I look at it this way; wheel weights and fluid fill cause VERY LITTLE added stress to bearings when compared to any kind of hanging weights. The wheels and tires are "under" the bearings in the weight distribution.
As an industrial mechanic I'd have to say, added weight to the wheels has a negligible effect on bearing life since the wheels are directly supported by the ground. The bearings are supporting the tractor and load weight on the axles, which are supported by the wheels. Wheel spacing has a direct impact on bearing life since it effects the torsional leverage the wheel exerts on the axle at the bearing (fulcrum point). With this in mind, I chose R4 tires filled 60% with liquid ballast when I recently purchased my new tractor. R4s gave the widest stance possible without adding spacers. It also holds 3 to 4 times as much ballast as R1s. And ballesting the tires at 60% keeps all of the added weight below the tractor's horizontal centerline. I have to agree, your dealer is trying to make an extra buck on this point.
For reference, when I ordered my Kubota MX5800, I wanted factory wheel weights and Kubota's website will only allow you to order up to (3) sets of wheel weights for that specific model. So the factory feels comfortable for that much weight on the back tires. This might help for a reference if you rather add fluid over wheel weights....to give you an idea of how much weight the factory states you can add.
My Ford 7700 has had calcium in the rear tires since we bought it new in 1980, you just use an inner tube to keep it from corroding the rims. Never had the first problem from it.
I use wheel weights because with me using my tractor to do landscaping and land clearing don't want to bust a tire and have to replace all the fluid in the tire. I have 120 pounds on each rear wheel and have done good so far. Have a great day and be safe
I am a retired coal mine mechanic, underground we had shuttle cars which hauled the coal to conveyor belts. The company switched to foam filled tires to eliminate problems with flat tires. We ended up tearing up wheel units which are like final drives. The company switches back to regular tires. I agree with you that having tractor tires filled as ballast will not hurt the bearings.
Dave Knepp the trouble probably came because there isn’t any give in a foam filled tire . There is give in the fluid/air filled tires when we used to fill them where we worked the fluid never took up 100% of the tire
Kind of like the old joke, which weighs more, a pound of lead or a pound of feathers... Now if the questions was which costs more 200 pounds of wheel weights or 200 pounds of fluids, there may be an answer the salesman doesn't want to tell you.
21% methane mix, here in northern Virginia, we use heavy ballast, never had Kubota,Ford or John Deere Fail, fluid in the tires and wheel weight on all my tractors, your spot on a about the dealer! Money!
Weight of any kind added to the wheels of a tractor should not add any stress to the wheel bearings as it is unsprung weight. Weight added anywhere else like on the tractor frame or 3PH does impart extra born weight directly on the wheel bearings. Now if you jack up one of the tires THEN the wheel bearing is supporting the extra weight of the tire.
Yea that dealer sounds shady. My Local JD Dealer ask me if I wanted both Fluid and Weights. I have a 5100 so I just went with fluid since was the cheapest.
If the wheel weights have the same weight as the fluid added to the tire, logically, both put the same added stress on the wheel bearings. So if the salesman is telling you will damage the bearings and the other will not, if you have not already bought the tractor, run away from that dealership fast. Go to a different dealership! If you have already bought the tractor, go read your owners manual. When you find what the mfg recommends for ballast, if what the salesman told you is not in line with the owners manual, notify the dealership owner or manager. If they give you crap, 1)file a complain with the mfg, 2)find a different dealership to provide future support! Good Luck Glenn
Coy Patton wheel weights sit closer to the axle so they have less leverage on the bearing. Either way it’s minuscule difference in the grand scheme of things.
@@chevyon37sWheel weights rotate around and should cause more wear. Water always stays low and does not cause as much of a rotational issue. Tractor does not go fast enough to cause the water to rotate inside the wheel. Only resistance would be weight and fluid drag.
Thinking out loud here; If you put liquid inside your tires then the weight from the liquid is transmitted from the wheel direct to the ground that added weight should not be on the bearings. If you add weight to the frame of the tractor or the 3 point hitch then that weight is borne by the bearings. Not sure about the wheel weights, but I would think that the weight would be borne by the wheel and transfer to the ground through the tire and not cause added stress on the bearings. Any opinions out there from mechanical engineers?
