5 Common Questions About Tractor Ballast Answered

One of the most popular videos I've done recently talked about the importance of adding ballast to your tractor. There's a lawsuit currently going on between the family of a man who lost his life to tractor rollover alleging that John Deere was negligent in selling a tractor without proper ballast. The video received a ton of comments about the litigation as well as questions about ballasting a tractor, five of which I'll answer in this video.

Using a tractor without fluid in the tires or wheel weights, or both, can be really dangerous. First responders in rural areas will tell you horror stories about farm-related accidents...many involving a tractor rolling over on an operator. We want to avoid rollover at all costs.

The most common ballast is fluid in the tires. So...how do you know if there's fluid in there? Easiest way is to put the valve stem at the 6 o'clock position and tap the core and if there's fluid in there, you'll see it. I actually have a problem with fluid coming out when I position the valve stem at the top, or the high noon position when I'm checking the air. You can also take a crescent wrench and bang around the sidewalls of the tire. Where there's fluid there'll be a "thud", you'll hear a hollow sound from the part with air. If you have a really good stud finder you can hold it up against the tire and see where the fluid stops and the air begins.

How much fluid goes in...should the tire be completely full? The answer is no. Tire fluid doesn't compress and air does, so if you completely filled the tire with fluid the tractor would ride extremely rough. Generally the accepted fluid level is 75% full, or 3/4's of the way full. So, when the tires are filled with fluid, don't expect them to be all the way full.

Does all fluid options weigh the same? No...if you live in the south you might put water in the tires. Water only weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon though, so you don't get all the weight you can in there. Calcium Chloride is what used to be the favorite fluid for tire-filling...it's cheap and heavy, but DON'T USE IT! It will rot your rims. Better choices are antifreeze or methanol, but they weigh less than water and you sure don't want an animal drinking either one if some should leak out. By far, the best tire ballast is Rim Guard, the original beet juice, a natural derivative of sugar beets. Full disclosure here, they sponsor this video, but they're my favorite tire ballast for multiple reasons. Rim Guard weighs almost 11 pounds per gallon, won't freeze to -35 degrees Fahrenheit, won't rot your rims and won't harm livestock. If you're buying a new tractor, ask for the tires to be filled with Rim Guard.

Can you fill the front tires? You can, and if you're on really steep inclines, or if you're pulling a tillage tool, you'll want to. Having said that, 95% of us probably don't need fluid in the front tires because when you're using a loader with dirt or gravel on wet ground, you're adding to the compaction and rutting that those front tires will do, but, for plowing or extreme slopes it will definitely help. By the way, if you'd like to see how much weight you can add to either the front or rear tires, Rim Guard provides a PDF file you can download on their website here: https://www.rimguardsolutions.com/beet-juice-is-better/tire-fill-chart/. Remember, those weights are for beet juice...anything else but Calcium Chloride will weigh about 30% less than that.

Finally, if you need weight on the front of the tractor, there may be a rack there that's designed to hold suitcase weights that you can get from your local dealer. Many tractors come from the factory with a weight bracket, but usually you can't have suitcase weights and a front end loader at the same time...there's not room enough for both to fit there. Just know that it's there if you need it.

Bottom line, a tractor with proper ballast will be safer and more productive than one without. It could save your life!
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