MUST WATCH! ULTIMATE BALLAST WEIGHT GUIDE! VERY IMPORTANT!

Having enough ballast weight for your tractor is a major safety concern. Understanding what ballast weight is, how to use it effectively, and the ways you can implement ballast are critical. In this video, we'll dive into defining tractor ballast weight, determining how you know if you have enough ballast weight, and what types of materials and tools you can use to accomplish the minimum ballast weight requirement for your tractor.

Tractor ballast weight has many related terms and comes in many shapes and sizes. Some of the terms you'll here include counter weight, liquid ballast, RimGuard, suitcase weights, wheel wights, ballast box, and counter ballast. Each form of ballast weight has it's pros and cons including cost, how and where it's installed, being removabe or permanent, and more! So, if you own a tractor or think you want to own a tractor, then I suggest you watch the video to make sure you know exactly what's required to safely operate your tractor and loader.

[chefmatthammerschmidt]

No apology necessary. Your loving pooch is actually a key player in the channel.

[WizmanG]

New tractor owner here. New to tractors and we recently purchased a JD 2025R. After searching to understand how much ballast I needed for our tractor I cam across your video, very educational for new comers. I am surprised my dealer didn't even mention that the MINIMUM ballast weight was in the loader manual. They did load the tires but it is no where near enough according to the manual.
Thanks for sharing this info! ( and all of the other videos you have published)

[LeaMacDonald]

I've never given a moment of thought to this topic until now. A strong argument can be made for safety regarding the need for ballast weight no matter the form it takes. Yet another compelling and educational contribution. Once again, great job.

[Victor-hbhj]

My son is in the market so I have been watching you to get up to speed. I worked one type of construction or another for over 30 years and never realized the importance of ballast on a tractor. Cranes yes but not tractors. I really appreciate your policy on mandatory ballast on every purchase. Well done.

[rickstephens]

I was just going to mention that yes ballas weight is very important! I have an older smaller tractor with a 2 cylinder Diesel engine. And with a bucket loader on front. And I have loaded it up full and needs to be lowered each time I pick up a full scoop because it seems like it is to top heavy to travel with it loaded up. And how much i wish that I had the extra weight on it. So thank you for sharing this with us

[sawjunky]

Excellent content and education as usual sir! Many new tractor owners don't realize the importance and safety of proper ballast. My dealership never even mentioned it when I bought my 2025r. Thanks again Courtney.

[karvtek]

Ballast box was my first purchase. When I took my rake off that came with my tractor I could feel the difference and knew I needed one. Excellent video.

[G.I.JeffsWorkbench]

Excellent coverage on this critical topic. Good on you for making a ballast plan a mandatory part of your sales. IMHO, making a ballast plan part of every tractor sale is just another example of why you’re one of the guys I turn to for no BS advice and knowledge.

[beachbum]

You may well have saved me from a serious accident! Since purchasing my 3033R w/ 320R loader, I had thought the rear tire ballast was sufficient. That is because my JD dealer told me so. Then I watched your video and checked the specs myself. Thank you!

[richardhooper]

Enjoyed the video, so far, had to pause it momentarily...will watch the remainder in an hour or so. Kubota L6060 with cab. Liberty Maine

[bobmcclure]

I was looking at things to put in the ballast box for my 1025r. Stone or concrete seemed like good options. Then I had an idea. I am a firearms enthusiast and in addition to reloading my own ammo, I also cast bullets out of scrap lead. I simply put an empty cat litter bucket in the weight box and put about 300 pounds of wheel weight ingots in the bucket and closed the lid. The lid keeps the weather away from the ingots. Two waterproof bags of 100 pounds of range scrap on either side of the lead bucket keeps it from moving side to side. A free 500 pound load for the ballast box!

[hoyks]

I drove fork lifts when I was straight out of school, they are basically a block of ballast with a motor, but when you're loading a semi, have all your concentration on a 1000kg pallet up above the cab and drop a front wheel into a pothole in the yard, it can get you puckering.
That 1000kg dead weight can easily turn into a 1500-2000N push in an unexpected direction, so weight keeping all 4 corners on the ground is a good thing.
I'd also add that suitcase have the advantage of being able to be shifted to the front if you want to run a heavy implement, but also leave the loader in the shed.

[bossymodo]

My dad bought a brand new 1997 Kubota l4200. It would have been nice if I had seen this video 25 years ago because even with loaded tires I still put it on its side with a bucket full of mud. Luckily I wasn't hurt and my neighbor was able to hook a chain on with his tractor and pull it upright with minimum cosmetic damage. The real scary thing was that I only had the bucket about headlight high and it was pretty flat ground. I had just dug a bit of a whole and I was backing out of it and over it went. The tractor was only a year or two old then. It still runs great and I moved a lot of snow with it this past winter. I am planning to cut the bucket off and weld on quick attach paddles in a few weeks however. I will add however that I am a little partial to German Shorthair's but your dog is a good addition to your video.

[KnowArt]

An another interesting trade-off is that wheel weights and filled tires don't put any strain on the frame/axles of your tractor, while hanging weight off the backs makes it so that the weight has to go through the frame.
On the other side, weighted wheels will not reduce the stresses on your front axle while the further your ballast hangs behind the back axle, the more it will life up the front. But again, it'll strain the mid frame of your tractor, which is not a wise idea on some (old) models

[richardbaker]

Cool dog. Keep him in all of your videos. Good information, thank you!!!!😎🇺🇸

[mikep]

This was definitely eye opening. I did also expound upon this in another post. One item that was posted in the online manual was the minimum tread width when using the loader with the ballast charts. My rims are reversible but a person should make shire they do that before filling the tires. Also great idea for people to check JD website for manuals. I have noticed that the do publish some revisions that might not be in your hard copy. One of mine that was different was a rockshaft filter on my 2520. Rock on Courtney

[khtractors]

I am a firm believer in weight. I have fluid filled tires and 990lbs of wheel weights on my M series Kubota. Also have a 1000 pound 3pt weight. I like the weighted wheels for pulling balers on our steep ground but the 3pt weight is what really helps with loader counter weight. Good video I really enjoyed it!

[neilschuette]

Good info. The cab must add some weight as ballast. But, the cab also raises the center of gravity increasing the need for counter weights.

[belindakt]

I guess everyone who has ever spent any time operating a tractor with a loader knows how much can be accomplished with it. And, sooner or later we find that point of limitation, where things go terribly wrong, because the load is too heavy or too high, or we didn't see that rut in the weeds. You are very wise to push ballast boxes with every sale, very wise!

[BiffsEquipment]

Very nicely done, your getting quite good at this. 👍🏻 You explained why you would want ballast, where you may want to put it, and described different types of ballasting options for different applications. Great job man, not enough new comers out there know about properly blasting their equipment and it’s essential that they know to keep themselves and others safe. I also like how you showed where to find it in the Manual as well. Great video!