[MN3046]

^^^^^^^^

I suspect that most ballast accidents happen in situations similar to yours. In a hurry with no ballast. Fortunately, you had your guard up and managed it safely.

While we may have fun debating "iron vs concrete vs Portland vs pea rock", I think the reality is "something pretty heavy(500+) vs nothing". I doubt many tractors have tipped due to having 800 vs 1100 pounds of ballast

 

[dieselshadow]

The reality of it all is proper ballast allows your tractor to work much more efficiently as effectively. When your main tractive effort is firmly planted on the ground, you can get all that horsepower you paid for to the ground. You’d be surprised at how much more work your tractor will do once ballasted correctly for the job.

 

[Dan in Ohio]

I am using weights and liquid ballast (bioguard) as is shown in this pic as everything in the barn goes through the dew point.

 

[dieselshadow]

Dan, you need more liquid ballast. The rim is exposed in that scenario. You typically want the rim fully submerged in the fluid so it doesn’t tend to corrode as easy. Having it exposed to the air in the tire and partially submerged can setup a scenario that’ll be a huge headache later.

 

[Treefarmer]

Yep, being in a rush sometimes equal being stupid

^^^^^^^^

I suspect that most ballast accidents happen in situations similar to yours. In a hurry with no ballast. Fortunately, you had your guard up and managed it safely.

While we may have fun debating "iron vs concrete vs Portland vs pea rock", I think the reality is "something pretty heavy(500+) vs nothing". I doubt many tractors have tipped due to having 800 vs 1100 pounds of ballast

Yep, I agree that it would have been so easy to put the back forks on, load a bale and then been fine for the FEL. I didn't weigh them but at a guess those bales were 1,400 possibly 1,500 lbs as it was slightly greener than perfect and they are big bales. One of those on the back and only about a food off the ground would have made things much, much safer.

We got lucky, no harm, no foul but it was still stupid and careless. It will be a good reminder for the rest of the season though.

Treefarmer

 

[MJFlores]

Thanks for the welcome...

I've already found a thread about that u-joint on here have the link saved plan on getting it greased first chance I get.

I've greased just about everywhere else but without this site there would have been no way I would have heard about it.

Uhoh....new guy here...reading old posts and catching up on my learnin! Where is this joint? Is it on a brand new 2025r?

 

[MJFlores]

This was a really informative post...thanks everyone. I just bought a new 2025r, and the dealer talked me into loading the rear tires, as well as a weight box. I had planned on doing the loaded tires but he sort of made it seem like there was no option. I'm glad he takes ballast as seriously as it needs to be. So I have loaded rear tires, and iMatch hitch, a JD weigth box, and (5) 50lb bags of sand in it now. I'll pick up another four or five this weekend making the load in the box 500lbs. I might be able to fit more. I went with bagged sand so i can easily take out of add....and use it if it's icey, in a pinch!

Here's a question...I was thinking of getting a heavy hitch and suit case weights just so I can use a "pin on" dump cart and small york rake...but this got me thinking. Has anyone ever welded or bolted on a receiver hitch or clevis hitch to the rear bottom of a ballast box....for occasional use with a small pin on device? This way you can still use those little things...while keeping your ballast box on. I see boltonhooks has some options there.

 

[keane]

This was a really informative post...thanks everyone. I just bought a new 2025r, and the dealer talked me into loading the rear tires, as well as a weight box. I had planned on doing the loaded tires but he sort of made it seem like there was no option. I'm glad he takes ballast as seriously as it needs to be. So I have loaded rear tires, and iMatch hitch, a JD weigth box, and (5) 50lb bags of sand in it now. I'll pick up another four or five this weekend making the load in the box 500lbs. I might be able to fit more. I went with bagged sand so i can easily take out of add....and use it if it's icey, in a pinch!

Here's a question...I was thinking of getting a heavy hitch and suit case weights just so I can use a "pin on" dump cart and small york rake...but this got me thinking. Has anyone ever welded or bolted on a receiver hitch or clevis hitch to the rear bottom of a ballast box....for occasional use with a small pin on device? This way you can still use those little things...while keeping your ballast box on. I see boltonhooks has some options there.

I've been on this forum for about 5 years and I've seen people add a hitch to their ballast box. I tried to do a quick search to find some threads on this, but I had no luck. You should keep in mind that the 3-point hitch will have to handle the weight of your ballast box plus the tongue weight of anything you are hauling. I went with the Heavy Hitch. I like the fact that I can use the same weights on the front when I have a heavy implement on the back. Please see this post: Flexible Ballast

 

[Eric1968]

Does anyone else find it a little ironic that John Deere does EVERYTHING possible to continue to lighten tractors and then suggest we do Everything possible to add as much weight as we can?