But putting weight directly in or on the tire/wheels, should not add stress to the bearings, as no more weight has been added to the bearings. The tractor itself still weighs the same amount, as all the added weight is carried by the tires/wheels. Is this not true? Thanks
The dealer just lied, in my opinion! There is no difference in weigh added to the bearing between wheel weights and filled tires assuming you stay within the recommendations of the manufacturer. This dealer was more concerned with his financial bottom line than being honest with the costumer!
Beet juice is great, but..... As you said, it's more expensive!! Expensive enough that even though I don't like what calcium does to wheels if you have a leak.. (We only use it in tubed tires!!!! Sadly, today's tubes are JUNK... But... still way more cost effective than beet juice..) We do have beet juice in the rear tires on the combine. As for wheel weights... Yup, dealer sells, dealer installs, dealer gets your money.... Liquid ballast can't mess up bearings, it can corrode wheels... Wheel weights can bust out the center of the wheel... Pros and cons... We have an OLD JD 4010 with an F11 high lift loader, she moves, loads and feeds big bales every day... 1500 to 3200 pounds on the loader, yes, it has wheel weights. About 1200 pounds, plus both rears are full of calcium and water. Sometimes, she could use another 500+ pounds 😎 Good informative video Mike...... Sadly, some equipment dealers are a lot like used car dealers....
I have ran ballast on every tractor I ever owned . Never a problem . Service on tractor is the issue . Changing oil and filters etc . This is most important thing . Dirty oil kills bearings .
They make more money off wheel weights than fluid. All of our tractors had fluid in the tires. We never had any bearing failures in all the years of farming. I also worked with IH for years, and never replaced any axle bearings.
My tractor is just little and the manual seems to acknowledge weight / ballast is just not a good idea. Better to just have an implement on the back in my case.
I put fluid in 100’s of tractor tires when I was in the tire business and never saw trouble from it ,matter of fact most of it was on older tractors my customers had for decades and never heard them complain of bearing issues and these were men that used the tractors as hard as anyone could use them . The major factor if a problem like this existed would probably be in the quality of the tractor .
The argument against fluid in the wheels is that the weight is farther away from the axle and especially when moving, isn’t balanced well around the center point of rotation so at especially higher speeds you’re basically flinging that fluid around causing much more force on the axle. With wheel weights they’re basically balanced all the way around, centered and close to the point of rotation, and give a constant force in all directions. The reason I found this out is I busted an axle off of a JD lawnmower several years ago and was not overloading the tractor in any way, when I went to the dealer they had no interest in helping to fix it because we had fluid in the tires and the manual stated not to do so, and that was the explanation which makes perfect sense...on some tractors, especially a lawnmower. If the manual states you’re allowed to put fluid in tires, go for it, if not, then the axle isn’t heavy enough to handle the extra rotational forces, which is why rear ballast boxes are encouraged, plus the rear ballast is farther back so the physics and extra leverages gives you more front lift capacity per pound of weight you add on the rear
When a tractor is working the fluid would move with the tire , I would think balance would only come in to effect if the tractor was moving 50 or 60 mph as I’ve never heard anyone complain about balance vibration and what not at low speeds unless something else was wrong with their vehicle.
centrifugal force caused by tire rotation causes liquids to evenly disperse around the circumference of the inside of the tire and if the tire is not spinning fast enough most of the liquid sits in the bottom......
I agree it will not make much difference in the life of 99% of tractors out there if you use wheel weights or fluid filled tires. The only thing that I can think of that might make a difference is the fact that a wheel weight is carried evenly around the axle/wheel bearing where fluid in the tire is more one sided and carried at a greater distance. If the weight were the same between the wheel weight and the fluid fill then the fluid fill would exert more pressure on the axle/wheel bearing by simply being leveraged further away. We see this alot when we try and lift or move something. if the small pry bar doesnt work get a longer one. Anyway my .02 cents that may actually admittedly be worth nothing at all, rofl. In the end I agree I think the dealer had wheel weights to sell...
The weight of the fluid is bearing directly on the ground thru the tire, not on the bearings. Any wheel weight that is axle mounted will put weight on the wheel bearings, which transfer to wheel , tire then ground. So as Mike says, if anything the wheel weight option is the one that loads the bearings, but still not a concern, they are made to take it.
