Ballast Tractor Wheel Weights

[thunderheart]

I have a question for you guys regarding wheel weights. Are they brand specific or is there a common bolt pattern shared by most tractors so that the weights are at least somewhat interchangable?

Will weights for a Ford 8n bolt to my YM3110 for instance.

Thanx,

Dallas

 

[California]

I've never seen a post here describing weights from another brand that fit Yanmars, FWTW. (Deere excepted of course).

I installed unknown weights on my YM186D but I had to modify them and put them beveled-side-out to get clear of the valve stems. Thread with photos. If you are willing to drill the wheels or weights you might be able to use your Ford weights.

 

[Soundguy]

cast yer own with concrete... cheap and easy..

 

[thunderheart]

cast yer own with concrete... cheap and easy..

I did see a couple of threads on the subject of pouring your own wheel weights somewhere. However at the time, I questioned the value equation of doing that. As I approach 50 I'm getting to the point where time is the most valuable thing I have. Much more so than money. Have you ever made them before Soundguy? If so how much time do you think you invested?

Thanx,

Dallas

 

[clemsonfor]

Ahh you have plenty of time your 50 not 70! I would think you could cut all the wood in a few hours like Winston did, set your bolts and then pour your concrete in another few yours and be done with it.

Real wheel weights are gonna cost you $$$. Front weights i think run about a $1/lb i think wheel weights would be more in price as there not as common.

 

[sixdogs]

I'm 63 and over the years have tried everything to save $$ on wheel weights. All had a frustrating, or at least not fully happy conclusion. Then one day I just went out and ordered the correct weights from the dealer and, after paying for them, had a level of satisfaction that makes me wonder why I didn't do it before.

By the way, some weights do indeed interchange to a degree and I put 1960's Deere(45HP) rear weights on a Ford 2110 and while it was not a perfect fit was close enough to call a press-fit of the bolts. I carried my bolt circle measurements and patterns with me at auctions and learned there were a fair number of "close enough" interchanges out there.

 

[thunderheart]

Ahh you have plenty of time your 50 not 70!

Trust me brother, I feel 70 when I roll out in the mornings. But the fact is I'm closer to the End than I am to the Beginning. Trading paper for time seems like a good deal. At least from my chair it does. :thumbsup:

I'm 63 and over the years have tried everything to save $$ on wheel weights. All had a frustrating, or at least not fully happy conclusion. Then one day I just went out and ordered the correct weights from the dealer and, after paying for them, had a level of satisfaction that makes me wonder why I didn't do it before.

I hear ya Dogs. There are so many instances of the same thing in my past it isn't even funny. You look back and say "What was I THINKING!!!???". It's the lesson from the parable of the Young Bull and the Old Bull.

Dallas

 

[California]

I dunno, I'm a generation older than you and I could argue both sides of that. On the one hand I just went out and spent $450 on two lightweight professional orchard ladders. 8 ft/17 lbs, and 11 ft/26 lbs. I figure these will prevent back injuries; I'm not very tall and I've always had trouble with tilting a big heavy ladder down on its side to carry it, without it wrenching me head over heels as it gets past the balance point. Money well spent as I get older and give more consideration to what will keep me healthy.

On the other hand scavenging and adapting, like the $20 wheel weights I described in my post above, is one of the things that let me retire at 54 after 20 years of cheapskating and accumulating retirement savings. (And we put two kids through college with nobody incurring debt).

I would say each situation needs analysis on what will work. IMO buying used or trying some overall cheaper alternative should always be considered.

 

[thunderheart]

Agreed. I'm the most fugal guy I know. Drives the wife crazy. But like you say each situation needs to be evaluated. To me it's about value. I've always had a knack for making money but that time machine in the basement is giving me fits. But I hear ya Cali, I hate spending a dime if I think I can get by with a nickel.

I will definitely be looking for some weights that are cheap and adaptable. I found some Kubota suitcase weights on CL just a few minutes ago that look like a perfect fit for my tractor. Hope the guy still has them.

Dallas

Edit:

Here are the kubota weights I found. They are on a L series mounting bracket that sure looks similar to the one on my Yanmar ... Tractor Weights

 

[Soundguy]

I did see a couple of threads on the subject of pouring your own wheel weights somewhere. However at the time, I questioned the value equation of doing that. As I approach 50 I'm getting to the point where time is the most valuable thing I have. Much more so than money. Have you ever made them before Soundguy? If so how much time do you think you invested?

Thanx,

Dallas

minimal time.. and yes.. i cast my own weights in various sizes and applications.. rear, hanger, wafer, dead ballast..e tc. wheel weights are no different.. and you can pour in place using the tire rim and visquine, some carriage botls and nuts and small rebar or heavy brace fence wire..

lay rim down. lay plastic down put carriage botls in/thur plasic and nut in place with heads sticking up into cement area.. use whatever you need to shape the plastif to make a form you want.. then pour.

I've seen guys make weights with 5g buckets that stick our the side of their tractor wheels.

it's not hard.. and is so cheap it's funny...

in this economy.. we all probably got more time than resources.. unless you are just plane rich.. if you are rch.. sure.. go buy some and pay someone to put them on.. then pay someone to use the tractor..

here are some links to some cast weights i made for my 4600.. these happen to be bumper weights.. but shows the easy process..

http://www.tractorshed.com/gallery/uptest/a38136.jpg
http://www.tractorshed.com/gallery/uptest/a38356.jpg
http://www.tractorshed.com/gallery/uptest/a38357.jpg
http://www.tractorshed.com/gallery/uptest/a38358.jpg
http://www.tractorshed.com/gallery/uptest/a38359.jpg

 

[sdkubota]

I thought I better add my concrete rear weight:

 

[thunderheart]

minimal time.. and yes.. i cast my own weights in various sizes and applications.. rear, hanger, wafer, dead ballast..e tc. wheel weights are no different.. and you can pour in place using the tire rim and visquine, some carriage botls and nuts and small rebar or heavy brace fence wire..

lay rim down. lay plastic down put carriage botls in/thur plasic and nut in place with heads sticking up into cement area.. use whatever you need to shape the plastif to make a form you want.. then pour.