Yes I know we put it where its needed, but still pretty ironic!!!!

 

[Milharri]

Does anyone else find it a little ironic that John Deere does EVERYTHING possible to continue to lighten tractors and then suggest we do Everything possible to add as much weight as we can?

Yes I know we put it where its needed, but still pretty ironic!!!!

I’m thinking it’s so we can mow our yards with a light weight tractor and then pile on the weight for a capable dirt mover.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[1973]

My brother was baling hay yesterday and we realized that some cows were sneaking into that field so the bales needed to be moved immediately. It was only a few bales and after putting the hay spear on the Kubota, I asked him if he wanted the back forks. We pretty much always put a bale on the back for counterweight if using the front spear.

"Nah, it's only a few bales and I'll put the trailer in the field so no problem".

It was only a few bales but they were heavy. I picked up the first one and immediately realized that I should have insisted on the back forks. Carrying the bale low wasn't a problem but when I went to set it down on the trailer as I was lowering it and stopped the downward movement the rear wheels started going up. . .

Fortunately it was flat ground and with a little finesse we got the hay moved but I really, really should hav insisted on those back forks. On a hillside the tractor and me would both have been flat on the ground.

I hate it when I do something stupid. . .

Treefarmer

Don't do that!

 

[W9GFO]

What we do not want on our tractors-is for all the weight of the load and tractor on the front axle, and that will happen if the rear wheels come off the ground and the front wheels become the fulcrum or pivot point as the pictures clearly show. Four main reasons we want to avoid this are:

1) The front axle is not rated to carry that amount of weight and can fail either quickly, or slowly over time with leaking seals or worn bearings, knuckles and ties rod ends.
2) The front axle pivots at the center, so the tractor could "fall" over to the left or right casing a tip-over condition.
3) We only have brakes on the rear axle, so when it gets light then we loose braking ability. we also loose traction as the rear wheels get lighter.
4) It's much harder on the steering system.

The primary reason for proper ballasting is to move the CG of the tractor rearward towards the solid rear axle. That is the reason you should have in mind. Why? Because if you are thinking that it is to save the front axle from some damage then you might decide to forgo it. After all, how often have you heard of somebody breaking their front axle for lack of ballast?

Get in the mindset that proper ballasting is for stability, specifically lateral stability due to the pivoting front axle. When you have achieved adequate lateral stability you will also have the other benefits such as not tipping over forwards, traction and braking power.

Also, the front axle must be engineered to handle huge dynamic loads (bouncing over rough ground with a full FEL). Ballasting does little to reduce dynamic loads.

Don't do it for your front axle, do it to keep from tipping over. Everything else is a bonus.

 

[Kennyd]

After all, how often have you heard of somebody breaking their front axle for lack of ballast?

Maybe not "breaking" in the literal sense, but leaking seals and worn out gears absolutely.

One thing is for sure though, you can't go wrong if you just :read the manual...it's all in there.

 

[Kennyd]

More evidence that proper rear ballast is required:

Jury orders John Deere to pay $5 million for Stillwater man's tractor death

Last week, a Payne County jury awarded a Stillwater woman $5 million in a civil suit that followed her husband's death in a tractor accident.

www.stwnewspress.com

------------------------------------------------------------

Last week, a Payne County jury awarded a Stillwater woman $5 million in a civil suit that followed her husband's death in a tractor accident.

The jury found Deere & Company, the manufacturer of John Deere tractors, to be responsible for the May 25, 2014, death of James Beall, age 38, of Stillwater, when the tractor he was driving rolled over, trapping him underneath. Shylah Beall, his widow, was represented by Smolen Law, a Tulsa firm.

The case involved a John Deere 3038 E Compact Utility Tractor with a 305 front loader that was sold to the Bealls by P&K Equipment, Inc., of Stillwater. The tractor and an optional front loader were assembled at the Deere plant in Georgia and then shipped to P&K Equipment.


Shylah Beall's suit claimed that the tractor was unsafe and had not been properly configured by either the factory or the dealership before she and her husband took delivery. Throughout the lawsuit, Deere denied the accusations.

Beall's attorneys said Deere’s manufacturing failed to add additional weight to the rear of the tractor to counterbalance the almost 700-pound front-end loader, before it left the Deere plant in Georgia. The weight was also not added at the local dealership.