Wheel weights are the same as fluid in the tires. The weight is supported by the tires not the bearings. The only effect of fluid in the tires, and it's very small, is the fact that fluid is, unlike air, incompressable. This means that rough ground will increase load on bearings by whatever additional forces the fluid in leu of air causes over rough ground. Wheel weights do not have this effect but they also don't have as low a CG as fluid.
I disagree. Adding wright to the tires, (in theory), is NO different than adding a heavier tire to the tractor, as this weight is not CARRIED by the tractor, but actually, (in theory), "supports" the tractot. Adding weight TO the tractor is an increasrd weight (or burden), on the trsctor, ehich is then CARRIED by the tractor.and the "wheel bearings". And IF we are talking about the REAR tires, unless the tractor has planetary tear hubs, yhey are "AXLE" bearings, NOT wheel bearings.
Wheel weights and fluid filled tires are both..... We'll call it "down-stream" of the axle bearings. All their weight is resting on the ground. The bearings support the rest of the tractor up-stream of them, just like it would if there no added weight.
I agree with David. Adding weight to the wheels in any form, fluid, solid, or bigger size wheel or tire, adds ZERO stress to the bearings. All stress comes from the axle and what it's carrying. Weighs on the tractor body, the tractor body itself, heavy implements, and heavy scoops in the loader are what the bearings feel. And that dealer is full of it!
Haha We use water and alcohol. Only time I hear a failure on a 200Hp tractor. We offer our customers water always.... We also ask to widened the footprint of the tractor also.
Seems to me that weight is weight. whether it's in the tire or on the wheel. In fact, it seems like weight IN the tire would be better than weight hanging on the outside of the wheel. That would be pulling on the bearings where the liquid inside the tire is in line with the tire and supporting it's own weight. Either way, like you said, the bearings and axles are designed for that.
That dealer is mostly correct. You are supposed to have the proper ballast for your application. With fluid in the tires you have all of the extra weight on your tractor all the time. With other forms of ballast you can add and remove weight as needed so less wear and tear and less fuel consumption.
Perhaps. But in reality, who is pulling several hundred pound wheel weights off and on as conditions warrant? A lot of larger tractors have HUGE iron weights on the INSIDE of the wheel in addition to weights on the outside of the wheel. There ain't no body taking those on and off unless you have to. I can see removing tractor weights from the front weight bracket or a ballast box when not needed but weighted tires not only provides more traction but improves overall stability as well.
It makes no difference how much weight you put on the tires Its the weight you put on the tractor that puts more strain on the bearings. The tire is only pushing down on the ground if you put weight on the tractor then it puts strain on the bearings
My concern about filling the tires with fluid is making them to rigid to the point that there is not much give when running over stobs left from bushhogging or over rocks thus making it more likely to puncture a tire. I have wanted to fill my tires but dont want to change flats either. Any thoughts on this?
Britt Wright the tire isn’t 100% filled with liquid/antifreeze but depending on the size of the tire it can add a considerable amount of weight to the tire causing more problems when running over stobs
gasses are fluids also... But to address this dealers school of thought just ask him why 100 lbs of liquid in a tire that is dispersed over the area of a tire by centrifugal force when the tire is rotated at speed ruins a bearing when carrying the weight of a 1000lb accessory or full bucket that puts all the pressure on less than 5 square inches of bearing lubricant and bearing race doesn't. The dealer is an idiot and would lose in any small claims court or large court.
Sorry to be blunt, but your dealer, should I say, is unwise. Not a single ounce of fluid or wheel weights is carried by the wheel bearings. It's all distributed from the tire to the ground. It's the best way to add weight yo your tractor, for that very reason, plus it lowers the tractors center of gravity.
Straight up BS, right? I've read the comments here. The only valid ones seems to be that fluid is not balanced. Has someone seen any transparent demonstration tire so we can see how the fluid will float around at different speeds? The other argument was that you loose shock absorption if the tires are filled up a lot. We can say that wheel weights and fluid tires may cause different stresses on the wheel bearings. But it dwarfs in comparison to the tractor's weight, any implement it's carrying and the stresses buy pulling something. And it's built for that. So I can not believe it causes any difference.
