How much is too much?

[cubby102]

I've got loaded 10.50s on my 782 with ih style weighs on the inside and black 50 lb plastics on the outside and I'm making up a salt spredder for the back of it plus my 200 lbs on the seat I havnt noticed any problems a couple of my buddy's are running a lot more weight then me and have been for years no bad effects on them eather

[Matt G.]

Originally Posted by litlmikeyl

I have a feeling we're underestimating what the bearing in the axle tubes will carry.

I can dig a book out and check the exact numbers, but as a general rule, doubling a load on a (rolling element) bearing will reduce the life by a factor of 10, IIRC.

I'm not sure how that works for the earlier tractors that have bronze sleeve bearings instead of roller bearings.

[nikster]

Originally Posted by Jeff in Pa

The best way to add weight is loading the tires and wheel weights. That is rolling weight. Hanging weight on the back plus body weight adds to the stress on the wheel bearings.
On my 125, I have loaded 10.50s, a pair of gilson wheel weight 65 x2=130 plus my 210 lbs.

As someone else mentions, rolling weight is the way to go as opposed to dead weight for weight distribution. Less friction on gears, bearings,

Nik

[litlmikeyl]

Matt, your figures sound correct given real world experience. That brings up another question. Given we're discussing how much weight to carry on a tractor, I'm curious to what frequency guys carry the amount of weight they posted they use. Does it stay on the tractor all the time or just for specific activities.