My rear tires were filled too full from the dealer. With the wheel in the air (jacked up) liquid would come out the shrader valve so I removed it, let the liquid out, then added air to the recommended pressure. However I still wonder if lowering the liquid lower would help lower my center of gravity. Wouldn't it benefit if the liquid was down to axle level? I do have a rear ballast box (only 2/3's full to keep it low), so I don't think I need all that tire ballast. But again the question is, would it be more stable with only half way tire ballast, for when I'm mowing without the rear ballast box.
Rear Tire Ballast
- Thread starter BotaLoda
- Start date
It would depend on what you are doing with the tractor. If you are digging with it you want as much ballast as you can get. This is especially true if you pick up a load of dirt and try to go up an incline with it.
A unanswerable question with so many variables. You are just going to have to use the tractor, ballast on and ballast off under different work loads and see how much traction you get. I have a small Ford 1215 with rear wheels filled and with any appreciable weight in the front end loader the unit gets tippy just slowly going over the smallest bumps or depressions in the ground. Liquid above the axle? Better for traction but probably not much better to prevent tip overs.
Thanks. I should have stated my main goal is to help prevent tip overs. I got pretty good rear traction before getting a 3 point ballast box. With that it's great. I work with the ballast box low and I only have it filled 2/3 full to keep the center of gravity low, and it's probably on the large side for my BX2370, so 2/3 full with rocks and sand is a good amount of weight.
I think I will drain them some more, but not quite down to the axle. I have on numerous occasions driven sideways on a slope but not too far, got off and used the roll bar to see how steady or unsteady it is. I will try a before and after test at the same place when I remove some more liquid from the tires.
If you had it jacked up no weight on the tire and let the fluid come out while the valve stem was at 12 O'clock your good to go! Pump it up to the required pressure and call it a day. You will notice a bit smother ride, so you good there in the BX Im thinking it gave me about 60 pounds of weight per wheel and it does make a difference. If your looking for more stability a set of rear wheel spacers will do you well. And depending on which tires you have 2 inchers are good
I agree with Skeets, valve level fill at the 12 O'clock position and good to go.
What you're thinking from what you wrote was that your line of thinking is a
half full tire will put the weight on the bottom half of the tire. No necessarily
so and it gets kind of confusing but you're better off 3/4 ( valve 12 O'clock )
full. The weight box kept as full and as low as possible will be best to add more
but going wider will help immensely so wheel spacers would be the next step
for stability. The real key with using the loader working is to keep that down as
low as you possibly can while working and never take your hand off the loader
lever if your moving. Being able to slam the loader down quickly will stop you
from going over 99% of the time. I know this from watching my cousin Bill who's
the master at operating his "Kadozer" stopping disaster so quickly I never even
realized he might be in trouble until the loader hit the ground.
Always use your "pucker factor gauge" when feeling your way around on your
tractor as it's the very best indicator there is for knowing you're doing something wrong. Learn not to ever feel that "pucker" and life will be good and safe. Trust me it's NO FUN to tip over been there done that still feel totally embarrassed for doing so as I knew better just wasn't paying attention. I was lucky neither the tractor or I got hurt.
Al
What you're thinking from what you wrote was that your line of thinking is a
half full tire will put the weight on the bottom half of the tire. No necessarily
so and it gets kind of confusing but you're better off 3/4 ( valve 12 O'clock )
full. The weight box kept as full and as low as possible will be best to add more
but going wider will help immensely so wheel spacers would be the next step
for stability. The real key with using the loader working is to keep that down as
low as you possibly can while working and never take your hand off the loader
lever if your moving. Being able to slam the loader down quickly will stop you
from going over 99% of the time. I know this from watching my cousin Bill who's
the master at operating his "Kadozer" stopping disaster so quickly I never even
realized he might be in trouble until the loader hit the ground.
Always use your "pucker factor gauge" when feeling your way around on your
tractor as it's the very best indicator there is for knowing you're doing something wrong. Learn not to ever feel that "pucker" and life will be good and safe. Trust me it's NO FUN to tip over been there done that still feel totally embarrassed for doing so as I knew better just wasn't paying attention. I was lucky neither the tractor or I got hurt.
Al