Maybe Glenn should be questioning the brand of tractor he bought if the dealer is telling him that adding the proper ballast to tires is going to wear out the wheel bearings so add wheel weights instead...what a dumb comment from a dealer...either type of weight is going to hang off the axle of the tractor and, yep eventually causes some bearing wear....so does having a front end loader, using the rear 3 point to lift implements, and just overall using your tractor is going to wear it out. I think I'd find a different dealer.
Sounds like a ploy to sell wheel weights. Caution!! Using your tractor will wear it out if you use it. eventually. How much stress is applied by a bush hog hanging off the back when you lift it. lol
OK, just stop and think a minute. Fluid filled tires or wheel weights have the weight carried by the tires - not the bearings. Bolt on iron body weights ARE carried by the bearings and that could be a problem (or not) depending on circumstances. Mike, you hit the nail FIRMLY on the head -- the dealer doesn't carry fluid or filling equipment (or no one knows how to do it) but I bet they have a lot of iron weights in inventory.
I look at it this way; wheel weights and fluid fill cause VERY LITTLE added stress to bearings when compared to any kind of hanging weights. The wheels and tires are "under" the bearings in the weight distribution.
As an industrial mechanic I'd have to say, added weight to the wheels has a negligible effect on bearing life since the wheels are directly supported by the ground. The bearings are supporting the tractor and load weight on the axles, which are supported by the wheels. Wheel spacing has a direct impact on bearing life since it effects the torsional leverage the wheel exerts on the axle at the bearing (fulcrum point). With this in mind, I chose R4 tires filled 60% with liquid ballast when I recently purchased my new tractor. R4s gave the widest stance possible without adding spacers. It also holds 3 to 4 times as much ballast as R1s. And ballesting the tires at 60% keeps all of the added weight below the tractor's horizontal centerline. I have to agree, your dealer is trying to make an extra buck on this point.
For reference, when I ordered my Kubota MX5800, I wanted factory wheel weights and Kubota's website will only allow you to order up to (3) sets of wheel weights for that specific model. So the factory feels comfortable for that much weight on the back tires. This might help for a reference if you rather add fluid over wheel weights....to give you an idea of how much weight the factory states you can add.
Straight up scam, dealership makes a bigger sale selling wheel weights then they do with fluid filling.
Exactly!! Wheel weights can run a couple of hundred bucks. I always used windshield washer fluid in wheels even in Louisiana
My Ford 7700 has had calcium in the rear tires since we bought it new in 1980, you just use an inner tube to keep it from corroding the rims. Never had the first problem from it.
I use wheel weights because with me using my tractor to do landscaping and land clearing don't want to bust a tire and have to replace all the fluid in the tire. I have 120 pounds on each rear wheel and have done good so far. Have a great day and be safe
I am a retired coal mine mechanic, underground we had shuttle cars which hauled the coal to conveyor belts. The company switched to foam filled tires to eliminate problems with flat tires. We ended up tearing up wheel units which are like final drives. The company switches back to regular tires. I agree with you that having tractor tires filled as ballast will not hurt the bearings.
Dave Knepp the trouble probably came because there isn’t any give in a foam filled tire . There is give in the fluid/air filled tires when we used to fill them where we worked the fluid never took up 100% of the tire
@@tinkeringaround6241 not so sure, having handled foam filled tires I can tell they are very heavy and could easily cause premature failures.
You are correct sir, finals will take a beating
Kind of like the old joke, which weighs more, a pound of lead or a pound of feathers... Now if the questions was which costs more 200 pounds of wheel weights or 200 pounds of fluids, there may be an answer the salesman doesn't want to tell you.
Good information. Thanks Mike.
21% methane mix, here in northern Virginia, we use heavy ballast, never had Kubota,Ford or John Deere Fail, fluid in the tires and wheel weight on all my tractors, your spot on a about the dealer! Money!
Weight of any kind added to the wheels of a tractor should not add any stress to the wheel bearings as it is unsprung weight. Weight added anywhere else like on the tractor frame or 3PH does impart extra born weight directly on the wheel bearings. Now if you jack up one of the tires THEN the wheel bearing is supporting the extra weight of the tire.
EOSJOE surprised you’re the only one who got this right
My Ferguson has had fluid in the tires since 1953. It still has the original bearings without any issues. I’m going to have to call BS on the dealer.
thanks for the info! My dealer told me it would snap the axles in my compact tractor.
