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Tires. I was helping someone move some hay this weekend using his 5065, and it had a double spear on the front. One spot the ground got slightly unlevel and it came off the ground some. I made sure to avoid taking the same angle and spot the next time.
 
tater74 said:
What do you prefer?
Ballast in the tires or on the 3point?

JD 5065E. Large bales on the FEL make the rear end very light. It's a puckering experience.
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I have a JD 5425. Two sets of rear wheel weights made the difference between not using it to move bales anymore and being very comfortable stacking 1,6-1,800lb bales 2 high on a flatbed trailer.
 
Ballast in the tires is better. The weight is not carried by the tractor frame, center of gravity is lower. The hassle is the drawback -- tubes, valves, leaks and corrosive calcium chloride (have heard there is some formulation from beet juice that works well).
 
I've tried weights and all sorts of ballast. I settled on washer fluid for ballast. It's cheap and no problem if you get a puncture. Beet juice is heavier, but it's expensive and a HORRIBLE mess if you get a leak or puncture. It'll also kill any grass it spills on and leave bare dirt for the next two years. They don't tell you that part when they're trying to sell you on it.
 
Rim Guard in the tires works very well. Also a little bit expensive but it doesn't freeze or corrode your rims. I have it in my Kubota 7040 and the loader won't lift enough to get the rear end off the ground.
 
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Fluid filled tires are counter productive from a traction standpoint. Add to that the Chevytahoe’s points and wheel weights become the logical choice.
My tractors all have calcium in them. I hate it and have ordered a set of wheel weights for one of them.
 
I have a JD 5055e, have fluid in the tires and have 3 point hay spear on the back always have a roll on the back whenever I’ve got one in the front on hills or the least bit sigogglin.
Had 2 wheel drive Case that didn’t get much traction at all on the back and had fluid and wheel weights put on it.
A word of advice, be careful in that tractor I’ve found this 5055 to be a good tractor, but it will come off the ground pretty easy, in comparison to other tractors I’ve been on. I take things pretty slow and cautious on these hills.
 
Every tractor I own came from their previous homes with fluid in the tires. First order of business is drain it all out and hunt down some cast wheel weights. Ditch the tubes from the tires and clean everything good with the steam cleaner and some simple green.

Get a punctured tire? A simple plug kit will have you up and rolling in minutes and your tractor won't be any lighter.
 
After 40 years of running tractors through shyt some would avoid with a dozer, I’ve had exactly two punctures. One was an exhaust pipe and one was a 2” limb. I’m not sure how some of you are finding all these things that are tough enough to puncture a tractor tire, but small enough that you can plug the hole.
 
M.Magis said:
After 40 years of running tractors through shyt some would avoid with a dozer, I've had exactly two punctures. One was an exhaust pipe and one was a 2" limb. I'm not sure how some of you are finding all these things that are tough enough to puncture a tractor tire, but small enough that you can plug the hole.
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Antlers are a common cause here.
 
I have a skid steer that came from a pole barn builder, one tire has 42 plugs and screws combined still in it......

Nails, road debris, sheds, glass, etc all go thru tractor tires fairly easy. Maybe a 40yo bias ply rock of a tire won't puncture. But a new soft radial tire with low pressure isn't too hard to puncture if you catch things just right. Guess that's a trade off of being able to run smoothly down the road at 27mph and across the field at 15mph.
 
chevytaHOE5674 said:
I have a skid steer that came from a pole barn builder, one tire has 42 plugs and screws combined still in it......

Nails, road debris, sheds, glass, etc all go thru tractor tires fairly easy. Maybe a 40yo bias ply rock of a tire won't puncture. But a new soft radial tire with low pressure isn't too hard to puncture if you catch things just right. Guess that's a trade off of being able to run smoothly down the road at 27mph and across the field at 15mph.
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I wonder if there isn’t a difference between the little 100hp tractors and the larger 150+ hp tractors. I would think the extra weight of the bigger tractors might be a factor.
Most of our flats come from tires coming apart inside and puncturing or pinching the tube.
 
Most of my flats come from all sorts of road debris as I travel 30+ miles of blacktop highway passing thru town to get from hay field to hay field. Often driving on the shoulder of the road to avoid stupid drivers. I've had nails, RR spikes, antlers, bolts, etc rammed thru some very expensive tires.
 
Antlers are a big one too for us.

We just had new tires put on the 6120 last year and there is already a finger size stob in the front tire.

People run logging tires, foam filled tires, etc to avoid tires getting tore up. Had one friend that was debating running tracks but was talked out of it because they said they didn't do well in deep sand.
 
Ky hills said:
I have a JD 5055e, have fluid in the tires and have 3 point hay spear on the back always have a roll on the back whenever I've got one in the front on hills or the least bit sigogglin.
Had 2 wheel drive Case that didn't get much traction at all on the back and had fluid and wheel weights put on it.
A word of advice, be careful in that tractor I've found this 5055 to be a good tractor, but it will come off the ground pretty easy, in comparison to other tractors I've been on. I take things pretty slow and cautious on these hills.
Click to expand...

I have a 5075e and I agree they are very tippy. I have had a couple of close calls. The 520 loader can handle a lot more than the tractor can and mine has loaded tires. I look at old pictures of this farm and what they used to mow with an old heavy 2wd tractor that I won’t even dare try with mine in 4wd. The tractor has been good otherwise.
 

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