Brought the Ferguson TO30 home and started digging.

Had 3 tri-axles of dirt delivered yesterday, and bought a tractor with a loader in the same day. Doing major renovations to the back yard and need to fill lots of holes and do a lot of grading.

Back end is a bit light with a full load, and steering is nearly impossible, but I'm getting it done. Gotta hook up the grader blade so I can grade as I go.

Go easy on that rig. They are a front axle that was weak for loaded
work anyhow and on top of that the bucket is much larger than usual
for those loaders. I believe I do have spare front axle and spindles
outback from an early Ferguson but let's hope you don't need them!

Glad to see that you swapped the tires around. backwards tires can really cost you some points.

Putting grader blade on will also make rear end less lite. The steering will still be a bear tho.
I have about 1000# on rear tires between weights and loaded tires as well as about a 500# drum of concrete I can add to 3 pt

That is a lot of bucket for a tractor like that! You need a barrel of concrete on the 3-point, or just a back blade would help.

I took a 55 gallon barrel, filled it with concrete, made a 3 pt attachment for my neighbor's massey. It is a little over 1000 lb. That will not only put weight on the rear tires, it will also transfer weight off the front axle. The more you can add weight behind the rear axle, the more you transfer weight off the front axle. Putting ballast will not transfer weight. From the size of the front scoop, you need to transfer all the weight you can get. Neighbor need rear ballast to lift large bails of hay for his cows.

A faster way would be to install a brush hog. If you needed weight more ballast add blocks. If you have a round bail of hay, that would work too.

Not only the bucket looks big for that size tractor but the bucker looks to set out in front pretty far

The tires are calcium filled, but the bucket is pretty far forward. I'm going to make some castings for concrete weights for the axles and weight the rear blade. The bucket doesn't get full full, the goal was to keep it wide for dispersal.

It was the inaugrial run, see how things run. It's as wide as it is long. The tires were only turned in so it would fit on the trailer, then flipped them back when I got home.

Backrake with the bucket to level as you go.....

Fat jay I see you are from Northeast Pa like me. If it I am near enough to
you. I have a concrete 3 pt weight that my dad made 40 some years ago for
our 8N. I have been falling over it for 20 years and do not need or want it.
You could have it free for the taking if you wanted it. I would rather see
someone use it then just letting it sit. I will open my E mail if I do it
right or my cell # is six-10 -3 six 0-4212.

North east puller

you need to add weight behind the rear axle, not on the rear axle if you want to
transfer weight off the front end. Think about it, If you lift something heavy with the
3 pt, what happens to the front end, it gets lighter right?

Nobody else noticed the single axle trailer and ratchet straps yet? :shock: :shock: :shock:

(quoted from post at 08:54:00 05/31/15) Nobody else noticed the single axle trailer and ratchet straps yet? :shock: :shock: :shock:

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I did the whole way home. It was not a fun experience. The trailer held up though. It was twisted from a previous heavy load so when loading I jacked up the low side only. After loading it wasn't twisted anymore!

It wasn't an ideal situation though. I took it slow, the ratchet straps are very heavy, but on metal they could have cut. Also kept on newly paved roads and avoided pot holes like they were land mines. With that load they could have been. Tractor 2800lb plus loader 500lb, the trailer is rated for 3500lb. However the wheels are calcium filled so that put me over weight.

(quoted from post at 05:54:00 05/31/15) Nobody else noticed the single axle trailer and ratchet straps yet? :shock: :shock: :shock:

Click to expand...

Scott, you aren't believing that rumor about ratchet straps not being allowed are you? Everybody noticed the single axle trailer but felt obligated to leave it for one of the load police.

I bought a trashed engine 4000D 4 cyl with a self contained FEL very similar to that one....pump off front of crankshaft and fluid
contained in loader once. Point here is that the front axle was inverted making the tires point in at the top and out at the bottom.
"Anyhew" the reason the axle was inverted was that what used to be the bottom was welded where it had cracked from the load.

As others have said, that's a lot of bucket for that tractor.

As others have said, once you get it scattered, back into it and drag the bucket to get her smooth. I don't use a grader blade any
more with my FEL. Just no comparison in the quality of the job.

Front tires look new but to make steering easier, get some worn out 10 ply p/u truck, fat tires on the front. The wide area and lack
of tread will help greatly in turning and don't forget your tractor has individual rear brakes and they are individual to help in doing
just that. Yeah you will have go get/adapt a couple of wider wheels but it WILL be worth the effort. Additionally, as others have
said, the more weight you can put on the rear, as far out as you can get it, the more you will offset the FEL wt. and will help steering
a whole lot. Keep the king pins and steering linkage greased up good.

Good luck,

Mark