Excellent advice.
Yea that dealer sounds shady. My Local JD Dealer ask me if I wanted both Fluid and Weights. I have a 5100 so I just went with fluid since was the cheapest.
If the wheel weights have the same weight as the fluid added to the tire, logically, both put the same added stress on the wheel bearings.
So if the salesman is telling you will damage the bearings and the other will not, if you have not already bought the tractor, run away from that dealership fast. Go to a different dealership! If you have already bought the tractor, go read your owners manual. When you find what the mfg recommends for ballast, if what the salesman told you is not in line with the owners manual, notify the dealership owner or manager. If they give you crap, 1)file a complain with the mfg, 2)find a different dealership to provide future support! Good Luck Glenn
Coy Patton wheel weights sit closer to the axle so they have less leverage on the bearing. Either way it’s minuscule difference in the grand scheme of things.
@@chevyon37sWheel weights rotate around and should cause more wear. Water always stays low and does not cause as much of a rotational issue. Tractor does not go fast enough to cause the water to rotate inside the wheel. Only resistance would be weight and fluid drag.
Thinking out loud here; If you put liquid inside your tires then the weight from the liquid is transmitted from the wheel direct to the ground that added weight should not be on the bearings. If you add weight to the frame of the tractor or the 3 point hitch then that weight is borne by the bearings. Not sure about the wheel weights, but I would think that the weight would be borne by the wheel and transfer to the ground through the tire and not cause added stress on the bearings. Any opinions out there from mechanical engineers?
But putting weight directly in or on the tire/wheels, should not add stress to the bearings, as no more weight has been added to the bearings. The tractor itself still weighs the same amount, as all the added weight is carried by the tires/wheels.
Is this not true?
Thanks
2 years ago we had our valve stems leaking due to the calcium chloride. Our tire guy replaced the ballast with windshield washer fluid.
The dealer just lied, in my opinion! There is no difference in weigh added to the bearing between wheel weights and filled tires assuming you stay within the recommendations of the manufacturer. This dealer was more concerned with his financial bottom line than being honest with the costumer!
thanks for the honesty Mike! I agree 100%
My kubota bx owners manual says you can use liquid ballast or wheel weights, but do NOT use both at the same time.
Beet juice is great, but.....
As you said, it's more expensive!!
Expensive enough that even though I don't like what calcium does to wheels if you have a leak..
(We only use it in tubed tires!!!! Sadly, today's tubes are JUNK... But... still way more cost effective than beet juice..)
We do have beet juice in the rear tires on the combine.
As for wheel weights... Yup, dealer sells, dealer installs, dealer gets your money....
Liquid ballast can't mess up bearings, it can corrode wheels...
Wheel weights can bust out the center of the wheel...
Pros and cons...
We have an OLD JD 4010 with an F11 high lift loader, she moves, loads and feeds big bales every day... 1500 to 3200 pounds on the loader, yes, it has wheel weights. About 1200 pounds, plus both rears are full of calcium and water. Sometimes, she could use another 500+ pounds 😎
Good informative video Mike......
Sadly, some equipment dealers are a lot like used car dealers....
I have ran ballast on every tractor I ever owned . Never a problem . Service on tractor is the issue . Changing oil and filters etc . This is most important thing . Dirty oil kills bearings .
They make more money off wheel weights than fluid. All of our tractors had fluid in the tires. We never had any bearing failures in all the years of farming. I also worked with IH for years, and never replaced any axle bearings.
Thanks for the good advice Mike
Up here in Sk pretty much no tractor is sold with liquid ballast anymore. All cast iron weights now
My tractor is just little and the manual seems to acknowledge weight / ballast is just not a good idea. Better to just have an implement on the back in my case.
If you have a B H the manual says not to load the rear tire.
Yep... all about the money! Antifreeze and water works wonders!
I put fluid in 100’s of tractor tires when I was in the tire business and never saw trouble from it ,matter of fact most of it was on older tractors my customers had for decades and never heard them complain of bearing issues and these were men that used the tractors as hard as anyone could use them . The major factor if a problem like this existed would probably be in the quality of the tractor .
