). The 15-19.5 R4 tires were filled with 29 gallons of CaCl per tire (75% fill). I was told the total added weight was "over 650 lbs". That comes to 26%. Even including the loader, I would still be at 20% of the weight before filling.

 

[i7win7]

I don’t know how long it takes, but I do know that CaCl will rust your rims eventually.

2nd that

 

[ovrszd]

(BTW, TractorData.com shows the weight of a JD2210 as 1400#, though perhaps you were including a loader in your empty weight?)

1,400 + 100 + 200 (mmm) = 1,700. Thanks for correcting that for me!!!! You actually took time to look it up?? Impressive!!!

 

[TheMan419]

Even if you added weight to your box blade, it would be less maneuverable in small spaces than a ballast box. That may be why some do it.

If I remember physics correctly, and that is a big if, having weight further back is better than closer to the fulcrum. That would support using a box blade or cutter as counterweight versus a ballast box.

In my situation, I will load the tires and keep the RC on most of the time. No lawn to mow, just brush, so too much weight should not be an issue.

There is the possibiity of too much weight on the 3 point. Not only is there so much the 3 point can lift, but you can actually reduce the ability of the tractor to steer if you take too much weight off the front wheels.

The larger the impliment on the rear the harder it is to operate in close in spaces. I have a rotary cutter and a tiller. The tiller is a better choice to pick up for counter weight. They both weigh the same, but the tiller is more compact thus making life easier working in tight spots.

 

[quarencia]

I disagree. A box blade is centered laterally on the rear of the tractor. The stabilizing force of the weight of the box blade behaves exactly the same as if all of the weight were concentrated where the center of gravity of the boxblade is (which would be centered left and right, assuming the boxblade is symmetrical).

Whether a boxblade or a ballast box does more for lateral stability depends on how low that weight is carried to the ground. A tall ballast box with a lot of weight up high (or a boxblade carried as high as the 3 point will lift it) does less for stability than a setup in which the weight is kept low.

I certainly agree that keeping the weight low increases stability. But saying stability is the same so long as the weight is centered is wrong. What you‘re saying is true so long as the tractor is not moving. When you aren’t moving, static stability is all that matters and how widely a mass is distributed does not matter. But as soon as you start moving, dynamic stability has to considered as well. When moving, as soon as you hit uneven ground that causes a rolling motion, the box blade with a more widely distributed mass will have a higher angular momentum than a ballast box with a more centrally distributed mass. If a tractor is near the dynamic stability limit, and assuming the center of mass of the box blade and ballast box are at the same height, the higher angular momentum of the box blade will more easily roll the tractor than the ballast box with a lower angular momentum.

All things being equal, you want the mass as low and centered as you can get it.

 

[Vigo327]

So since i have a particularly tiny loader tractor I have some opinion to share on those topics of tire fill and box blade..

For my b6100, I get away with using a box blade and no tire fill (yet) as my primary form of loader ballast because A: the box blade is 60" when most people say a tractor this size should have a 48", B: the loader is fairly weak so the 'oversize' box blade serves as adequate ballast for it.

And, C: I do try very hard not to tip the tractor sideways under any circumstances, however, I HAVE lifted at least one tire rolling side to side at some point. The idea of the wider box blade making the tractor marginally more difficult to tip sideways has made me FEEL slightly better at least once or twice. Certainly not a factor you ever want to make use of, but ive never wished my box blade was narrower, and the fact that it's wider than the tractor has actually made me feel better, even if the benefit was imaginary.

And I just bought a 113lb 54" long 'loading dock bumper' (made of recycled tires) for $63 SHIPPED on amazon because in my mind ~$0.50/lb for a bolt-on counterweight that doubles as a push bumper was too tempting to pass up. It will be bolted to the rear face of my box blade, so 113lb as far back as i can get it. It might get some dirt on it when im pushing with the rear blade, but i don't think it's going to hinder the function of the box blade in any way, while making it more effective as my primary form of loader counterweight. This is mostly in prep for increasing the hydraulic pressure in my loader circuit..

 

[dennis103]

I use this ballast box when using my dump trailer and loader. There is a ball hitch receiver on the back under the hook. I can drop the trailer load it then go around and pick it back up and take it to dump it. If you don't have a heavy box, when you dump the trailer the 3 point hitch will go to the full up stroke while dumping. The BB gives me better traction while using the loader.

I also have loaded rear tires because of my forks. I won't take the time to put a counter weight on the back when just loading 1 item on something. I figured I would get in trouble w/o loaded tires.

 

[LouNY]

On my 3 point trailer hitch I have a chain which runs down to a clevis I attach to the drawbar so it can't over lift the 3 point.