building a counter weight

hey guys its been a while since ive been here but i am going to build a counter weight for my mf65 with a loader now ive got concrete coming on Saturday so i was wondering what it the best way to form a weigh with a barrel? or build a nice box? i am not looking to exceed 1 yard of concrete with this so its either most of a 55 gallon drum or a 3x3x3' box any body got a logic on which one is better?

Where my Dad retired from, they used to have a Ford tractor with loader, and it NEEDED a counter weight. He mounted up a 55 gallon drum and filled it with a yard of cement-worked real slick!

A yard of concrete is 3000+ pounds, thats a mighty big counterweight, are you sure you need that much? And will your three point hitch lift it?

Made a cement weight from a 2'X2' box thirty years ago and it's still hanging on the three point today. On the neighbor's platform scale it weighed 1300 LBS.I call it my "poor man's front assist". It adds a lot to the tractor's stability when the loader is up high, not to mention the added traction. The one is just as important as the other, in my opinion.

Had a long tree limb in the bucket raised high once without the weight on back and the left rear wheel came up. It kept coming until the wide front hit the stops, then I just sat there with the wheel off the ground. I don't remember why the weight wasn't on at that particular time, but it sure scared me. If the weight would have been hanging there the wheel would have stayed down. Jim

I doubt if you'll lift 1 yard with that tractor. it would be too bad to try it and find out you can't. As stated, a yard is 3000+ pounds. It's probably closer to 4000 pounds.

I think if you made a hitch frame and fitted it into the drum as a form, tie it together well... it should work fine. A little steel in it would be beneficial. A 45 gal drum would be more like half a yard and still a good heavy counterweight for most tractors.

Rod

Be sure to build the hitch so that will it will fit a cat. 2 3pt. quick hitch as this will make it much easier to mount and demount. You will never regret it!! Armand

You guys just made me go out to the shop in the rain(better than snow) and measure an oil drum. Its 23x34 which calculates to 0.3 yards or about 10001bs. of concrete.

if you"re making a counter weight that will mount on the 3 pint hitch, it might be worth making a drawbar hitch point so you can still tow a wagon behind the tractor... depends if your weight blocks access to the tractor drawbar... just a thought

I built one a long time ago for a Massey 175. I forget the measurements, it calculated out to about 1000 pounds as straight concrete, but I added a lot of old chains and such so it was probably closer to 1200. Be sure to cast some sort of draw bar into it, you will always want to pull something or more likely tow it with chain. If you use a 55 gallon drum, leave an empty space at the top, makes a real good place to carry chains, tools, bits and pieces. Punch a couple of holes in the side though, or it will fill up with water and freeze everything in until spring.

BTDT and never will again. They do not work well unless you can get them out about 3 or 4 foot from the back. I gave up on them and use a back blade with 6 85lbs suit case weights on it and it has worked well for decades and you then also have the blade to use instead of a weight that does nothing more then hang there
Hobby farm

55 gal. drum with a rod jammed thru it the same diameter of the three point balls on your tractor makes an easy way to assemble it. Just drill the rod for jesus clips then put it thru the drum then pour it full of concrete.Got an old three point attached impliment lying around? Use the top link connection and do the same at the top front of the drum.Figure out how high you want to carry it and play with it a bit before pouring the mud.

The one that came with my frt loader is homemade and had a drop pin hitch shoved into the wet concrete so you don't have to remove the wieght to move wagons around (light or empty). I could see the practicality of a 55 gal drum also (a half decent roller packer in a pinch).

Dave

On a utility size tractor, this cast iron weight is ideal for counter ballast. I've always wondered what it weighs, apparently came from a ford airplane tug WW II era, have not found a photo of one of those tugs with this weight installed. The weight is concentrated, below the axle line,compact, and not so bulky to deal with. With this weight and filled tires, & loader, the tractor is well balanced, it squats the tires a bit, and I can use the tractor in deep snow, even some ice, as long as the area is flat, being tilted to one side a bit on a slope with ice underneath can be a problem, but take the same tractor and try and use it without the weight in the snow, absolutely useless. With the weight and if I were to add chains, it would perform even better in ice/snow conditions.

With this arrangement, (has an old backhoe frame on this one) once I lift the weight up, I can slide a bar under the lift arms and set it back down, onto the bar which spans the bottom of the 4pt backhoe mount, and relieve the hydrualic system of the weight, the tractor accomodates this weight nicely.

I thought you could also buy or fabricate something to fit a standard 3 pt and secure same with the same effect, relieving strain on the hydraulic system. Not sure about that and the importance of doing this when carrying around a heavy weight off the 3 pt, mine stays on all winter, seems like a good idea to take the load off the hydraulics.

With a 55 gallon drum, definitely need a top link connection, with this thing, being so low and concentrated, not needed, leaves the top link off with no problems. You might consider a lower profile shape, possibly centering it like this one is in the photos, it moves but does not flop over one way or the other, the 9 hole drawbar seems to be centered on it, the holes were cast into it when it was made.

This thing would seem to be a real simple universal weight for utility size tractors, always wondered if one was to have some of these cast, if anyone would be interested, probably would not be cheap compared to concrete, but real handy and not too bulky with all the weight below the axle line. I like the way it performs, can't imagine what it weighs though, must be over 1000 lbs.

Another guy on here souNdguy posted pix of his, I think on the Ford board.

Pretty similar to what everyone is saying on here. I think he used a laundry tub with a cat 1 drawbar stuck through the middle.

You might be able to find the pix on the other board.

Rick

One thing you might consider that no one else has mentioned is to slide your drawbar in. Then lift your weight up with the 3 point, then pull the draw bar out dropping the weight to carry the load on the drawbar. I would also suggest you make it extra heavy, all your 3 point will lift easy.

We once made one for a 856 IH, it was a manure loader tractor only. We made it so heavy that once we took the loader bucket off to work on the tractor We had to pull it into the shop (kinda) with a ford 8N to keep the front wheels on the ground for steering. This was due to you could not drive it as the front wheels were off the ground at all times. I can honestly say the weight did a good job, but he made a very large bucket for the loader. It was a weekly ordeal to replace O rings, and add hydrolic oil.

I should also mention that the drawbar took the weight near the tractor frame. We also hitched low with the 3 point so if we did something stupid like get stuck in the mud, we could raise the weight with the 3 point to get better ground clearance till we got out of the mud hole.

Problem with that, is that a MF 65 should have a category 1 3 pt hitch.

Donovan from Wisconsin

I'd reccomend going the route of using a blade and hanging some weights on if needed. We keep a box blade on our 165 most of the time, and it works pretty good. The tires are loaded as well, so there's a decent amount of weight on it.

We also mounted an old truck hitch to the box blade so we can still pull wagons with it, as well as leveling ruts when they happen and scraping up the rest of the manure pile when cleaning it up.

Donovan from Wisconsin

I thought it mabey being cat. 1 after i posted but I have a cat. 2 quick hitch mounted on the outside of fast hitch prongs with no adapters and I have pickup some heavy loads(very carfully) and have no problems. I do want to add some extra support this winter. A cat 2 quick hitch can be adapted or you can get a cat 1 quick hitch. Armand