3 point ballast weight

60falcon

New User
I've got a Ford 600 with a loader on it, a 19-97. It's a pretty big loader for the tractor. I'm going to make a concrete weight for the 3 point hitch. I was thinking of making it about 900 pounds and am wondering if that's too much weight or not enough. There are wheel weights on the inside of the rear wheels but I don't know what they weigh, there's no markings on them and I know I need more weight. The loader will be used mostly for moving snow piles and a little dirt work. I know I need weight but don't have any idea how much is ideal. I'm sure most of you know more about it than me. What are your thoughts?
 
Mine is made from 1/2 55 gal drum, filled with big rocks, then cement poured in to fill it up. But be careful what you haul with the loader. I would carry as much as it would lift and that bent the front axle. Not that you could tell from looking at the axle, but the front wheels had negative camber. Bought another axle from a junk yard.
 
This has been used on a 601 since the 60's.
mvphoto53881.jpg
 
When making one out of a half-barrel, don?t pour cement all the way to the top. Leave a two-inch lip, so you can carry tools.
 
(quoted from post at 08:19:34 04/30/20) When making one out of a half-barrel, don?t pour cement all the way to the top. Leave a two-inch lip, so you can carry tools.

If you do that with a metal barrel, be sure to drill some drain holes so it doesn't sit with water in it every time it rains. Otherwise the top lip will rust out in short order and you will no longer have a place that will keep your tools secure.
 
You might want to make you a perch from heavy steel to hold that weight off your lift.Periodically use the lift to keep it working, maybe everytime you start to use the tractor. We put a piece of square tube over the drawbar to keep it up but someone undoubtedly bounced it too hard and it broke the factory drawbar off where the curve is. I have never seen a broke one before. When I put my factory weight back on I'll build a perch for it and maybe some sort of side to side stabilizer. That's a lot of weight to keep loading your lift with.
 
Check your crglst. You may not have to build it. My son bought one last year & there is one in east Iowa (Dubuque) right now.
 

Just an update: thanks for the input.

I made a 860# weight. It made a huge difference. It makes the tractor and loader way more used friendly and useful. I even added 130# of steel weights to that. The loader was pretty useless without the ballast. Out of curiosity, I left the weight raised over night and in the morning it was still up - it settled a few inches but was still up. So I guess my three point hydraulics are in good shape.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top