I think I'd worry more about all the wheel spacers that people put on..... There's been fluid in tractor tires for decades
The argument against fluid in the wheels is that the weight is farther away from the axle and especially when moving, isn’t balanced well around the center point of rotation so at especially higher speeds you’re basically flinging that fluid around causing much more force on the axle. With wheel weights they’re basically balanced all the way around, centered and close to the point of rotation, and give a constant force in all directions. The reason I found this out is I busted an axle off of a JD lawnmower several years ago and was not overloading the tractor in any way, when I went to the dealer they had no interest in helping to fix it because we had fluid in the tires and the manual stated not to do so, and that was the explanation which makes perfect sense...on some tractors, especially a lawnmower. If the manual states you’re allowed to put fluid in tires, go for it, if not, then the axle isn’t heavy enough to handle the extra rotational forces, which is why rear ballast boxes are encouraged, plus the rear ballast is farther back so the physics and extra leverages gives you more front lift capacity per pound of weight you add on the rear
When a tractor is working the fluid would move with the tire , I would think balance would only come in to effect if the tractor was moving 50 or 60 mph as I’ve never heard anyone complain about balance vibration and what not at low speeds unless something else was wrong with their vehicle.
centrifugal force caused by tire rotation causes liquids to evenly disperse around the circumference of the inside of the tire and if the tire is not spinning fast enough most of the liquid sits in the bottom......
I agree it will not make much difference in the life of 99% of tractors out there if you use wheel weights or fluid filled tires.
The only thing that I can think of that might make a difference is the fact that a wheel weight is carried evenly around the axle/wheel bearing where fluid in the tire is more one sided and carried at a greater distance. If the weight were the same between the wheel weight and the fluid fill then the fluid fill would exert more pressure on the axle/wheel bearing by simply being leveraged further away. We see this alot when we try and lift or move something. if the small pry bar doesnt work get a longer one.
Anyway my .02 cents that may actually admittedly be worth nothing at all, rofl.
In the end I agree I think the dealer had wheel weights to sell...
The weight of the fluid is bearing directly on the ground thru the tire, not on the bearings. Any wheel weight that is axle mounted will put weight on the wheel bearings, which transfer to wheel , tire then ground.
So as Mike says, if anything the wheel weight option is the one that loads the bearings, but still not a concern, they are made to take it.
Yes exactly! Wheel weights act directly on the bearings. Fluid in the tyres have no impact on the wheel bearings.
Wheel weights are the same as fluid in the tires. The weight is supported by the tires not the bearings. The only effect of fluid in the tires, and it's very small, is the fact that fluid is, unlike air, incompressable. This means that rough ground will increase load on bearings by whatever additional forces the fluid in leu of air causes over rough ground. Wheel weights do not have this effect but they also don't have as low a CG as fluid.
I disagree.
Adding wright to the tires, (in theory), is NO different than adding a heavier tire to the tractor, as this weight is not CARRIED by the tractor, but actually, (in theory), "supports" the tractot.
Adding weight TO the tractor is an increasrd weight (or burden), on the trsctor, ehich is then CARRIED by the tractor.and the "wheel bearings".
And IF we are talking about the REAR tires, unless the tractor has planetary tear hubs, yhey are "AXLE" bearings, NOT wheel bearings.
It seems to me that wheel weights add weight to the axle, while fluid rests on the bottom of the tire (i.e. ground), not on the axle.
Wheel weights and fluid filled tires are both..... We'll call it "down-stream" of the axle bearings. All their weight is resting on the ground. The bearings support the rest of the tractor up-stream of them, just like it would if there no added weight.
The wheel spacers are more stressful for the wheel bearings. Dualls are worse (the dual has to be a little bit smaller so it doesn't run on it)
I agree with David. Adding weight to the wheels in any form, fluid, solid, or bigger size wheel or tire, adds ZERO stress to the bearings. All stress comes from the axle and what it's carrying. Weighs on the tractor body, the tractor body itself, heavy implements, and heavy scoops in the loader are what the bearings feel. And that dealer is full of it!
Haha We use water and alcohol. Only time I hear a failure on a 200Hp tractor. We offer our customers water always.... We also ask to widened the footprint of the tractor also.
I can use ballast on skidsteer loader??
