Front Weight for Ford 850

esbrian

Member
Next on my long list of questions about my 850 is about front weight. Next summer I'll be using this to spray my 1-acreish vineyard with a sprayer built on a 3-point carryall. It has a 65 gallon tank and filled I think is somewhere on the order of 700-800 lbs.

I gave it a test run this past weekend (which turned into a trip to the store for stabilizer arms and brackets) less than half full and was a little nervous about the weight. Vineyard is on a gentle slope with not much room for turning at the row ends, but enough room as long as I'm comfortable cutting it pretty tight. The rows run across the slope. No loader on the tractor. Anybody have a guess at how much weight in the front I might want in order to keep this safe and keep my front tires able to make a tight turn? How about how much I can hang out there without risking damage to the front end? there's no bumper on it now, so that will probably be fabricated to match whatever I end up using for ballast. I'm thinking something cast from concrete or a box of whatever's heavy...

Brian
 
If you can find them or make them, front wheel weights would
be my first choice. They may not be enough alone though.

Do you have any sand bags? Drape them over the front axle
during your test run. That would at least give you an idea as
to how much weight it will take to keep the front end down.

If you're fabricating it (cut from the same cloth) make it easy
to remove. You don't need it or want it on the front end when
you're not carrying all that weight on the rear end.
At least not all of it.
 
Soundguy read my mind again. But 200-300lbs would go
a long ways. Or you could forget the front ballast
and just stab a brake pedal for those quick 180°
turns.
 
Borrowed these from my son's DB. They were hanging on the draw bar for some reason and he said he didn't want them.
Don't know what they fit, but they work for me.
 

Water = 8.33 lbs per gallon so the water weight is a little short of 550 lbs. I use a 65 gallon plastic tank mounted on a 3 pt carry-all with my 8N. I use no weights on the front, and have never had issue. This is my "fetch tank" for maple sap so I cover a lot rutted ground with it.

Unless you have a metal tank made with boiler plate or a super heavy duty 3 pt carry-all I don't see an issue on your tractor, which is heavier than the 8N.
 
Esbrian,
I ran a 65 gal vertical tank sprayer on my 1964 ford 4000 (same basic tractor). Using a set of wheel weights that fit inside the wheels was all I needed.
When you add up the tank, pump, lines, sprayer booms (mine was a 17 nozzle, 28 foot boom), it was very light in front. Without the weights, when I filled up, the front end would come off the ground when you let out the clutch.
The lift always lifted it. But I remember being able to lift the front end with my hand.
Makes a BIG difference how far back the tank sits in the sprayer frame.
Also makes a difference what the mix is, some stuff is heavier than plain water.
HTH
Keith
 
easiest, probably cheapest route, pick up a used bumper and rig up some quick attach-detach weight for it.
A slightly bent out rod thru the hitch hole to stack barbell weights on works quick.

If you go this route, get a bumper like Michaels dad's pic with the upper reinforcement bar and 2 mounting bolts per side.
A standard 1 hole per side with no reinforcement bar will bend down like spaghetti when you hit a hard bump with a lot of weight on it.

(M-D, those are rear wheel weights off a little Farmall A or B. Worth a few bucks if you need some money)

homebrew.....make a couple brackets to attach a wide finish mower anti-gouge roller to the leading front bottom edge of your carry-all.
carry it just off the ground. if the front comes up some on a bump, the roller will skip the rear load off the ground without digging in. no worries.
 
(quoted from post at 07:56:44 08/17/14) easiest, probably cheapest route, pick up a used bumper and rig up some quick attach-detach weight for it.
A slightly bent out rod thru the hitch hole to stack barbell weights on works quick.

If you go this route, get a bumper like Michaels dad's pic with the upper reinforcement bar and 2 mounting bolts per side.
A standard 1 hole per side with no reinforcement bar will bend down like spaghetti when you hit a hard bump with a lot of weight on it.

(M-D, those are rear wheel weights off a little Farmall A or B. Worth a few bucks if you need some money)

homebrew.....make a couple brackets to attach a wide finish mower anti-gouge roller to the leading front bottom edge of your carry-all.
carry it just off the ground. if the front comes up some on a bump, the roller will skip the rear load off the ground without digging in. no worries.

I can always use money, but I don't need to pop wheelies on my hilly property.
:lol:
 
Thanks guys, lots of options to think about. I ran into a guy near here a couple of weeks ago who's trying to sell off everything he owns and move somewhere else. He mentioned that he's got a home gym with 1500 lbs of steel weights. Maybe he's looking to sell cheap....
 

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