Ballast Who uses wheel weights?

[kiotidk45SE]

I am looking to add a some weight on the rear of my DK45SE to help out with the FEL operations. I would rather use weights intsead of filling the tires. Also has any one flipped the rear tires to make that stance wider?

 

[kenstrac]

The older tractors I had wheel weights they are ok to use but the cost is high, My tires are out to the furthest point DK45.

 

[kiotidk45SE]

Thanks for the quick response. I have a 3pt "cart" that I am thinking of loading weight in it and put it on the rear when I need extra weight. I have not flipped my tires yet but I may this weekend. I believe it will add about 8 inches overall to the width of the tractor.

 

[dking]

my tires are flipped and filled. whenever i load gravel in the pit, I always keep my scrapper blade attachement on, it gives me plenty of counter balance.

 

[wallace]

If you guys are flipping the widths of the tires make sure you keep going back and check the outer mounting bolts as well as the lug nuts especially if you have loaded tires.

 

[jimmyj]

Fellas, what does "flipped" mean and why does someone do it?

 

[IslandTractor]

Fellas, what does "flipped" mean and why does someone do it?

Most tractor wheels are asymmetric in the sense that the mounting plate is not precisely in the middle of the wheel/tire. If you put the wheels on with the deep side pointing inward then the tractor track is narrow. If you "flip" the wheels so the deep side points outboard then the track is 8-10 inches wider. Wider track equals more stability on hills which is generally the reason people do this.

 

[kiotidk45SE]

Should I even consider flipping the rear tires? How much difference would I see?

 

[IslandTractor]

Should I even consider flipping the rear tires? How much difference would I see?

IMO it would only make sense if you worked on slopes of more than 12-15 degrees and had to traverse. Otherwise the downsides include having you tires wider than you implements which can be a problem and to some extent you add stress to the rear axle. Not sure if there are other downsides.

 

[George in Spokane]

I flipped, filled, and added spacers (search for my name). I realize I am stressing my axles but my land has "compound" slopes so I'm willing to pay a few more dollars down the road.

 

[George in Spokane]

One more thing. Wheel weights do have one advantage over filling a tire - they come off.

My wheels are now so heavy that taking them off is a major operation and could be dangerous.

 

[kiotidk45SE]

How much counter balance would my DK45SE require to get it stabail while using the FEL?

 

[IslandTractor]

How much counter balance would my DK45SE require to get it stabail while using the FEL?

My DK40se is reasonably stable so long as I have either a mower (600lbs, 3ft extension) or BH (?1200lbs five-six feet extension) on the back. Having a rake (300lbs, 3ft) is not enough to keep me from lifting the rear wheels regularly when using a grapple or 4n1 moderately aggressively. There are a few logs that I was able to lift and move when I had the BH mounted that I could no longer move once I switched to the mower so the FEL on these machines clearly needs more than 600-800lbs rear ballast to get full effective use.

As I recall (from memory) you can get about 50-60 gallons into each rear tire which would together add about 800-900lbs (zero ft extension). That would be about the same as having a mower on the back. I think personally it would be ideal to have the tires filled AND have a mower on the 3pt.

Wheel weights are nice in theory but much more expensive than even having RimGuard installed aftermarket (not part of the purchase package). More than a buck a pound for iron wheel weights plus mounting hardware and costly shipping charges. Compare that to 1-2 bucks a gallon (8lbs/gallon) for WWF.

 

[kiotidk45SE]

Thanks Island Tractor. I have a 3pt hitch cart type contraption that is similar to the ones at Tractor Supply but this one is home built by my dad. I figure I can hang that on the back and fill it up with rocks/scrap metal and get to 600-700 lbs pretty easy. I really do not want to load the tires because I can't remove the extra weight if I want to use my little trailer (8,000 Gross) behind the F250 pickup.