Seems to me that weight is weight. whether it's in the tire or on the wheel. In fact, it seems like weight IN the tire would be better than weight hanging on the outside of the wheel. That would be pulling on the bearings where the liquid inside the tire is in line with the tire and supporting it's own weight. Either way, like you said, the bearings and axles are designed for that.
That dealer is mostly correct. You are supposed to have the proper ballast for your application. With fluid in the tires you have all of the extra weight on your tractor all the time. With other forms of ballast you can add and remove weight as needed so less wear and tear and less fuel consumption.
Perhaps. But in reality, who is pulling several hundred pound wheel weights off and on as conditions warrant? A lot of larger tractors have HUGE iron weights on the INSIDE of the wheel in addition to weights on the outside of the wheel. There ain't no body taking those on and off unless you have to. I can see removing tractor weights from the front weight bracket or a ballast box when not needed but weighted tires not only provides more traction but improves overall stability as well.
gases are fluids also, *liquid in the tire is unsprung weight therefore it is not adding any extra weight on wheel bearings.
You know, I can replace a wheel bearing but I sure can’t replace my spine. I think I will take my chance on the bearings.
the weight goes to the ground not on the axles
It makes no difference how much weight you put on the tires
Its the weight you put on the tractor that puts more strain on the bearings.
The tire is only pushing down on the ground if you put weight on the tractor then it puts strain on the bearings
My concern about filling the tires with fluid is making them to rigid to the point that there is not much give when running over stobs left from bushhogging or over rocks thus making it more likely to puncture a tire. I have wanted to fill my tires but dont want to change flats either. Any thoughts on this?
Britt Wright the tire isn’t 100% filled with liquid/antifreeze but depending on the size of the tire it can add a considerable amount of weight to the tire causing more problems when running over stobs
gasses are fluids also... But to address this dealers school of thought just ask him why 100 lbs of liquid in a tire that is dispersed over the area of a tire by centrifugal force when the tire is rotated at speed ruins a bearing when carrying the weight of a 1000lb accessory or full bucket that puts all the pressure on less than 5 square inches of bearing lubricant and bearing race doesn't. The dealer is an idiot and would lose in any small claims court or large court.
Filled tires is unsprung weight, it should have zero effect on the wheel bearings.
Sorry to be blunt, but your dealer, should I say, is unwise. Not a single ounce of fluid or wheel weights is carried by the wheel bearings. It's all distributed from the tire to the ground. It's the best way to add weight yo your tractor, for that very reason, plus it lowers the tractors center of gravity.
Straight up BS, right?
I've read the comments here. The only valid ones seems to be that fluid is not balanced. Has someone seen any transparent demonstration tire so we can see how the fluid will float around at different speeds? The other argument was that you loose shock absorption if the tires are filled up a lot.
We can say that wheel weights and fluid tires may cause different stresses on the wheel bearings. But it dwarfs in comparison to the tractor's weight, any implement it's carrying and the stresses buy pulling something. And it's built for that.
So I can not believe it causes any difference.
Maybe Glenn should be questioning the brand of tractor he bought if the dealer is telling him that adding the proper ballast to tires is going to wear out the wheel bearings so add wheel weights instead...what a dumb comment from a dealer...either type of weight is going to hang off the axle of the tractor and, yep eventually causes some bearing wear....so does having a front end loader, using the rear 3 point to lift implements, and just overall using your tractor is going to wear it out. I think I'd find a different dealer.
That company is just trying to sell him something for hundreds if not thousands of bucks
Sounds like a ploy to sell wheel weights.
Caution!! Using your tractor will wear it out if you use it. eventually.
How much stress is applied by a bush hog hanging off the back when you lift it. lol
Just put beet juice in my new tires and cost about $10 a gallon installed
Wheel weights are very expensive.
OK, just stop and think a minute. Fluid filled tires or wheel weights have the weight carried by the tires - not the bearings. Bolt on iron body weights ARE carried by the bearings and that could be a problem (or not) depending on circumstances.
Mike, you hit the nail FIRMLY on the head -- the dealer doesn't carry fluid or filling equipment (or no one knows how to do it) but I bet they have a lot of iron weights in inventory.
You could use radiator coolant anti boil / freeze
DO NOT used antifreeze! If it leaks it is deadly to any animal that drinks even a little.
What is your feeling in Wheel Spacers?