I've seen guys make weights with 5g buckets that stick our the side of their tractor wheels.

it's not hard.. and is so cheap it's funny...

You talked me into it Soundguy. But as my rear wheels are water ballasted I think I'll skip wheel wieghts for now and make some bumper weights like yours. The original post was more out of curiosity than immediate need. But I may require some upfront weight pretty soon.

I have never liked it when a tractor bucked. When I was a youngster I had the frontend of our 4020 and 3020 off the ground a few times and it was pretty intimidating. Especially considering I needed a 2 liter Coke crate to climb up on the darn things. Those tractors were big, powerful, scary, and frankly dangerous beasts when you're 11 or 12 years old.

I have a 2-14 bottom plow that is pretty heavy. Maybe I won't need any more ballast but if I do I will likely try your method. How much did each of those disks end up weighing? Also what kind or material did you use for the pour. Plain old Quikcrete? I would think the denser and harder the material the better.

I thought I better add my concrete rear weight:

View attachment 281053

DOOD! That thing looks heavy. Did you add it to give more traction when using your FEL or is it for some other front mounted attachment?

Thanks for the input guys,

Dallas

 

[Soundguy]

each weight took an 80# bag, plug it has some fence brace wire rolled in it with a long 1/2" carriage bolt.. that is joined to the wire loops too.

that ford 4600 has a 6' servis(rhino) mower on back and is fine normally.. but when laoding on my deckover flatbed, the front end sometimes bounced and pointed at the sky! i made a decent bumper for it and started casting the weights using a medium deep cattle feed tub as the mould. i used a varietey of release agents.. all worked...

i made a few tub rear weights out of old deep cattle protien feed tubs too. works good, and very cheap...

 

[sdkubota]

DOOD! That thing looks heavy. Did you add it to give more traction when using your FEL or is it for some other front mounted attachment?

Thanks for the input guys,

Dallas

Yep, just when loadering dirt. It weighs 1,000 lbs and does squat the tractor a little when carrying it. It also makes a world of difference when cutting into hard clay with the loader. The traction I get with that weight is incredible and you really wonder if it is the same hp tractor. I can boil dirt out of the sides of the FEL. I try to be a little more cautious with it on to make sure I am not over stressing the loader or drive train. Best $50 investment I have made so far!

 

[sixdogs]

Soundguy--those are beautiful weights and far in excess of the best I have seen. I'm willing to back up and say that weights cast of cement of that quality have a lot going for them. What I have seen cast around here doesn't hold a candle to Soundguy's weights. I'm now tempeted to try it.

 

[sdkubota]

Soundguy--those are beautiful weights and far in excess of the best I have seen. I'm willing to back up and say that weights cast of cement of that quality have a lot going for them. What I have seen cast around here doesn't hold a candle to Soundguy's weights. I'm now tempeted to try it.

Cast iron has roughly 3 times the weight of concrete given the same volume (450 lbs/cf vs 150 lbs/cf). The advantage of cast iron is smaller footprint but it comes at a pretty large price.

 

[Soundguy]

sometimes we got more time.. sometimes we got more money.

when i made those i had less money and more time. that ford 4600 they are hanging on was part of the 'problem'.

I had been looking for a ford rowcrop from 55-64 as a project.. they normally go for about 1000-2500$ MAX and many times an average of 1500$ or so.. they make good fun cheap projects. I ran across that 4600 a 78 model.. i really wasn't looking for a large 3 cyl ford of that year.. but at the price.. it was ?? can't recall now.. but something crazy like 3000$.. stupid crazy for that size of 3 cyl ford.. so crazy i just could not say no.... sure.. it was rough.. fenders were bad.. needed 3pt work..ps leaked.. alt didn't charge.. no kill pull cable, etc.. no muffler... but it started and ran good! and i got a free 6' beater mower with it if i bought it that day.. so I grabbed it.. fixed everything ont he cheap.. i think the only real parts cost I had in it was a fuel kill cable, oil and filter changes, a lil bit of hardware on the power steering, gasket/oring kit for the hyds, roll of 14awg wire to re wire her.. and a cheap-o stanley muffler.. oh yeah, and a very affordable good condition salvage air cleaner cover. the rest was hand work.. and lots of it. lotsa welding and wire wheeling and sanding and wrenching.

the initial purchase ran me over my alloted play budget that year since i was really looking for a machine half that $.. thus I had to make the bumper out of salvaged scrap metal, fixed the mower with a good bit of welding rod and scrap iron, and an amazingly cheap seal.. plus thosevirtually free concrete weights that came from leftover bags of 'crete i had from a project.. plus leftover fence wire.. pluss old carriage bolts I had from a trailer deck redo that were in a salvage bucket... so on that one... i made do..

 

[Car Doc]

Yup I agree nice job on the weights Soundguy they look great a guy would be hard pressed to find better ones anywhere! :thumbsup:

 

[Soundguy]

witht he black paint on them ( also left over from another project ).. they almost look like cast iron too..

 

[urbaneagrarian]

Check out Lugghandles. He has quite a few systems that are somewhat universal. Really nice product and nice guy too.
lugghandles.com