Representatives of Deere & Company said the tractor was not defective or unreasonably dangerous and suggested Beall may not have been wearing his seatbelt.

During the trial, the representative for Deere & Company admitted that ballast is supposed to be added to the rear and tires of the tractor. In the instruction manual it said, "To prevent death or bodily injury from tractor loader roll-over, the required amount of ballast must be added to the tractor."

The proper ballast wasn’t added before Beall bought the tractor, and Beall's attorneys argued that evidence shown during the trial suggested that if the weight had been added as recommended, the tractor wouldn’t have rolled over.

Carlton Hearn, a product safety engineer for Deere & Company, testitfied that the tractor was supposed to be configured ready for use at the dealership, and there is a checklist dealers go through to ensure a tractor is ready for use.

Among the checklist items was the installation of ballast to to prevent rollover and injury. At first, it seemed the Hearn was suggesting that it would be up to the consumer to do whatever needed to be done with the tractor, according to a transcript provided to the News Press by Smolen Law.

"So let me ask you this, so when James and his dad, Clyde, showed up to P&K and they – and he had this dream of having his own business and he had this 16-acre property that he needs help mowing," attorney Donald Smolen asked. "You think that they should have thought to themselves, 'Hey, even though I'm buying this thing brand new from John Deere and it's come directly from the factory all set up, I bet it's in an unreasonably safe condition and that I need to go through and make sure that they did everything they are supposed to. Is that the way that Deere sells its equipment?'"

"I'm sorry. What way?" the rep asked.

"Well, you've got here that in order for this tractor to be safe, and properly weighted, and properly ballasted there are certain things that have to be done to the tractor when used with a loader right?," Smolen replied. "I mean, that's what we have been talking about. And these things that are listed, the consumer, James Beall, Clyde Beall, me whoever, the consumer can't even do that, they can't even istall the real tire weights according to Deere, right?"
"It's recommended that they are done by a Deere dealership," Hearn replied.
On Jan. 16, a Payne County jury found after 27 minutes of deliberation that "by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant, Deere & Company, acted in reckless disregard for the rights of others." They awarded Shylah Beall $3 million in actual compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages.
In a statement released Thursday, Shylah Beall said that her main goal was to hold the company accountable and make sure nothing like this happens in the future.
“I don’t want James’ death to be in vain,” she said. “I want proper safety protocols followed in the future.”
Attorney Donald E. Smolen, II, said the compensation will help Shylah raise her young son, who is now left without a father.
“No amount of money will take the place of a loving husband and father, but these funds can help Shylah and her family in other ways,” he said. “Our greatest hope is we can prevent this from happening to another family. We are pleased the jury decided in our favor.”

 

[MN3046]

^^^^^^^

I don't see how JD can possibly predict every configuration in which a tractor will be used by the owner. If the tractor is required to be "set up" like that, the days of user friendly implement attachment will have to end.

 

[PJR832]

^^^^^^^

I don't see how JD can possibly predict every configuration in which a tractor will be used by the owner. If the tractor is required to be "set up" like that, the days of user friendly implement attachment will have to end.

I agree, my guess is that Deere will bring this one down on the dealer for not showing the customer how to properly ballast the tractor.

 

[MN3046]

I agree, my guess is that Deere will bring this one down on the dealer for not showing the customer how to properly ballast the tractor.

Maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised if the deceased was told about ballast and forgot, disregarded, etc. The "loader package" will probably now include a filled ballast box and 20 more warning stickers.

While I was waiting for my tractor to be ordered, I joined this website and read, read, and read some more. I was inexperienced and assumed something that big and powerful could hurt or kill me in a variety of unpleasant ways.

 

[PJR832]

I wouldn't be surprised if the deceased was told about ballast and forgot, disregarded, etc

I guess we'll never know.

 

[MN3046]

I guess we'll never know.

True. A horrible outcome for all concerned.

 

[The Satch]

That's a terrible thing to happen, wouldn't wish that on anybody. But I don't see how Deere is to blame for that. Of course they recommend the dealer install the weights, but it's perfectly reasonable for the consumer to do it. The manual is incredibly clear on ballast, even if the dealer wasn't. Seems to me, this is a clear cut case of didn't read the manual, or did read the manual and decided it didn't apply to him. No disrespect to the deceased, but it is ridiculous to me that not reading the literature handed to you with a brand new piece of equipment is worth 5 million dollars.