Weights or not

mrbeef said:

Based on the pictures you should be fine either way. I have starter weights and a set of 50 LB weights on my x748, but that is for loader work. If it makes you feel more stable, go for it, it shouldn't cause any problems.

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I know you have an X748, what do you think it does to ride quality.

Yesterday I went up the hill to try it out as the snow is melting. It felt was super rough right now with the frozen ground. My wife feeds critters and 25 deer at a time are hoofing up the yard when it is thawing. It felt like the tires slipped just slightly on the frozen ground.

mda2000 said:

You could always fill the tires so a bit of extra weight. It's not quite 50 lbs but it's usually enough for mowing without rutting the yard unless the ground is saturated.

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I've never filled tires, just think it would be a real pain if/when you have a leak.:tango_face_plain:

ggsteve said:

I put wheel weights on my X748 the first winter for snow blowing and have never taken them off. The tractor is so heavy I don't think it makes much difference in the ride. What might make a difference is if you have mechanical 4WD and have it engaged in a sharp turn.

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You actually hit on a point of why I got the X748 for the hydro AWD and tight turns. The JD2305 was hard on grass on tight turns. The outside tire wanted to scrub so I often made "Y" turns to stop that.

Hummer.2012 said:

You didn't, or I missed it, say what tires are on the X748. I have HDAP and it goes up a hill in winter blowing snow with no extra weights. If have HDAP's, that is all you need.

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Mach-1 said:

+1

HDAP's are great tires for all seasons, and they do very well mowing. I would not add weight to a machine mowing nice yards unless it was absolutely necessary.

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I almost ordered a set of weights a few minutes ago. But you guys bring up an excellent point regarding the HDAPs on my machine. They will be hard enough on the grass as is, should probably not add more weight.

C5,

Where you have a 2305 for heavy lifting duties already, you're probably best to keep the X748 relatively light. My suggestion is to give it a try as-is for a season of mowing. Then, after you've got a feel for the machine and how it performs in your specific environment, possibly consider adding weights of some kind if you think it would be an improvement.

Otherwise, right now you're just taking a guess as to what you might need, and may go to an unnecessary expense or end up with the wrong weight solution. Start with the baseline tractor, see how it does, and then modify from there.:fing32:

Good advice Urban Tractor,


Yesterday I installed the 2 five gallon pail holder on the rear of the X748.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/John-Dee...vOwCuLuHt5IepQbuTAHzBPJnNywDVrVxoCBe0QAvD_BwE

My wife had been out picking up a Winter's treasure trove of dog & deer crap and had filled the pails. In the past I put them on the front carrier of the ATV and hauled out back to dispose of. The wafting aroma of 10 gallons of soupy dog crap 18" from my face was something of nightmares. (Anyway I digress as I often do.)
The carrier worked great but there was still ice and snow on the steep hill out back and much softer than I figured once I was 2/3rds of the way there. The AWD works perfect and did not spin a tire but the machine did leave some serious tracks in the soft earth.

Bottom line the HDAPs do work better than the turfs in muddy conditions. Once turf tires fill with mud you don't have much going for ya.

Hi - the older style mechanical 4x4 will scuff (crab) when you turn with it engaged, similar to a 4x4 pickup. My x595 would destroy the grass in 4x4, I eventually sold the mower deck!:tango_face_sad:
I heard the newer hydro-drive front axle is a big improvement when it come to the health of the grass? I agree - try the machine first before adding weight. ride quality is more of a function of the seat suspension than the tires, the rear is a dead axle bolted to the frame!
how many plys are the HDAP tires? side wall stiffness could be a factor. I'm running R4 skid-steer tires (10 ply rated) - they are a brick, but don't squish under the loader!!

I have a Scotts 2048 that I bought for a song & a dance.. I added weights to it on the front & back.. the front weights r frame mounted & weigh 120 pounds.. the rear has 2 weights that was used on a combine to hold the steerin axle down.. they look like a T shape.. they also r frame mounted.. the rear weight r 60 pounds each..


when u add weights to a mower it lowers the center of gratify.. I use the mower to mow a hillside for the farmer the wrong way.. ur supposed to mow it top to bottom or uphill..


right now I don't have to have my weight on the upper side on the rear fender.. that is a steep hill..

I'm late to this thread and can only provide my experience with my x485, but the HDAPs and being 4WD I would NOT put additional weight on the tractor unless it was needed during snow duty.

I mow my ditches weekly and they are probably about a 30% grade with no problem with my x485. Steep lawn slopes should be no problem for an x748, and I would not want to add weight that could compact the lawn further or make any ruts worse, etc. IMO there is really no need at all for extra weight. I always take my wheel weights off once snow season is over.

Stryker7200 said:

I mow my ditches weekly and they are probably about a 30% grade with no problem with my x485. Steep lawn slopes should be no problem for an x748, and I would not want to add weight that could compact the lawn further or make any ruts worse, etc. IMO there is really no need at all for extra weight. I always take my wheel weights off once snow season is over.

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There is a difference between the weight of a machine and the ground pressure applied by the tires of a machine. The loaded rear tires of my 2250 lb GT/FEL apply 17 psi ground pressure. The front tires apply 35 psi ground pressure with no payload in the bucket.

The strange thing is that the front tires don't leave ruts unless the ground is quite wet.

Wheel weights and loaded tires improve tractor stability on slopes. Unlike wheel weights, loaded tires do increase ground pressure.

Tires squat to spread the load over a greater area when additional load, such as wheel weights or a heavier operator, is applied.